Minimum wage needs to be more than $20/hour to afford rent in Edmonton

The cost of living is tight for some, and a new report has flagged that Edmonton’s minimum wage needs to be more than $20 per hour to afford rent.

A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) found that you’ll need to make $20.89 to afford a one-bedroom rental in Edmonton, while the two-bedroom rental wage spikes to $25.61.

The study looked at the gap between minimum wage and what it costs to rent an apartment in Canada, calculating a “rental wage” needed to work a standard 40-hour week and spend no more than 30% of one’s income on rent.

In Edmonton’s surrounding areas, data was only given for two-bedroom units in Sherwood Park, Leduc, St. Albert, Stony Plain, Fort Saskatchewan, and Spruce Grove.

However, Sherwood Park’s wage came in at $28.67 an hour, Leduc on the lower end at $23.42 an hour, St. Albert at $26.56, Stony Plain at $26.46 an hour, Fort Saskatchewan at $22.58 an hour and Spruce Grove at $24.54 an hour.

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The rental wage is considerably higher than the minimum wage in every single province. Even in the three provinces with the highest minimum wage in Canada — BC, Ontario, and Alberta — there’s a shortfall in what these workers can earn and the rent they have to pay, on average.

Alberta’s minimum wage was the third highest at $15, which was still 43% below the one-bedroom rental wage. To afford a one-bedroom place, it should be $21.41, while a two-bedroom should be $25.37.

Where it’s the worst for Canadians is no surprise — Vancouver and Toronto are the least money-friendly cities to be in; even two full-time minimum-wage workers cannot afford a one-bedroom unit without spending more than 30% of their combined income on housing.