City snapshot
Cost of living in Charlottetown
Charlottetown offers island charm, historic significance, and fresh seafood in Atlantic Canada.
3-category planning baseline
$1,572
Total annual: $18,864
Balanced salary needed
$42,400
Balanced
Population
96,516
2025 · Charlottetown (CA), Prince Edward Island · Statistics Canada
Crime Severity Index
72.6
Prince Edward Island proxy
Official Basic-Needs Budgets
Market Basket Measure totals and advertised rent answer different questions. Rent is not added to the budget total because the MBM already includes a shelter component.
Data coverage: 79% (B) · 2025
Advertised Rent
2025 · Prince Edward Island
Local Indicators
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
3-category planning baseline
Compact estimated baseline for cross-city planning. The observed advertised rent above is the canonical market-rent value.
Move-in costs
Generic planning assumption only. Provincial rules and your lease may permit a different deposit.
Plan the next step
City profile
Housing and rent
Small-market supply can be tight even when headline costs look moderate.
Planning rent estimate (1bd): $1,066 · Total monthly: $1,572
Commute and daily life
Compact car commuting with local transit
Safety context
Charlottetown's safety snapshot uses the Crime Severity Index for Prince Edward Island proxy. CSI compares police-reported crime volume and seriousness; it is not a neighbourhood-level risk score.
- Crime Severity Index
- 72.6
- Violent CSI
- 79.7
- Non-violent CSI
- 70.4
Data note: CSI uses Prince Edward Island provincial data because Charlottetown is not published separately in the selected CSI table.
How this city compares
Charlottetown ranks #44 of 47 tracked cities by the 3-category planning baseline and is -$592 versus the cross-city average.
Salary guide for this city
Use these gross salary ranges as planning targets before running a detailed after-tax scenario for Charlottetown.
Best for
Charlottetown is strongest for birthplace of canadian confederation and a lower baseline than the tracked-city average.
Watch out for
Planning rent estimate (1bd) is the largest cost driver in the baseline. Plan around $1,572 per month before discretionary spending, plus about $5,232 for a basic move-in setup.
Local reality check
Rent represents about 68% of the baseline essentials shown here. Compared with the tracked-city average, this city is -$592.
Living in Charlottetown: what to budget for
Use this page as a starting point for Charlottetown: monthly essentials, move-in cash, salary targets, local population context, housing notes and safety data are shown together so you can move from research to a concrete budget.
Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island, known as the "Birthplace of Confederation."
The city combines historic charm with modern amenities on Canada's smallest province.
Housing costs are moderate but limited inventory exists due to island geography.
The city is famous for fresh seafood, beautiful beaches, and the Anne of Green Gables connection.
Highlights
- Birthplace of Canadian Confederation
- Island lifestyle
- World-famous seafood
- Beautiful red sand beaches
- Anne of Green Gables heritage
Common questions
- What is included in Charlottetown's monthly baseline?
- The baseline includes a 1-bedroom rent estimate, groceries and transport for one adult. It is a planning baseline, not a quote.
- Why do some metrics use a CMA or province?
- National public datasets often publish city data by census metropolitan area, census agglomeration, province or territory. The geography is shown beside each metric.
- How should I use the Charlottetown salary estimate?
- Use it as a gross-income target, then run the income calculator with your province, city and real costs.
Sources and methodology
- Population: Statistics Canada table 17-10-0148-01, latest annual estimate; Census Profile fallback when noted.
- Crime Severity Index: Statistics Canada table 35-10-0026-01, latest published year.
- Basic-needs budgets: MBM tables 11-10-0066-01 and 11-10-0104-01. Advertised rent: Quarterly Rent Statistics table 46-10-0092-01.
Data used on this page
Advertised rent, basic-needs budgets, and local indicators each retain their own period, geography, and method.