Toronto minimum-wage workers need nearly all monthly pay just for rent

A minimum-wage worker in Toronto would need to work roughly 145 hours — nearly 84 percent of a full 40-hour month — just to cover the average rent of $2,543, according to a new analysis by Zoocasa.

That leaves the equivalent of about 28 hours of gross pay, or approximately $500, for groceries, transit, phone bills and every other expense. The squeeze is even tighter for someone working a 37.5-hour week, where rent would consume close to 89 percent of their monthly hours.

Zoocasa's report examined average rents across 60 Canadian cities by dividing them by the minimum wage in each province. The calculation uses gross wages and does not account for income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions or Employment Insurance deductions — meaning the actual share of take-home pay needed for rent would be significantly higher.

Moving outside the downtown core offers little relief. North York had the highest burden in Ontario, requiring 146 hours of minimum-wage work to cover average rent. Across GTA localities included in the study — Toronto, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, East York, Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton, Oakville and Burlington — the total ranged from 118 to 146 hours. Mississauga required about 135 hours for an average rent of $2,360, while Brampton required 127 hours for a unit averaging $2,231.

Toronto ranks among the most expensive places in the country by this measure. North Vancouver topped the list at 164 hours, followed by Vancouver at 150 hours. Across all 60 cities studied, only eight required fewer than 100 hours of minimum-wage work.

Ontario's minimum wage is set to rise from $17.60 to $17.95 per hour on October 1. If Toronto's average rent remained unchanged, that increase would reduce the time needed to cover it to about 142 hours — still nearly 82 percent of a 40-hour work month.