The increasing cost of living is making it difficult for all citizens
By Natalie Pilla
With cost of living increasing, policy needs to match what a decent livable city might look like in tangible ways. We’ve estimated the cost of living for a single person in Toronto per month to be around $2,658. This includes $1,975 for rent, $52 for utilities, $307 for food, $156 for a TTC pass, and $168 for internet and cell phone plans. An individual has to be making around $79,999 per year to be able to afford the cost of living in Toronto. This is based on the median market rent in April 2022 – rental prices since then have fluctuated due to impacts of COVID, were we saw a dip, and post-COVID reactions, an increase.
Subsidized Supports
In South Etobicoke, people on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), or working a full-time job that pays minimum wage, cannot afford the median monthly rent. Even before the pandemic, rent and the cost of living were out of reach. Now, with inflation, these costs have skyrocketed even further, but subsidies and wages have not kept up. Below are some scenarios to illustrate people’s experiences in South Etobicoke.
A single person receiving support from the ODSP receives $497 a month as their maximum shelter allowance. The median monthly rent for a bachelor unit in South Etobicoke is $1,563. They cannot afford rent for a bachelor unit in the community.
A couple with no children receiving support from ODSP receives $781 as their maximum shelter allowance. The median monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit in South Etobicoke is $1,775. They cannot afford rent for a one-bedroom unit in the community.
Supports for Families
A family of 6 or more receiving support from ODSP receives $1,026 per month as their maximum shelter allowance. The median monthly rent for a three-bedroom unit in South Etobicoke is $3,200. They could just afford a bachelor unit in the community, uninhabitable for a household of their size.
A two-person household, both working full-time at minimum wage, makes roughly $43,400 per year after tax. 30% of their combined annual before-tax income is $13,020, which is $1,085 per month. The median monthly rent for a bachelor unit in South Etobicoke is $1,563. They would have to pay slightly more than 30% of their income to pay for a bachelor unit in the community.
A single person, working full time with the median income for South Etobicoke, makes $44,452 annually. 30% of their income is $13,335, which is $1,111 per month. The median monthly rent for a bachelor unit in South Etobicoke is $1,563. They would have to pay slightly more than 30% of their income to pay for a bachelor unit in the community.
These estimates only focus on the ability to afford the price of median monthly rent in South Etobicoke. When we include other living costs, like food, utilities, transit, we’ve estimated that the income needed for a single person to afford the cost of living in Toronto is around $79,999 a year.
What do you have to earn?
65% are earning $79,999 below this amount in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, the area most geographically aligned with South Etobicoke with publicly available data from the census (Statistics Canada, 2022). Liveable income varies according to housing need and neighborhood as well as rental prices which dropped during COVID, but have increased again more recently, The Star reports, the average cost of renting a two-bedroom in Toronto soars by 24% to more than $3,300. The income needed to consider this ‘affordable’ by definition is at least $131,000 annually, which means spending less than 30% on shelter. The Median Household Income After Taxes for Etobicoke-Lakeshore was $76,500, and for Toronto $74,000 (2021, Census). Using the median after tax income is a more accurate representative of what the population earns and has available to spend.
As we have mapped out in a previously blog post, you have to earn a minimum of 26.87 per hour in some South Etobicoke Neighborhoods for a 2-bedroom, the current minimum was in Ontario is $15.50 per hour. While wages have remained unchanged, rent is increasing without any restrictions – the consequences felt by those most negatively impacted. These include minimum wage workers, those on subsidies, seniors, students and low-income groups.
Who can afford rent these days? The free market economy dictates that housing is a commodity, a vehicle for investment and wealth for those with, while disadvantaging those without. Housing is quickly losing its symbolic meaning for home and safety and shifted towards an investment tool leveraged by those with power and economic means.
If this continues, it will continue to add to the inequities already heightened. Evidenced by Hulchanski, University of Toronto, in “The Three Cities Within Toronto: Income Polarization Among Toronto’s Neighbourhoods, 1970-2005.” The report shows the drastic change in the socio-economic status of residents, over a 35-year period. Demonstrating the growing low-income group, the shrinking middle income, and the stagnant high-income core. Do we want to live in a city where the disparity impacts the majority in such a negative way?
