{"id":37626,"date":"2025-06-04T16:54:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T20:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?p=37626"},"modified":"2025-06-18T08:51:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T12:51:32","slug":"us-vs-canada-housing-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/us-vs-canada-housing-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing Affordability in the US vs. Canada: Why American Buyers Are Getting More for Less"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whether you live north or south of the Canada-United States border, housing affordability is deteriorating. American and Canadian homeowners have both had to grapple with rising inflation, inventory shortages, and increased borrowing costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite these similarities, one economic difference stands out: income. On average, American homeowners earn more than their Canadian counterparts, giving them a relative advantage in terms of housing affordability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, far fewer Canadian cities meet the traditional affordability benchmark where housing costs are less than 30% of household income. In just 20.7% of the Canadian cities we analyzed, average monthly mortgage payments were less than 30% of household income, compared to 45.5% of American cities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand how affordability differs across the border, Zoocasa analyzed average monthly mortgage payments in 33 U.S. cities and 29 Canadian cities. We then compared those payments to each city\u2019s median household income to calculate the percentage of income going toward housing costs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All figures are in USD. Canadian dollar figures were converted to US dollars at an exchange rate of 1 CAD = 0.72366 USD, according to Forbes Advisor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s Priciest Cities Outpace the Most Expensive in America<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

On average, Canadian mortgage payments account for 46% of household income, while in the U.S., the average is 34.2%. The evidence is clear: Canadians are stretching their paychecks further than Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This disparity is further highlighted by the fact that the four most unaffordable cities in North America are all Canadian: Vancouver<\/a>, Toronto<\/a>, Victoria<\/a>, and Abbotsford<\/a>. In these cities, a median-income household\u2019s budget is so over-extended that it would be nearly impossible to afford to buy a home without outside help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Vancouver, the median household income of $57,527 falls well short of covering the average monthly mortgage payment of $5,423. That means a typical household would need to spend more than 100% of its annual income on mortgage costs alone, clearly unmanageable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, San Francisco<\/a>, the least affordable U.S. city, requires residents to spend 65% of their income on housing. While still well above affordability guidelines, there is a stark difference between the two West Coast cities. is stark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n