Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St.Catharines and Calgary

For one person, living costs are similar in St.Catharines and in Calgary: $2,309 and $2,255 a month, rent and utilities included.

112

Cost of Living Index in St.Catharines
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St.Catharines Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index

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St.Catharines

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,309

/mo nomad

Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,255

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,309 in St.Catharines versus $2,255 in Calgary.

St.Catharines $2,309
Calgary $2,255

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,210 in St.Catharines versus $3,361 in Calgary.

St.Catharines $3,210
Calgary $3,361

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,111 in St.Catharines versus $4,468 in Calgary.

St.Catharines $4,111
Calgary $4,468

Living in St.Catharines is roughly 2% more expensive than in Calgary, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St.Catharines 70% above, Calgary 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.32 CA$20.24

$17.58 CA$24.85

-18.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.6 CA$81.5

$69.1 CA$97.6

-16.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.63 CA$17.86

$10.59 CA$14.97

19.26%

Cappuccino

$3.03 CA$4.29

$3.84 CA$5.42

-21.09%

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

$1.65 CA$2.34

$1.93 CA$2.72

-14.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 CA$2.27

$1.88 CA$2.66

-14.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.65 CA$6.58

$5.09 CA$7.20

-8.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 CA$6.52

$5.64 CA$7.97

-18.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.09 CA$2.96

$2.00 CA$2.82

4.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 CA$3.08

$2.78 CA$3.93

-21.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.60 CA$6.50

$5.59 CA$7.90

-17.71%

Eggs

$4.28 CA$6.06

$3.70 CA$5.23

15.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.90 CA$21.06

$11.48 CA$16.23

29.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.22 CA$15.86

$11.20 CA$15.84

0.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 CA$19.85

$18.59 CA$26.28

-24.48%

Apples (1kg)

$5.19 CA$7.34

$4.70 CA$6.64

10.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 CA$1.57

$1.45 CA$2.05

-23.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.36 CA$6.17

$4.34 CA$6.13

0.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.14 CA$5.85

$3.79 CA$5.36

9.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$2.69 CA$3.81

4.83%

Onion (1kg)

$4.39 CA$6.20

$2.75 CA$3.88

59.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.60 CA$3.67

$2.56 CA$3.62

1.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 CA$1.83

$1.50 CA$2.12

-14.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.73 CA$19.41

$14.39 CA$20.34

-4.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.65 CA$17.88

$15.81 CA$22.35

-19.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 CA$4.24

$2.47 CA$3.49

21.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 CA$4.28

$3.10 CA$4.39

-2.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.46 CA$3.48

$2.81 CA$3.97

-12.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$70.9 CA$100

$90.6 CA$128

-21.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.88 CA$4.07

$3.28 CA$4.64

-12.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.22 CA$3.14

$1.40 CA$1.97

58.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.28 CA$31.50

$26.49 CA$37.45

-15.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 CA$1.63

$1.22 CA$1.72

-5.74%

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

$26.4K CA$37.4K

$28.4K CA$40.1K

-6.89%

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

$22.0K CA$31.1K

$20.8K CA$29.5K

5.53%

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

$178 CA$251

$165 CA$233

8.05%

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

$33.39 CA$47.21

$38.24 CA$54.1

-12.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.75 CA$67.5

$50.1 CA$70.9

-4.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.41 CA$44.41

$53.8 CA$76.1

-41.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.10 CA$58.1

$18.04 CA$25.51

127.83%

Cinema Ticket

$11.04 CA$15.60

$14.04 CA$19.84

-21.37%

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

$504 CA$713

$797 CA$1,126

-36.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.6K CA$39.0K

$15.8K CA$22.3K

74.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.6 CA$104

$59.1 CA$83.5

24.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.2 CA$73.8

$40.20 CA$56.8

29.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 CA$113

$90.8 CA$128

-11.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.7 CA$108

$109 CA$155

-29.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,210 CA$1,710

$1,207 CA$1,707

0.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,159 CA$1,638

$1,011 CA$1,429

14.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,707 CA$2,413

$1,949 CA$2,756

-12.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,557 CA$2,201

$1,677 CA$2,371

-7.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,026 CA$4,277

$3,532 CA$4,993

-14.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,705 CA$3,824

$3,392 CA$4,795

-20.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,969 CA$4,198

$3,152 CA$4,456

-5.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.71

4.51

26.61%

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

Last update for St.Catharines: October 17, 2026

Last update for Calgary: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St.Catharines

$1.2K 50.2%

Calgary

$1K 44.8% 12.8% $148

Groceries & Markets

St.Catharines

$381 16.5%

Calgary

$392 17.4% 2.7% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St.Catharines

$259 11.2%

Calgary

$253 11.2% 2.3% $6

Eating Out

St.Catharines

$234 10.2%

Calgary

$270 12% 15.4% $36

Clothing & Footwear

St.Catharines

$127 5.5%

Calgary

$135 6% 6% $7.6

Getting Around

St.Catharines

$95 4.1%

Calgary

$112 5% 18.3% $17

Sport & Entertainment

St.Catharines

$53 2.3%

Calgary

$82 3.6% 53.1% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,210 in St.Catharines and $1,207 in Calgary. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays 6% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $58.0 in St.Catharines vs $69.0 in Calgary for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $381 vs $392 per month, with St.Catharines cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St.Catharines

🇨🇦 Calgary

🕒 Local time

19:25 7:25 PM

17:25 5:25 PM

2 h behind St.Catharines

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

133,113

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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St.Catharines Calgary 2,750 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

St.Catharines vs Calgary: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St.Catharines and Calgary differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($2,309 vs $2,255 including rent). Calgary is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 6% 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: $1,210 in St.Catharines versus $1,207 in Calgary. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $69.0 versus $58.0 in St.Catharines. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,309 per month in St.Catharines versus $2,255 in Calgary – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,255 in Calgary versus $2,309 in St.Catharines, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Calgary but tight or insufficient in St.Catharines. The gap between the two cities makes Calgary 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 Calgary gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in St.Catharines. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.