Edmonton now ranks as Canada's most affordable city for renters
A new rent report from Zumper shows Edmonton is now the most affordable major city in the country for renters.
The Canadian Rent Report from Zumper ranked Edmonton at the bottom of its list of 23 major cities, with a one-bedroom averaging $1,310 per month, down three per cent from last month and 2.2 per cent lower than in August 2024.
Edmonton fell three spots on Zumper’s list, making it more affordable than Saskatoon, Regina and Quebec City, where the average one-bedroom rent is $1,330 per month.
Across Canada, rental prices are moving in opposite directions depending on the region, the report states. Ontario and British Columbia’s most expensive cities are seeing steep declines, with Vancouver rents for both one and two-bedroom units down more than seven per cent year-over-year.
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Toronto saw the largest annual drop in one-bedroom prices nationwide, falling 11.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, prairie markets are bucking the trend. Saskatoon saw the largest annual growth in one-bedroom rents in Canada, up 3.9 per cent, followed by Regina at 2.3 per cent and Halifax at one per cent.
“Rent prices across Canada continue to cool, with this report marking the tenth consecutive month of annual declines,” the report writes.
“The slowdown reflects a convergence of market dynamics: growing housing supply, a moderation in population growth, and persistent affordability challenges are all putting downward pressure on rental costs.”
Among the country’s priciest cities, Vancouver remains at the top despite a 1.6 per cent monthly drop to $2,500 for a one-bedroom. Burnaby holds second place at $2,380 after a 1.3 per cent monthly increase, while Toronto sits third at $2,220.
Halifax climbed into fourth at $2,100, and Victoria slipped to fifth at $2,020 after a sharp six per cent decline.
Our neighbours to the south in Calgary also landed in the “biggest annual drops” category, with one-bedroom rents down 9.2 per cent over the last year to $1,670 monthly.
The Zumper Canadian Rent Report analyzes rental data from hundreds of thousands of active listings across the country, aggregating it monthly to calculate median asking rents for the top 23 most populous metro areas.