Cost of living comparison
compared to
St John vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
St John is 47.5% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.4% more in St John
- Groceries
-
pay 2.2 times more in St John
- Transportation
-
pay 48.2% more in St John
- Childcare
-
pay 14.3% less in St John
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 63.0% more in St John
The cost of groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and restaurants in St John are more expensive than in Ottawa. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in St John.
St John vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in St John instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 16.4% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
St John
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.87
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.22
|
$8.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.77
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$2.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. St John - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.2 times more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
St John
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.77
|
$5.51
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.09
|
$8.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.97
|
$11.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.86
|
$7.80
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.94
|
$12.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.64
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$3.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$4.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.02
|
$2.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. St John - Cost of groceries
pay 48.2% more for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
St John
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.60
|
$6.00
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$134.31
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.49
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. St John - Cost of transportation
pay (unknown) more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
St John
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.04
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
|
?? | |
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.46
|
?? |
Ottawa vs. St John - Cost of housing
pay 14.3% less for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
St John
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,089.93
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
|
$13,500.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. St John - Cost of childcare
pay 63.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
St John
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.96
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.18
|
$7.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.91
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.68
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.92
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. St John - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
St John
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.05
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.81
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.44
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.48
|
?? |
Ottawa vs. St John - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Canada vs. Virgin Islands.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and Virgin Islands.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about St John or Ottawa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.