Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cold Lake and Calgary

For one person, living is cheaper in Cold Lake: $1,912 a month against $2,223 in Calgary, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Cold Lake
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Cold Lake Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index

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Cold Lake

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,912

/mo nomad

Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cold Lake and in Calgary

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cold Lake and in Calgary actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,912 in Cold Lake versus $2,223 in Calgary.

Cold Lake $1,912
Calgary $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,791 in Cold Lake versus $3,301 in Calgary.

Cold Lake $2,791
Calgary $3,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,670 in Cold Lake versus $4,379 in Calgary.

Cold Lake $3,670
Calgary $4,379

Living in Cold Lake costs roughly 14% less than in Calgary, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cold Lake 42% above, Calgary 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.96 CA$28.21

$17.22 CA$24.34

15.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.5 CA$81.2

$71.1 CA$100

-19.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.67 CA$13.68

$10.53 CA$14.89

-8.17%

Cappuccino

$3.82 CA$5.40

$3.66 CA$5.18

4.37%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 CA$3.19

$1.98 CA$2.80

14.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 CA$2.01

$1.94 CA$2.74

-26.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.57 CA$7.87

$4.95 CA$7.00

12.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 CA$8.68

$5.57 CA$7.87

10.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 CA$1.64

$1.88 CA$2.65

-38.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 CA$3.09

$2.67 CA$3.78

-18.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.87 CA$4.06

$5.32 CA$7.52

-46.05%

Eggs

$3.07 CA$4.35

$3.79 CA$5.35

-19.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.61 CA$14.99

$11.09 CA$15.68

-4.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.16 CA$15.77

$11.36 CA$16.05

-1.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.77 CA$26.53

$18.40 CA$26.01

2.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 CA$4.94

$4.56 CA$6.45

-23.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 CA$1.64

$1.44 CA$2.04

-19.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 CA$3.97

$4.08 CA$5.76

-31.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 CA$3.50

$3.89 CA$5.50

-36.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 CA$3.04

$2.64 CA$3.73

-18.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 CA$1.50

$2.64 CA$3.73

-59.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 CA$3.30

$2.50 CA$3.54

-6.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 CA$2.48

$1.50 CA$2.12

16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.94 CA$16.88

$14.05 CA$19.86

-15.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.41 CA$16.14

$15.70 CA$22.20

-27.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.57 CA$5.05

$2.44 CA$3.45

46.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 CA$4.03

$3.09 CA$4.37

-7.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 CA$3.99

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.6 CA$125

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.92 CA$4.13

$3.12 CA$4.41

-6.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 CA$1.95

$1.35 CA$1.91

2.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.67 CA$29.22

$27.02 CA$38.20

-23.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 CA$1.45

$1.16 CA$1.64

-11.21%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.3K CA$40.0K

$27.9K CA$39.5K

1.27%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$19.4K CA$27.4K

$20.3K CA$28.8K

-4.74%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$225 CA$318

$161 CA$227

39.97%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$43.04 CA$60.8

$38.13 CA$53.9

12.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.3 CA$76.7

$50.0 CA$70.7

8.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 CA$72.8

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.14 CA$25.64

Cinema Ticket

$12.61 CA$17.82

$13.82 CA$19.54

-8.76%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$761 CA$1,075

$786 CA$1,111

-3.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,434 CA$13.3K

$15.5K CA$21.8K

-38.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.35 CA$40.08

$58.3 CA$82.4

-51.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.05 CA$49.55

$39.27 CA$55.5

-10.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.5 CA$72.8

$89.8 CA$127

-42.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.9 CA$121

$110 CA$155

-21.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$860 CA$1,216

$1,229 CA$1,737

-30.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$840 CA$1,188

$1,001 CA$1,415

-16.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,544 CA$2,183

$1,921 CA$2,716

-19.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 CA$1,975

$1,621 CA$2,292

-13.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,549 CA$5,018

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,335 CA$4,715

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,084 CA$4,359

$3,165 CA$4,474

-2.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.32

4.51

-4.21%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cold Lake: October 12, 2026

Last update for Calgary: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cold Lake

$840 44%

Calgary

$1K 45% 19.1% $161

Groceries & Markets

Cold Lake

$335 17.5%

Calgary

$385 17.3% 15.2% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cold Lake

$322 16.9%

Calgary

$249 11.2% 22.8% $73

Eating Out

Cold Lake

$289 15.1%

Calgary

$265 11.9% 8.5% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cold Lake

$90 4.7%

Calgary

$134 6% 48% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Cold Lake

$25 * 1.3%

Calgary

$79 3.6% 214% $54

Getting Around

Cold Lake

$9.8 * 0.5%

Calgary

$110 4.9% 1017% $100

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $860 in Cold Lake and $1,229 in Calgary. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays 3% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $57.0 in Cold Lake vs $71.0 in Calgary for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $335 vs $385 per month, with Cold Lake cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Cold Lake

🇨🇦 Calgary

🕒 Local time

13:42 1:42 PM

Same time as Cold Lake

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,595

1,267,344

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Cold Lake Calgary 460 km

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Cold Lake
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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cold Lake vs Calgary: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cold Lake is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 16% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Calgary. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $860 in Cold Lake versus $1,229 in Calgary. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $761 in Cold Lake versus $786 in Calgary. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cold Lake – a meal for two runs $57.0 versus $71.0 in Calgary. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,912 in Cold Lake versus $2,223 in Calgary, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Cold Lake but tight or insufficient in Calgary. The gap between the two cities makes Cold Lake the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Cold Lake gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Calgary. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.