A $75,000 salary goes further if you live in these Vancouver neighbourhoods

A salary of about $75,000 can get you further in some Vancouver neighbourhoods than others. Thanks to the free calculator from the province, it’s become a bit easier to decide where you should live based on your salary. 

The Cost of Living Calculator is an exciting tool that can estimate how much money you need to live in various cities around BC, compare areas and make handy graphs.

According to the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, the calculator is built using data collected through the Economic Research Institute, which includes: 

• Housing: Consider location (city and neighbourhood), salary, rent or own, and family size.
• Heath and consumables: Consider location, salary, and family size.
• Transportation: Consider location, salary, number of vehicles, value, and mileage.
• BC tax extract: based on family size.

“Once a user enters their criteria into the fields, the calculator draws upon the above data to calculate the cost of living for the user,” the ministry told Daily Hive. 

However, the last update to the calculator was in 2023, so the data may not reflect recent changes to the cost of living.

“WorkBC will be reviewing the information provided in the calculator over the next few months, including how it can best meet the needs of people. From this research, we will be deciding on the future of this tool and how to enhance it,” the ministry said, adding that WorkBC updates the data annually. 

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According to Zumper, the median rent “for all bedroom counts and property types in Vancouver” was $2,950 last month.

The Cost of Living calculator suggested:

• renting a small apartment, on average, costs $1,871,
• a two-bedroom condo, on average, costs $3,035,
• a large condo, on average, costs $3,846,
• a small house, on average, costs $4,657,
• an average house, on average, costs $5,747,
• and a large house, on average, costs $6,802.

Most to least expensive neighbourhood’s to rent in

That being said, we wanted to know which Vancouver neighbourhood your salary would get you the furthest, based on WorkBC’s calculations.  

We decided to fill out the form as if we were an elementary school kindergarten teacher. The automated salary WorkBC generated for this position is $76,208 ($6,351 a month). 

This is how far that salary would go for a single person without a vehicle who is renting a small 500-square-foot apartment. 

We’ve listed the cities from most to least expensive: 

Shaughnessy ($1,547 remaining)

Downtown ($1,554 remaining)

West Point Grey ($1,564 remaining)

Kerrisdale ($1,596 remaining)

Kitsilano ($1,608 remaining)

Dunbar ($1,628 remaining)

North ($1,665 remaining)

Oakridge ($1,672 remaining)

Yaletown ($1,700 remaining)

Fairview ($1,719 remaining)

Mount Pleasant ($1,729 remaining)

Riley Park ($1,733 remaining)

Marpole ($1,789 remaining)

Grandview-Woodland ($1,803 remaining)

Kensington-Cedar Cottage ($1,820 remaining)

Hastings-Sunrise ($1,852 remaining)

West End ($1,871 remaining)

Sunset ($1,872 remaining)

Renfrew-Collingwood ($1,884 remaining)