Cost of living comparison

compared to

Medicine Hat vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Medicine Hat is 9.1% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 3.2% less in Medicine Hat
Groceries: pay 24.5% less in Medicine Hat
Transportation: pay 13.8% less in Medicine Hat
Housing: pay 9.4% less in Medicine Hat
Childcare: pay 3.1% more in Medicine Hat
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.7% more in Medicine Hat
Clothing: pay 20.6% less in Medicine Hat

The cost of entertainment and sports and childcare in Medicine Hat are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including groceries, clothing, transportation, housing, and restaurants are lower in Medicine Hat.

Medicine Hat vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Medicine Hat instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.2% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	Medicine Hat
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$24.97	$15.07 CA$20.93	-16.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.28	$10.05 CA$13.95	-8.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.78	$2.00 CA$2.78	-0.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.16	$1.75 CA$2.42	+12.1%
Average			-3.2%

Ottawa vs. Medicine Hat - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.5% less for groceries

	Ottawa	Medicine Hat
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.79	$1.82 CA$2.53	-33.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.12	$4.07 CA$5.65	-30.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$12.02	$5.58 CA$7.75	-35.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.88	$3.24 CA$4.50	-7.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$7.97	$4.94 CA$6.86	-14.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.65	$1.70 CA$2.36	-10.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.83	$0.59 CA$0.83	-0.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.26	$1.12 CA$1.56	-31.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.31	$1.49 CA$2.07	-10.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.54	$0.65 CA$0.90	-41.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.03	$0.67 CA$0.93	-53.9%
Average			-24.5%

Ottawa vs. Medicine Hat - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.8% less for transportation

	Ottawa	Medicine Hat
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.62	$3.71 CA$5.15	-8.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$134.86	$50.59 CA$70.25	-47.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$33,943.58	$24,382.26 CA$33,856.70	-0.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.58	$15.07 CA$20.93	+1.7%
Average			-13.8%

Ottawa vs. Medicine Hat - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.4% less for housing

	Ottawa	Medicine Hat
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.33	$60.15 CA$83.52	+20.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,016.99	$801.31 CA$1,112.68	-44.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,706.16	$717.59 CA$996.43	-41.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$165.14	$152.49 CA$211.75	+28.2%
Average			-9.4%

Ottawa vs. Medicine Hat - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1% more for childcare

	Ottawa	Medicine Hat
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,094.45	$841.80 CA$1,168.90	+6.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$21,874.73	$15,667.38 CA$21,755.39	-0.5%
Average			+3.1%

Ottawa vs. Medicine Hat - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Medicine Hat
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$7.99	$5.74 CA$7.97	-0.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.20	$3.72 CA$5.16	-0.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$17.98	$11.48 CA$15.94	-11.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$61.94	$54.78 CA$76.06	+22.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$14.98	$12.20 CA$16.94	+13.0%
Average			+4.7%

Ottawa vs. Medicine Hat - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.6% less for clothing

	Ottawa	Medicine Hat
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.35	$51.67 CA$71.74	-2.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$54.04	$26.91 CA$37.37	-30.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$120.94	$67.45 CA$93.66	-22.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$129.01	$68.17 CA$94.66	-26.6%
Average			-20.6%

Ottawa vs. Medicine Hat - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2026

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