An Alberta city is seeing one of the worst rent affordability crunches in Canada
Vancouver or Toronto may come to mind when thinking of cost-of-living struggles, but a new study has found that a city in Alberta is seeing one of the worst rent affordability crunches in the country.
The study from SingleKey, Canada’s leading rental risk intelligence platform, found that despite rent price declines, renters across the country are struggling to balance housing costs and other financial obligations.
Vancouver and Toronto have both seen rent prices decline six per cent and five per cent year-over-year (YOY), respectively, with rent now making up only 27.7 per cent and 27.4 per cent of household income. Zooming out from the two major cities, smaller secondary markets are now feeling the affordability crunch, where income hasn’t kept pace.
Leading this trend are Barrie, Ont.; Medicine Hat, Alta.; Greater Sudbury, Ont.; Winnipeg, Man.; and Kelowna, B.C., where renters contribute more income to rent than the national average (28.1 per cent), coupled with notable income declines ranging from six to 21.5 per cent.
City of Medicine Hat/Facebook
Medicine Hat came in second place nationally when it came to rent-to-income per household, at 30.1 per cent. The household income growth year-over-year was at -6.8 per cent.
Medicine Hat reportedly also stands out as high risk for missed rental payments with a lower average credit score of 656, collections at 24.1 per cent, and bankruptcies at 6.1 per cent, according to the report.
SingleKey’s report analyzed thousands of rental applications across Canada between April 1 and June 30, 2026, to determine the average Canadian renter profile, affordability gaps, and financial risk signals.
According to SingleKey’s report, the median age of a renter in Canada is 33. The majority of renters (74.3 per cent) are fully employed, 27.8 per cent have pets, and 12.4 per cent have children. The national average household income is $113,970, while personal income averages $72,950.
“Across the board, Canadians are reliable borrowers and pay outstanding debts, as many regions sit above the recommended 660 score or higher. The data suggests that one figure alone, like credit scores, doesn’t reflect all the challenges a renter may be facing, or beginning to face as other affordability factors like inflation, tariffs, and employment levels continue to set in,” says Viler Lika, founder & CEO of SingleKey.
“The takeaway is that as Canadians continue to be impacted, various financial indicators need to be taken into account to get an accurate picture.”
Data is based on SingleKey’s analysis of rental applications submitted through its online platform between April 1 and June 30, 2026. Information was drawn from details provided directly by renters as part of the application process, along with credit data from licensed credit bureaus. SingleKey processes over 300,000 applications each year across Canada.
You can view the full study by SingleKey online.