Torontonians are sharing how much money they think they need to make to live comfortably in the city after a viral social media post sparked debate online.
A now viral TikTok video shows a woman criticizing individuals who believe that making more than $100,000 a year is not enough to live off of in Toronto.
“Saying a $120K salary is poor is a slap in the face to people that are actually poor,” she said.
The woman said that people who think such a salary is too much are simply not living within their means.
“It’s so common to see people with salaries in the 80th percentile barely scraping by because they can’t fathom not having Uber eats five times a week,” she said.
The video has since sparked a debate on social media, as a result, Now Toronto headed out on the streets of Toronto to ask locals how much money they think is enough to live comfortably in the city.
Colin says he thinks an ideal salary to live comfortably in the city is around $100,000 a year.
“Rent is high, food is not cheap,” he said. “Inflation goes up every year, no matter what. Tariffs aren’t helping. I think wages don’t match the cost of living.”
Another local named Naess says a comfortable wage is around $80,000 a year but does agree that the cost of living in the city is high and keeps on climbing.
“It’s gotten ridiculous,” he said. “Car insurance has gone up quite a bit, even hydro bills have gone up, groceries are definitely more expensive.”
Kris agrees with Naess, and says $80,000 a year should be enough to live comfortably in the city, especially if someone chooses to live downtown.
“Rents are pretty high here, and everyone’s always talking about rising grocery prices, which, if you do your own grocery shopping, you definitely feel. So, I think 80K, that’s getting by,” he said.
However, Jay tells Now Toronto that $70,000 a year is more than enough.
“That would cover you for your rent, your expenses, utilities, and a little bit of play money too,” he said.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, the median total household income in Toronto was $84,000, marking the lowest of all regions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Meanwhile, the median employment income (which consists of wages, salaries and commissions from paid employment) of residents aged 15 years and older in Toronto was $38,800.
While everyone’s expenses and circumstances may vary, Director of Communications for the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) Craig Pickthorne tells Now Toronto that the living wage in the Greater Toronto Area is currently higher than the minimum wage of $17.20. However, the minimum wage will increase to $17.60 per hour as of Oct. 1.
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“As released last year in November it is currently $26.00 per hour,” he said. “It actually went up at that time by 3.8 per cent.”
Pickthrone says the network conducts a study every year to determine the living wage across various regions in the province, assessing the cost of living from food, health care, shelter and more.
Pickthorne says Toronto’s living wage is the highest, compared to areas in South-Western Ontario such as London where the living wage is the lowest at $19.50 an hour.
The OWLN says without a living wage, adults are working longer hours, often even two jobs to make ends meet and meet basic necessities. The network is championing for employers across the province to start paying employees living wages, rather than the standard minimum wage.
The OWLN will release new figures on living wage rates for regions in Ontario this fall.
