One TikToker is suggesting Torontonians need to make $120,000 a year or couples need to make $20,000 a month combined to live comfortably in the city.
Jim Chuong, known on social media as the The Lazy Canadian Investor, crunched the numbers in a recent video posted to Instagram.
In the video, Chuong breaks down the cost of living in Toronto for a hypothetical couple where both people make $120,000 per year, claiming that monthly wages per person after tax would be about $7,162, or just over $14,000 a month in joint income.
Chuong frequently publishes free investor guides and claims to have turned a small amount of money into a multi-million dollar retirement.
“I speak the truth about money, the education system, working in corporate, and what it really takes to live a rich relaxing life,” his X bio says.
In the video, Chuong defines comfort as “not living paycheck to paycheck,” and being able to afford paying for food, shelter, transportation and clothing.
He allocates funds for a car, day care, if applicable, and various other necessities, including rental or mortgage payments, which he sets at $4,000 and $5,000 respectively, as well as $4,000 a month in retirement contributions.
Now Toronto reached out to Jim Chuong for comment, but did not receive a comment in time of publication.
But Chuong’s financial calculations are unattainable for most Toronto residents.
According to the City of Toronto’s latest figures, the average hourly wage in Toronto is $37.12, which is above the living wage for the region, currently set at $25.05 per hour, the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) says.
However, Toronto’s average hourly wage still falls short of Chuong’s salary comfortability baseline. A person making $37.12 an hour, 40 hours a week, will earn just over $5,900 in monthly income before tax.
One Toronto worker who makes minimum wage plus tips as a restaurant server told Now Toronto that to her a comfortable lifestyle means “having an apartment I feel safe in, and not having to worry about how much I can spend on my groceries.”
“Buying a snack to me is a luxury since I’ve moved out,” she said.
Another Toronto woman said she thought $60,000 or above for a single person would be enough to live comfortably in the city, and that the minimum wage should match the living wage, at the very least.
“[People should have] guaranteed amounts of money for food, rent and any expenses…because of inflation, especially with food, and that’s something that as humans we should all have access to,” she concluded.
READ MORE: The living wage in the GTA is now over $25/hr: report
According to the OLWN, a living wage is the hourly wage a worker needs to earn to cover their basic expenses and be an active member of society.
The OLWN says a living wage includes food, clothing, shelter, child care, transportation, medical expenses, recreation and enough for a modest vacation.
It does not include retirement savings, debt repayment, home ownership, savings for children’s education, or anything other than the smallest cushion for emergencies or hard times.
Conversely, a minimum wage is the legal minimum all employers must pay and is set by the provincial government.
The Ontario minimum wage is $16.55 an hour, and is set to increase to $17.20 on October 1.
