Cost of living comparison
compared to
Waterloo vs. Toronto Cost of Living Summary
Waterloo is 18.1% cheaper than Toronto.
Waterloo vs. Toronto Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Waterloo instead of Toronto, you would:
pay 5.4% less for restaurants
|
Toronto
|
Waterloo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.53
CA$24.75
|
$16.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.52
CA$14.85
|
$9.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.08
CA$2.93
|
$2.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.71
CA$2.42
|
$2.00
|
|
Toronto vs. Waterloo - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.7% less for groceries
|
Toronto
|
Waterloo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.74
CA$3.87
|
$2.37
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.56
CA$6.44
|
$6.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.44
CA$13.33
|
$3.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.54
CA$4.99
|
$3.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.16
CA$7.28
|
$5.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.68
CA$2.37
|
$2.13
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
CA$0.76
|
$0.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.59
CA$2.24
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.95
CA$2.75
|
$1.99
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.82
CA$1.16
|
$0.51
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.73
CA$1.04
|
$0.99
|
|
Toronto vs. Waterloo - Cost of groceries
pay 6.1% more for transportation
|
Toronto
|
Waterloo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.68
CA$6.60
|
$3.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$109.41
CA$154.46
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,760.48
CA$39,188.08
|
$35,957.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.80
CA$18.07
|
$20.00
|
|
Toronto vs. Waterloo - Cost of transportation
pay 36.9% less for housing
|
Toronto
|
Waterloo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$47.87
CA$67.57
|
$60.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,584.56
CA$2,236.84
|
$851.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.89
CA$2,000.15
|
$746.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$92.23
CA$130.19
|
$114.71
|
|
Toronto vs. Waterloo - Cost of housing
pay 44.4% more for childcare
|
Toronto
|
Waterloo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$824.14
CA$1,163.40
|
$1,722.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,500.21
CA$33,174.07
|
$23,429.75
|
|
Toronto vs. Waterloo - Cost of childcare
pay 11.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Toronto
|
Waterloo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.31
CA$8.91
|
$4.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.97
CA$5.61
|
$5.73
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.03
CA$19.80
|
$8.11
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.35
CA$54.13
|
$27.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.62
CA$17.82
|
$15.00
|
|
Toronto vs. Waterloo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 50.8% less for clothing
|
Toronto
|
Waterloo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.64
CA$72.90
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.51
CA$55.77
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.10
CA$138.48
|
$59.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$122.24
CA$172.55
|
$80.00
|
|
Toronto vs. Waterloo - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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