Ontario and British Columbia offer some of the best opportunities to be found in Canada – but they can also the most expensive to live in. Let’s take a look at the five most economical and most expensive cities to live in these two great provinces.

Most Economical

We’ll start our comparison with the most economical cities. The five most economical places to live in Ontario and British Columbia, beginning with the cheapest, are as follows:

Abbotsford, British Columbia

The only B.C. city on our economical list is also our most affordable. Abbotsford is the most economical of British Columbia’s larger cities. The cost of living here is a modest 3.6% below the national average.

St. Catharines, Ontario

Second of the most economical Ontario cities, St. Catherines sports a cost of living rate at 0.5% below the national average. This largest city in the Niagara region is known for its manufacturing and service industries.

London, Ontario

Located roughly 170 km southwest of Toronto, London comes in fourth on our list at 0.5% above the national cost of living average. London offers a wide variety of medical research, IT, and educational industries.

Orillia, Ontario

This small city of around 30,000 people has an average home price of $329,900. Nicely located between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe, Orillia offers loads of outdoor activities and is home to Ontario’s newest University, Lakehead.

Kitchener-Waterloo

With an average house price at $348,248 (higher than some), that’s pretty good value compared to others cities across the GTHA. But, the unemployment rate here is very low, with a strong job market, particularly for the tech industry. Kitchener-Waterloo offers loads of parks and biking paths, with many fun festivals that happen year-round.

Most Expensive

Now let’s look at the most expensive cities in Ontario and British Columbia, starting with the costliest.

Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver was once ranked by The Economist as the most expensive to live in North America. The average price of a home here comes in at an immodest $749,000! Vancouver is known for its film industry and is the third largest such industry in North America.

Toronto, Ontario

Buying a home in Toronto seems like a bargain when you compare it to Vancouver, but it is still not very affordable. The average home price in Toronto comes in at $483,000. Toronto has a vibrant downtown area, with most of the residents living in the area.

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is our third most expensive city in the Ontario and British Columbia areas, with an average home price of $422,000. Victoria has bragging rights to being one of the warmer parts of Canada, avoiding much of the snow as early as March.

Hamilton/Burlington, Ontario

Fourth on the list is the Hamilton / Burlington area, where you will find the cost of the average home to be $350,000. Nestled against the shoreline of Lake Ontario, it is only an hour away from Toronto.

Ottawa, Ontario

The capital of Canada, Ottawa can be expensive to live in. The average home here will set you back $342,000. But in return, you get some of the best museums, galleries, and events that Canada has to offer. Ottawa was even forth on the list of Forbes’s cleanest cities in the world.

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