Rent in Edmonton costs nearly double what minimum wage earners can afford
Alberta’s $15-an-hour minimum wage has remained unchanged since 2018, but rent prices have continued to rise, leaving many single-income renters struggling to keep up.
New data from real estate platform Zoocasa found that renters in Edmonton need to earn at least $26.65 an hour to comfortably afford a one-bedroom apartment, which averages $1,386 a month. That’s nearly 78 per cent higher than the province’s minimum wage.
The study used the 32 per cent rule, a budgeting guideline that recommends spending no more than 32 per cent of one’s income on housing. By that standard, a full-time minimum wage worker earning less than $30,000 a year in Alberta can only afford to spend around $775 per month on rent, well below current market prices.
In Calgary, the average one-bedroom costs about $1,675 a month, meaning renters there would need to earn $32.21 an hour, more than double Alberta’s minimum wage.
Even smaller Alberta cities are facing similar challenges. Renters would need $28.31 an hour in Airdrie, $25.48 in Lethbridge, and $23.52 in Medicine Hat to stay within budget, according to the report.
“Alberta has long been viewed as one of the more affordable provinces, thanks to its lower cost of living and absence of provincial sales tax. But its minimum wage has been frozen at $15 per hour since 2018, and that stagnant rate no longer aligns with modern rental prices,” Zoocasa writes.
A full-time minimum wage worker earns roughly $29,250 a year before taxes, which is barely enough to cover the cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Edmonton once utilities, transportation and groceries are factored in.
Zoocasa
And while minimum wage jobs are often portrayed as temporary, part-time work for students or retirees, many of those roles are essential and rely on full-time staff. Someone still has to pour your morning coffee, stock grocery shelves and keep businesses running between nine and five. Yet, those same workers often can’t afford to live in the cities they help keep going.
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However, this trend isn’t unique to Alberta, according to Zoocasa. In Saskatchewan, renters in Regina would need to earn $25.02 an hour to afford a one-bedroom apartment, despite a slightly higher minimum wage of $15.35.
In Manitoba, where the minimum wage recently rose to $16, Winnipeg renters still struggle to afford rent, needing $27.75 an hour to cover the cost.
You can find the full report on Zoocasa’s website.