How Much Does It Cost to Live Solo in Canada in 2026?
In 2021, 4.4 million Canadians were living solo, the highest share ever recorded.
One-person households now make up nearly 30% of all households in Canada. In 1981, just 1.7 million people lived alone. The number has been climbing for decades and shows no sign of reversing.
All of that lands on one income. There's no one to split rent, hydro, internet, or insurance, and no partner's paycheque to cover a rough month. Even the grocery store still sells bread in loaves sized for four.
So what does living alone cost? More than most people expect.
Rent Is Where Solo Living Hurts Most
A one-bedroom or bachelor is the typical solo option, but you're paying full freight on a unit that two people would split.
CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report found that average two-bedroom purpose-built apartment rent nationally rose 5.1% to $1,550 in October 2025. One-bedroom units track lower nationally, but in major cities the gap shrinks fast.
Statistics Canada's quarterly rent data for Q1 2025 put average asking rents for two-bedroom apartments at $3,170 in Vancouver, $2,690 in Toronto, $2,490 in Ottawa, $1,930 in Montréal, and $1,920 in Calgary. One-bedroom asking rents run lower, but in Vancouver and Toronto a decent unit in a liveable neighbourhood still lands in the $1,800 to $2,400 range.
A couple splitting a two-bedroom in Ottawa at $2,490 pays $1,245 each. A solo renter in a one-bedroom at $1,600 pays more for less, every month.
Statistics Canada's 2023 Survey of Household Spending, released in May 2025, put the shelter share for one-person households at 36.9% of total spending, the highest of any household type, compared to 30.5% for couples without children. The national average across all households was 32.1%.
Thirty-seven cents of every dollar a solo renter spends goes toward keeping a roof overhead.
Why Buying Is Even Further Out of Reach
Anyone renting solo and thinking about buying a home will find the mortgage math hard to square.
Royal LePage's 2026 Market Survey Forecast puts the national average home price at $823,016 for Q4 2026. On a single income, qualifying for a mortgage near that figure is a stretch, since couples can pool two incomes against the qualification math while solo buyers can only work with one.
The CMHC mortgage stress test requires buyers to qualify at their contract rate plus 2%, or 5.25%, whichever is higher. On a $700,000 mortgage with 20% down, passing that test on a $100,000 salary is tight. Many solo buyers end up priced out entirely, looking at condos in smaller markets, or leaning on family for a down payment.
Food: Cooking for One Costs More Per Serving
Food costs more when you're feeding one person than the per-person average suggests.
Canada's Food Price Report 2025, produced by Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, UBC, and the University of Saskatchewan, projected food prices would rise 3% to 5% in 2025, with meat up 4% to 6%. On those numbers, a family of four spends about $351 per person per month on food.
Buying groceries for one costs more per serving than buying for four. Produce comes in family-sized portions, bread goes stale before a single person can finish a loaf, and bulk discounts only pay off when you can use the volume. Across a month, the cumulative effect adds up.
Statistics Canada's Survey of Household Spending put average household food spending at $8,659 for 2023. Solo households run above the per-person average.
For a solo renter in a mid-to-large Canadian city, budget $350 to $500 per month on groceries. Where you land in that range depends on diet, city, and how much you hate meal prep.
Utilities, Internet, and Phone: You Pay the Full Bill
Some costs don't care how many people live in a unit.
Electricity costs vary a lot by province. According to the Canada Energy Regulator, a household using 1,000 kWh a month pays anywhere from $83 to $375 depending on province, with Quebec at the low end and the territories at the high end. For most urban solo renters, expect $80 to $150 a month.
Internet prices in Canada have been coming down. Statistics Canada's telecom data shows prices for internet access dropped 5.8% on an annual average basis from 2023 to 2024. A standard residential plan still runs $55 to $90 per month in most urban markets, regardless of how many people use it.
A phone plan runs another $35 to $70 per month for something mid-tier with decent data. Heat, water, and renters' insurance may or may not be in your rent depending on the building. Older purpose-built rentals are more likely to include heat and water. Newer builds and condos usually don't.
All in, budget $300 to $500 per month on utilities, internet, and phone.
Taxes Hit Harder on a Single Income
Tax hits different on one income, in ways that don't show up in a monthly budget.
Income-splitting is available to couples but not to solo earners. A spousal RRSP lets a higher-earning partner contribute to a lower-earning spouse's plan, pulling retirement income down into a lower tax bracket. For a solo earner, the same income falls on a single bracket without that lever.
RRSP contribution room belongs to you alone, and so does the tax deduction. The spousal RRSP option is gone, and the gap compounds across a working career.
As Renée Sylvestre-Williams, author of The Singles Tax, told BNN Bloomberg in January 2026: "You can maximize your tax deductions, you know, medical expenses, maximize your RRSPs, if you can, but we can't split income."
What It All Adds Up To
A typical month for a solo renter in a mid-to-large Canadian city:
- Rent (one-bedroom, national mid-range): $1,500 to $2,000
- Groceries: $350 to $500
- Utilities, internet, phone: $300 to $500
- Transportation (transit or car): $150 to $400
- Personal care, household supplies, clothing: $150 to $300
- Health care (out-of-pocket dental, vision, prescriptions): $50 to $200
That's $2,500 to $3,900 before savings, entertainment, or debt payments. It's also before any unexpected expense like a car repair or dental bill, which lands without a second income to absorb it.
In lower-cost markets like Halifax, Moncton, or smaller Prairie cities, the $2,500 floor is reachable with modest rent and careful spending. In Toronto or Vancouver, $3,900 is conservative. A one-bedroom alone can eat 70% or more of a median take-home paycheque.
What's Often Underestimated About Solo Living
Solo living has real upsides. You set your own schedule, nobody touches your leftovers, and there's no negotiating over the thermostat.
Most people underestimate the number until they're living it. Someone earning $50,000 in Toronto and paying $2,000 a month in rent is spending around 60% of their after-tax income on shelter before they've bought groceries.
Before committing to living alone, run the numbers for your specific city. The gap between expected and actual rent in Toronto, Vancouver, or Ottawa has surprised a lot of people.
If you're trying to figure out where your savings should go on a single income, our RRSP vs. TFSA calculator can help you model which account makes more sense at your income level. Many Canadian credit unions post HISA and GIC rates that beat the big banks, and you can compare rates across credit unions at CreditUnionDirectory.ca.
Sources
Statistics Canada: Home Alone: More Persons Living Solo Than Ever Before (2022) CMHC: 2025 Rental Market Report Statistics Canada: Quarterly Rent Statistics, Q1 2025 Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending, 2023 Royal LePage: 2026 Market Survey Forecast Dalhousie University: Canada's Food Price Report 2025 Canada Energy Regulator: Electricity Costs Across Canada, 2026 Statistics Canada: Telecommunications Statistics (Internet Access CPI) Government of Canada: Contributing to your spouse's or common-law partner's RRSPs BNN Bloomberg: The Singles Tax Squeezes Solo Business Professionals (January 2026)
