The Most Affordable Cities In BC Were Revealed & The Home Prices Will Make You Want To Move

If you took one look at the average Vancouver rent this month and shed a tear, it might be time to look for greener (a.k.a cheaper) pastures.

Despite the five most expensive cities in Canada all being in B.C., there are some places in the province that offer way more affordable living. The cheapest places to live in B.C. were revealed in a list of the top B.C. cities for affordability created by Zolo.

Zolo used data from Statistics Canada on population growth, combined with their housing prices data from January 2023, and compared it to the average household incomes in the city. They also looked at unemployment rates and used them all to rank B.C. cities by affordability.

Prince George — a medium-sized city — took the top spot for the overall most affordable city in B.C., with an average home price of just $361,000 and an average household income of $107,200, according to Zolo.

Next on the list, in order, were Fort St. John, Terrace, Kamloops, Prince Rupert and Cranbrook.

Vancouver was down at number 23 on the list, with an average home price of $2,685,000 but an average income of $117,300. Yikes!

If you want to leave behind the big city prices, but not the hustle and bustle, Zolo also broke it down according to large, medium and small cities.

The most affordable large cities were Kamloops. Abbotsford and Nanaimo.

For medium cities it was Prince George followed by Vernon and then Courtenay.

If you're looking for a small-town vibe, Fort St. John was the most affordable small city, then Terrace and Prince Rupert.