To comfortably afford a Victoria one-bedroom, you now need to be making $75K

The cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment continues to soar across the country, and Victoria is no exception. According to the latest monthly Rentals.ca report, the average monthly rent for a currently listed one-bedroom in Victoria rose to $1,870 in May 2022—up 13.4% from May 2021.

In the report’s ranking of Canada’s most expensive cities for one-bedrooms, Victoria has risen from #14 a couple months ago to #9 (Vancouver is #1). For two-bedrooms, Victoria continues to be #3 in Canada.

At an average of $2,896 per month, the cost of a two-bedroom has nearly tripled in the past 10 years. May’s two-bedroom average also represents a huge 36% jump from just a year ago—the biggest increase out of any of the 35 major Canadian municipalities in the report.

The math

‍ It’s recommended that renters should spend no more than 30% of their monthly income (before taxes) on housing, but these days that may be inconceivable for many. For one person to comfortably afford a one-bedroom at current prices, they would need to make at least $74,800 per year—and that’s assuming all utility costs are included in the rent, which they often are not.

In Victoria, the median household income was listed at $70,197 before taxes in a 2016 CMHC report. This means an affordable rent would be $1,755/month.

One person could comfortably afford a two-bedroom at the current average if they brought home $115,840 annually. Two people could afford to live in the average two-bedroom if they each earned an annual salary of $57,920. For comparison, a person making BC’s new minimum wage would make $31,300 by working 40 hours/week for 50 weeks of the year.

‍ On top of high prices, few places are available

‍ Even for those who can afford current prices, finding a rental is still challenging because supply remains so low. Victoria realtor Curtis Lindsay tweeted last month that one of his clients listed their one-bedroom condo for rent at $1,800 and received 45 applications in 12 hours.

"I don’t think anyone fully grasps the rental crisis here in #VictoriaBC," he tweeted on May 5. "They were completely overwhelmed with personal stories/situations."

As prices continue to balloon, more and more people will struggle to find and keep housing in Victoria. And as Capital Daily reported last month, there are limited avenues for would-be renters to find a place to live.