Here's How Much You Need To Make To Afford Basic Living In Toronto
Spoiler alert: It's way over minimum wage.
Living in the big city comes with big prices — from high rent to groceries and transportation, it's not an easy thing to afford.
Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) released the new living wage by region on November 1, and to afford basic living in Toronto, you need to be making at least $22.08 an hour.
Ontario's minimum wage was just proposed to be raised to $15 an hour from $14.35 in January 2022 by the Ontario government.
If this new legislation goes through and you're making the new minimum wage in Toronto, you still won't be able to afford basic living with one stream of income.
The living wage covers food, clothing, shelter, child care, transportation, medical expenses, recreation and a "modest" vacation — however, it doesn't include retirement savings, debt repayment, homeownership, education savings for children or any savings other than "the smallest cushion for emergencies or hard times," according to OLWN.
OWLN calculates the living wage by region and they "take into account a weighted average between a family of four, single parent with one child and a single adult."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.