Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Albans and Hamilton

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.

141

Cost of Living Index in St Albans
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St Albans Living Index
111

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index

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St Albans

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,894

/mo nomad

Hamilton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,306

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St Albans 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 St Albans and in Hamilton actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

St Albans $2,894
Hamilton $2,306

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

St Albans $4,095
Hamilton $3,384

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

St Albans $5,295
Hamilton $4,461

Living in St Albans is roughly 26% more expensive than in Hamilton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.89 £15.68

$17.71 CA$25.03

17.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.8 £66.6

$66.7 CA$94.3

33.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 £6.94

$12.15 CA$17.18

-23.95%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$3.39 CA$4.79

31.27%

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

$2.75 £2.06

$2.15 CA$3.04

27.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.70 CA$2.40

13.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$5.02 CA$7.09

35.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.58 £4.94

$6.18 CA$8.74

6.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.94 CA$2.74

-15.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 £1.21

$2.04 CA$2.88

-20.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.46 £1.84

$3.10 CA$4.38

-20.65%

Eggs

$4.35 £3.26

$3.34 CA$4.72

30.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.74 £7.31

$7.91 CA$11.18

23.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.40 £7.06

$11.17 CA$15.79

-15.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.60 £10.20

$14.60 CA$20.65

-6.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.27

$4.08 CA$5.77

-25.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.30 CA$1.84

4.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 £1.62

$3.87 CA$5.47

-44.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 £2.43

$3.69 CA$5.22

-12.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.65 CA$3.75

-36.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$2.00 CA$2.82

-26.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.99 CA$2.81

-35.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.29 CA$1.83

51.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.35 £16.77

$12.49 CA$17.66

78.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.49 £7.87

$14.40 CA$20.36

-27.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.09

$2.65 CA$3.74

4.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.36

$3.97 CA$5.61

-20.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.97 £2.22

$2.52 CA$3.56

17.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 £61.8

$87.0 CA$123

-5.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.93 £2.95

$3.54 CA$5.00

11.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 £1.82

$1.26 CA$1.78

92.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.0 £37.51

$23.47 CA$33.18

113.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.17 CA$1.65

76.07%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$26.4K CA$37.3K

45.72%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$22.0K CA$31.1K

81.60%

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

$339 £254

$154 CA$217

120.50%

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

$18.74 £14.06

$42.63 CA$60.3

-56.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.04 £31.54

$51.1 CA$72.2

-17.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.5 £39.37

$37.84 CA$53.5

38.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.52 £10.14

$17.39 CA$24.59

-22.25%

Cinema Ticket

$19.58 £14.69

$10.32 CA$14.59

89.73%

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

$2,535 £1,902

$610 CA$862

315.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K £7,853

$16.3K CA$23.0K

-35.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.6 £59.0

$48.77 CA$68.9

61.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.58 £34.95

$31.28 CA$44.22

48.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.1 £69.8

$86.6 CA$122

7.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 £91.7

$119 CA$169

2.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,870 £1,403

$1,239 CA$1,752

50.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,142

$1,157 CA$1,635

31.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,953 £2,215

$2,032 CA$2,873

45.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,339 £1,755

$1,882 CA$2,660

24.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,224 £6,920

$2,708 CA$3,828

240.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,833 £5,126

$2,733 CA$3,863

150.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,972 £2,229

$2,989 CA$4,225

-0.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

4.6

17.39%

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

Last update for St Albans: October 19, 2026

Last update for Hamilton: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Albans

$1.5K 52.6%

Hamilton

$1.2K 50.2% 24% $366

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Albans

$400 13.8%

Hamilton

$248 10.7% 38.1% $152

Eating Out

St Albans

$314 10.9%

Hamilton

$272 11.8% 13.5% $42

Groceries & Markets

St Albans

$303 10.5%

Hamilton

$336 14.6% 11.2% $34

Clothing & Footwear

St Albans

$153 5.3%

Hamilton

$129 5.6% 16% $25

Getting Around

St Albans

$110 3.8%

Hamilton

$107 4.6% 3.2% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

St Albans

$92 3.2%

Hamilton

$58 2.5% 36.2% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,870 in St Albans and $1,239 in Hamilton. 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: $89.0 in St Albans vs $67.0 in Hamilton. Groceries flip the comparison at $303 vs $336, with St Albans cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St Albans

🇨🇦 Hamilton

🕒 Local time

19:50 7:50 PM

14:50 2:50 PM

5 h behind St Albans

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

57,795

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 23, 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 23, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

St Albans
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

St Albans vs Hamilton: 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.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Hamilton. 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: $1,870 in St Albans versus $1,239 in Hamilton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,535 in St Albans versus $610 in Hamilton. 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.