Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Hamilton

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamilton: $2,253 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Hamilton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,253

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Portsmouth and in Hamilton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,763 in Portsmouth versus $2,253 in Hamilton.

Portsmouth $2,763
Hamilton $2,253

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,798 in Portsmouth versus $3,331 in Hamilton.

Portsmouth $3,798
Hamilton $3,331

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,834 in Portsmouth versus $4,408 in Hamilton.

Portsmouth $4,834
Hamilton $4,408

Living in Portsmouth is roughly 23% more expensive than in Hamilton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Portsmouth 105% above, Hamilton 67% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 £14.86

$17.21 CA$24.33

15.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 £49.78

$65.7 CA$92.8

1.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.34 £7.76

$11.87 CA$16.77

-12.89%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$3.37 CA$4.77

42.14%

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

$2.66 £1.99

$2.22 CA$3.14

19.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.71

$1.69 CA$2.39

34.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.18 £4.63

$4.99 CA$7.05

23.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.38

$6.03 CA$8.52

-3.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.89 CA$2.67

-25.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$2.12 CA$2.99

-25.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$3.13 CA$4.43

17.89%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$3.33 CA$4.70

1.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 £9.95

$7.88 CA$11.13

68.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 £6.24

$11.30 CA$15.98

-26.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 £9.77

$14.24 CA$20.13

-8.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$3.81 CA$5.38

1.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.27 CA$1.79

50.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$3.98 CA$5.63

-28.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.51

$3.82 CA$5.40

-12.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$2.71 CA$3.83

-39.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.91 CA$2.69

-14.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.95 CA$2.75

-38.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.33 CA$1.88

14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.07 £17.31

$12.49 CA$17.65

84.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$13.95 CA$19.72

-19.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$2.65 CA$3.74

10.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$3.77 CA$5.33

-43.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.08 £3.06

$2.56 CA$3.62

59.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.0 £66.0

$84.1 CA$119

4.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 £3.87

$3.36 CA$4.76

53.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.28 CA$1.82

25.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.02 £15.02

$23.24 CA$32.85

-13.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.21 CA$1.71

71.90%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$27.6K CA$39.1K

39.80%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$19.6K CA$27.7K

104.66%

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

$654 £491

$152 CA$214

331.62%

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

$14.83 £11.12

$41.21 CA$58.3

-64.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$50.2 CA$70.9

-16.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 £28.80

$36.85 CA$52.1

4.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.86

$17.62 CA$24.91

-2.67%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £7.99

$10.23 CA$14.46

4.11%

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

$1,249 £937

$600 CA$848

108.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$16.6K CA$23.4K

21.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$47.93 CA$67.8

88.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$30.45 CA$43.05

30.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 £74.0

$83.8 CA$118

17.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 £89.8

$114 CA$161

5.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 £1,093

$1,251 CA$1,769

16.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$1,123 CA$1,588

-2.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,091 £1,569

$2,042 CA$2,887

2.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$1,873 CA$2,647

-8.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,504 £3,378

$2,695 CA$3,810

67.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,703 £2,778

$2,668 CA$3,771

38.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,350 £2,513

$2,860 CA$4,044

17.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

4.6

12.17%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Hamilton: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8%

Hamilton

$1.1K 49.9% 2.3% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$711 25.7%

Hamilton

$243 10.8% 65.8% $468

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$310 11.2%

Hamilton

$335 14.9% 7.9% $24

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$309 11.2%

Hamilton

$266 11.8% 13.8% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$157 5.7%

Hamilton

$124 5.5% 20.8% $33

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$118 4.3%

Hamilton

$104 4.6% 11.4% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$60 2.2%

Hamilton

$57 2.5% 4% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,457 in Portsmouth and $1,251 in Hamilton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays 17% 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: $66.0 in Portsmouth vs $66.0 in Hamilton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $335 per month, with Portsmouth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇨🇦 Hamilton

🕒 Local time

18:27 6:27 PM

13:27 1:27 PM

5 h behind Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

519,949

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Portsmouth Hamilton 5,740 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
Hamilton

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

Portsmouth vs Hamilton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamilton is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 23% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Portsmouth, 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: $1,457 in Portsmouth versus $1,251 in Hamilton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,249 in Portsmouth versus $600 in Hamilton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Portsmouth pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,253 in Hamilton versus $2,763 in Portsmouth, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Hamilton but tight or insufficient in Portsmouth. 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 Portsmouth, 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 23% less than in Portsmouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.