Canada Housing Market

Toronto’s rental market may finally be cooling, but affordability remains out of reach for many residents, even those earning close to six figures. A new national report from SingleKey shows that the average Toronto renter now earns $94,370, making them the highest-earning tenants in Canada. Still, the path to homeownership in the city is slipping further out of reach.

Toronto Renters Earn the Most in Canada

According to SingleKey’s analysis of hundreds of thousands of rental applications across the country, Toronto renters have stronger financial profiles than tenants in Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax, and even Vancouver.

Key findings include:

• Average Toronto renter income: $94,370
• National average renter income: $67,536
• Average Toronto rent: $2,581
• Average monthly non-mortgage debt payments: ~$693

Despite higher living costs, Toronto renters boast:

• The highest credit scores of any major city surveyed
• Lower rent-to-income ratios than the national average
• Lower rent+debt-to-income ratios compared to other large urban centers
• Lower rates of insolvency issues, including:
  • Bankruptcy: 1.1 percent (vs. 3.3 percent nationally)
  • Collections issues: 4.3 percent (vs. 11.6 percent nationally)

This data shows that Toronto tenants are financially stable overall, but stability does not equal affordability.

Why Toronto Renters Still Can’t Buy

Even with impressive incomes, today’s renters are locked out of the market due to high home prices, steep mortgage qualification requirements, and rapid population growth.

The report highlights a major shift: renting is no longer a transitional phase for young adults. Instead, it has become a long-term lifestyle.

Renting Is No Longer Short-Term

The typical Toronto renter is now 34 years old, compared to the traditional idea of renting in your 20s before purchasing a home. SingleKey notes that renting nationwide has evolved into a long-term stage of life, with:

• Median renter age: 31 to 33 years
• 12 percent of renting households now raising children
• Families increasingly staying in rentals rather than transitioning to ownership

This signals that affordability challenges are not temporary – they are structural.

The 30 Percent Rule Isn’t Cutting It Anymore

Toronto renters spend an average of 30.6 percent of their income on rent, placing them in the middle of the cities surveyed. While this sits just above the recommended threshold for a “comfortable” living wage, it still reflects growing strain as incomes fail to keep pace with housing costs.

Other major cities exceed Toronto’s ratio:

• Vancouver: 35.6 percent
• Halifax: 34.2 percent
• Montreal: 32.3 percent

Even in cities with cheaper housing, affordability is worsening.

What This Means Going Forward

The data paints a clear picture:

• Toronto renters are highly qualified, financially stable, and earning strong incomes.
• Despite this, homeownership remains unattainable for many due to price growth, borrowing costs, and competition.
• Renting is no longer a brief stop before buying – it is now the long-term norm for a large percentage of Canadians.

As affordability challenges deepen across the country, the gap between income growth and housing costs continues to define the Canadian real estate landscape.

Source: SingleKey

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Get weekly insights on home prices, real estate trends, and breaking news in Canada’s housing market.
Stay informed. Stay ahead.