Here are the 5 best Canadian cities for housing affordability and job growth

Methodology

This article used data from BMO’s most recent Regional Market Report Card , published October 11, 2024. BMO ranks labour market health based on deviations from an “average” city. To get this average, BMO uses a combination of population, employment and unemployment changes taking into account both year-over-year and rates.

From here, Money.ca looked at Royal LePage’s 2024 Most Affordable Canadian Cities Report. Royal LePage determines how affordable a city is based on what percentage of income is needed to service a monthly mortgage payment. They assume a three-year, fixed-term loan at 5.71% amortized over 25-years with a standard 20% down payment.

For example, a 35.8% affordability factor in Gatineau, QC, means that just over a third of your monthly income goes to servicing your mortgage.

Next, we cross referenced the two lists for overlap. This helped us narrow down which cities have the right mix of labour market conditions, aggregate home prices and average mortgage payments to give you the best bang for your buck.

Check out the full list below.

1. Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay clocked in as the number one most affordable city in Canada and, according to BMO, has the tenth strongest labour market.

The median provincial household income for Thunder Bay was $84,400 in 2022 and the monthly mortgage payment, according to Royal LePage’s modelling, came out to $1,563.25.

Thunder Bay has the lowest aggregate home price from Q1 of 2024 at $299,300, which would need a down payment of just under $60K. Taken together, this amounts to an affordability factor of 22.2%.

Overall, Thunder Bay inched up five points in BMO’s latest Regional Labour Market Report Card rankings. The city saw low employment changes of 0.9%, but also had some of the lowest unemployment increases (+4%) in the data.

These modest fluctuations combined with the affordable nature of the housing market helped secure the number one spot.

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2. Saint John, New Brunswick

Meanwhile, Saint John was the second most affordable city in Canada according to Royal LePage and clocked in at the seventh strongest labour market.

Saint John had an aggregate home price of $267,900, meaning $53.5K down, and a median income of $67,000. Likewise, the monthly mortgage payment is $1,400.01. The affordability factor for the city was 25.1%.

All in all, Saint John went up 13 points, according to BMO. The city saw population gains of 3.3% and an employment change of 4.5%. The latter helped mitigate an unemployment increase of 5.8%.

3. Regina, Saskatchewan

Regina, Saskatchewan’s capital, was ranked as the sixth most affordable Canadian city and had the 11th strongest labour market.

All told, Regina had an aggregate home price of $379,700, making for an estimated down payment of $80K and monthly mortgage payments of $1,981.24. The affordability factor for the city was 29.1% while the provincial median household income was $81,600.

When it comes to labour Regina dropped six points. This was partly due to surging population increases (+4.7%) and increased unemployment (+6.3%). Employment gains weren’t enough to offset this pressure at an increase of only 1.2%.

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4. Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winnipeg comes in fourth place and is the second capital city on this list. It ranked tenth on Royal LePage’s affordability index and sixth in terms of labour force.

Winnipeg saw an aggregate price of $390,900 (78K down), mortgage payments of $2,039.48, and a provincial median income of $77,000. Taken together this amounts to an affordability factor of 31.8%.

According to BMO’s Regional Labour Market Report Card ,Winnipeg saw a modest gain of 10 points. Employment grew by 4%. However, population growth (+4.7%) coupled with unemployment growth (+5.8%) kept the city from going further.

5. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

The final prairie pick is Saskatoon, which came in twelfth place on Royal LePage’s affordability index and third on BMO’s labour market report.

Saskatoon has the highest aggregate home price on this list at $425,700. That’s a down payment of $85K. The median provincial income for 2022 was $81,600.

To round things out, the monthly mortgage payment needed was $2,220.40, meaning an affordability factor of 32.7%.

Saskatoon performed very well in terms of employment growth. All told the city saw an increase of 5.2%. The employment rate was also the highest in the data at 68%. Unemployment was below the set average of 6.15% at an increase of 5.4%.

Conclusion

Keen for more data?

Check out the top 15 most affordable cities and best labour markets in Canada below.

As a bonus, we also included Statistics Canada’s most recent reporting from December 2024 on the Central Metropolitan Areas, or CMAs, with the strongest year-over-year growth.

Most affordable places

1. Thunder Bay, ON (22.2% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $299,300)
2. Saint John, NB (25.1% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $267,900)
3. Red Deer, AB (25.7% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $392,900)
4. Trois-Rivières (28.5% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $339,300)
5. Edmonton, AB (28.9% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $442,200)
6. Regina, SK (29.1% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $379,700)
7. St. John’s, NL (30.1% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $342,200)
8. Quebec City, QC (30.8% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $366,800)
9. Sherbrooke, QC (30.8% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $366,900)
10. Winnipeg, MB (31.8% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $390,900)
11. Fredericton, NB (32.0% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $342,200)
12. Saskatoon, SK, (32.7% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $425.700)
13. Windsor-Essex, ON (36.4% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $491,100)
14. Charlottetown, PEI (36.6% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $424,600)
15. Gatineau, QC (36.8% affordability factor at a Q1 2024 Aggregate Price of $438,700)

Source: Royal LePage

Cities with the strongest labour markets

1. Halifax, NS (+22 points)
2. Victoria, BC (+2 points)
3. Saskatoon, SK (+10 points)
4. Moncton, NB (+14 points)
5. Abbotsford, BC (+26 points)
6. Winnipeg, MB (+10 points)
7. Saint John, NB (+13 points)
8. Ottawa, ON (+0 points)
9. Calgary, AB (+1 point)
10. Thunder Bay, ON (+5 points)
11. Regina, SK (-6 points)
12. Vancouver, BC (+10 points)
13. Guelph, ON (+6 points)
14. Sherbrooke, QC (+13 points)
15. Hamilton, ON (+15 points)

Source: BMO

Central Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with the strongest labour markets year-over-year

1. Toronto (+2.0%)
2. Montréal (+0.3%)
3. Vancouver (-0.6%)
4. Calgary (+3.7%)
5. Edmonton (+1.9%)
6. Ottawa (+1.8%)
7. Winnipeg (+3.6%)
8. Québec City (-2.7%)
9. Hamilton (+0.7%)
10. Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+5.9%)
11. London (-0.2%)
12. Halifax (+4.9%)
13. Victoria (+3.0%)
14. St. Catherines-Niagara (+1.4%)
15. Oshawa (+1.7%)
16. Saskatoon (+4.2%)
17. Windsor (+6.5%)
18. 18. Gatineau (-2.6%)
19. Regina (+0.2%)
20. Barrie (+2.4%)

Source: Statistics Canada

Sources

1. CMHC: Fall 2024 Housing Supply Report

2. Cision: Half of residents in Canada's largest urban centres eyeing move to more affordable real estate markets (May 29, 2024)

3. Statistics Canada: Defining and measuring the gig economy using survey data: Gig work, digital platforms, and dependent self-employment (March 4, 2024)

4. BMO: Regional Labour Market Report Card (October 11, 2024)

5. Royal LePage: Half of residents in Canada’s largest urban centres eyeing move to more affordable real estate markets (May 29, 2024)