Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamilton and St Albans

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamilton: $2,306 a month against $2,894 in St Albans, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index
141

Cost of Living Index in St Albans
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St Albans Living Index

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Hamilton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,306

/mo nomad

St Albans

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,894

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hamilton and in St Albans

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,306 in Hamilton versus $2,894 in St Albans.

Hamilton $2,306
St Albans $2,894

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,384 in Hamilton versus $4,095 in St Albans.

Hamilton $3,384
St Albans $4,095

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,461 in Hamilton versus $5,295 in St Albans.

Hamilton $4,461
St Albans $5,295

Living in Hamilton costs roughly 20% less than in St Albans, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hamilton 70% above, St Albans 114% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.71 CA$25.03

$20.89 £15.68

-15.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.7 CA$94.3

$88.8 £66.6

-24.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.15 CA$17.18

$9.24 £6.94

31.49%

Cappuccino

$3.39 CA$4.79

$4.45 £3.34

-23.82%

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

$2.15 CA$3.04

$2.75 £2.06

-21.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 CA$2.40

$1.93 £1.45

-11.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 CA$7.09

$6.78 £5.09

-25.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 CA$8.74

$6.58 £4.94

-6.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 CA$2.74

$1.64 £1.23

18.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 CA$2.88

$1.62 £1.21

25.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.10 CA$4.38

$2.46 £1.84

26.02%

Eggs

$3.34 CA$4.72

$4.35 £3.26

-23.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.91 CA$11.18

$9.74 £7.31

-18.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.17 CA$15.79

$9.40 £7.06

18.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.60 CA$20.65

$13.60 £10.20

7.35%

Apples (1kg)

$4.08 CA$5.77

$3.02 £2.27

35.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 CA$1.84

$1.36 £1.02

-4.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.87 CA$5.47

$2.16 £1.62

79.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.69 CA$5.22

$3.23 £2.43

14.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 CA$3.75

$1.67 £1.25

58.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 CA$2.82

$1.48 £1.11

35.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.99 CA$2.81

$1.29 £0.97

54.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 CA$1.83

$1.96 £1.47

-34.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.49 CA$17.66

$22.35 £16.77

-44.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.40 CA$20.36

$10.49 £7.87

37.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 CA$3.74

$2.78 £2.09

-4.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 CA$5.61

$3.15 £2.36

26.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.52 CA$3.56

$2.97 £2.22

-15.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 CA$123

$82.4 £61.8

5.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 CA$5.00

$3.93 £2.95

-9.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 CA$1.78

$2.43 £1.82

-48.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.47 CA$33.18

$50.0 £37.51

-53.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 CA$1.65

$2.06 £1.54

-43.20%

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

$26.4K CA$37.3K

$38.4K £28.8K

-31.38%

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

$22.0K CA$31.1K

$39.9K £29.9K

-44.93%

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

$154 CA$217

$339 £254

-54.65%

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

$42.63 CA$60.3

$18.74 £14.06

127.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.1 CA$72.2

$42.04 £31.54

21.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.84 CA$53.5

$52.5 £39.37

-27.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.39 CA$24.59

$13.52 £10.14

28.62%

Cinema Ticket

$10.32 CA$14.59

$19.58 £14.69

-47.29%

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

$610 CA$862

$2,535 £1,902

-75.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K CA$23.0K

$10.5K £7,853

55.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.77 CA$68.9

$78.6 £59.0

-37.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.28 CA$44.22

$46.58 £34.95

-32.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.6 CA$122

$93.1 £69.8

-6.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 CA$169

$122 £91.7

-2.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,239 CA$1,752

$1,870 £1,403

-33.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,157 CA$1,635

$1,523 £1,142

-24.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,032 CA$2,873

$2,953 £2,215

-31.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,882 CA$2,660

$2,339 £1,755

-19.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,708 CA$3,828

$9,224 £6,920

-70.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,733 CA$3,863

$6,833 £5,126

-60.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,989 CA$4,225

$2,972 £2,229

0.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.6

5.4

-14.81%

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

Last update for Hamilton: October 19, 2026

Last update for St Albans: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hamilton

$1.2K 50.2%

St Albans

$1.5K 52.6% 31.7% $366

Groceries & Markets

Hamilton

$336 14.6%

St Albans

$303 10.5% 10.1% $34

Eating Out

Hamilton

$272 11.8%

St Albans

$314 10.9% 15.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamilton

$248 10.7%

St Albans

$400 13.8% 61.6% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Hamilton

$129 5.6%

St Albans

$153 5.3% 19.1% $25

Getting Around

Hamilton

$107 4.6%

St Albans

$110 3.8% 3.3% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Hamilton

$58 2.5%

St Albans

$92 3.2% 56.7% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,239 in Hamilton and $1,870 in St Albans. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Hamilton vs $89.0 in St Albans. Groceries flip the comparison at $336 vs $303, with St Albans cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Hamilton

🇬🇧 St Albans

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

20:30 8:30 PM

5 h ahead of Hamilton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

519,949

57,795

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hamilton St Albans 5,750 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamilton
St Albans

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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

Hamilton vs St Albans: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamilton is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 26% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1% higher in Hamilton, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,239 in Hamilton versus $1,870 in St Albans. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $610 in Hamilton versus $2,535 in St Albans. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in St Albans pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,306 in Hamilton versus $2,894 in St Albans, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Hamilton but tight or insufficient in St Albans. The gap between the two cities makes Hamilton the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Hamilton is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in St Albans, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Hamilton gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in St Albans. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.