In July 2019 the Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives released their report, “Unaccommodating:
Rental Housing Wage in Canada”. This report maps rental
affordability in neighbourhoods across Canada by calculating the “rental housing
wage,” which is the hourly wage needed to afford an average one bedroom
apartment without spending more than 30% of one’s earnings. Nationally, the rental housing wage is
$22.40/hr for an average priced two-bedroom apartment and $20.20/hr for an
average priced one-bedroom apartment.
For Halifax, it is slightly higher at $22.57/hr for the average
two-bedroom apartment.
Unfortunately housing market data is not collected for our region, so it is not possible to determine the average costs of rental units by size. However, 2016 Census of Canada data for our region does provide us with some information about housing in our communities, including rates of core housing need and the average monthly shelter costs for both renters and owners, which provide a sense of the housing situation across our communities. Read the report to see the housing wage required to afford the average rental and home costs in our region.
South Shore Housing Action Coalition 