City snapshot
Cost of living in Montreal
Montreal blends European charm with affordable living and world-renowned culture.
Monthly baseline
$1,619
Total annual: $19,428
Balanced salary needed
$43,200
Balanced
Population
4,291,732
Montréal CMA
Crime Severity Index
61.7
Montréal CMA
Cost breakdown
Move-in costs
Plan the next step
City profile
Housing and rent
Lower than Toronto/Vancouver but rising quickly in central and transit-rich areas.
Rent (1bd): $1,131 · Total monthly: $1,619
Commute and daily life
Metro, REM, bus, commuter rail and dense urban neighbourhoods
Safety context
Montreal's safety snapshot uses the Crime Severity Index for Montréal CMA. CSI compares police-reported crime volume and seriousness; it is not a neighbourhood-level risk score.
- Crime Severity Index
- 61.7
- Violent CSI
- 91.5
- Non-violent CSI
- 50.3
How this city compares
Montreal ranks #19 of 23 tracked cities by baseline monthly cost and is -$350 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 Montreal.
Best for
Montreal is strongest for most affordable major city and a lower baseline than the tracked-city average.
Watch out for
Rent (1bd) is the largest cost driver in the baseline. Plan around $1,619 per month before discretionary spending, plus about $5,362 for a basic move-in setup.
Local reality check
Rent represents about 70% of the baseline essentials shown here. Compared with the tracked-city average, this city is -$350.
Living in Montreal: what to budget for
Use this page as a starting point for Montreal: 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.
Montreal is Quebec's largest city, offering a unique blend of North American and European lifestyles.
The city boasts affordable housing costs compared to Toronto and Vancouver, plus excellent public transit.
French is the official language, though English is widely spoken in most neighborhoods and businesses.
Montreal's cultural scene includes world-class festivals, cuisine, and a vibrant arts community.
Highlights
- Most affordable major city
- Extensive metro system
- Bilingual environment
- Festival capital of Canada
- Historic Old Montreal
Common questions
- What is included in Montreal'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 Montreal 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 Census 2021 table 98-10-0006-01 / Census Profile when noted.
- Crime Severity Index: Statistics Canada table 35-10-0026-01, 2024.
- Rent, groceries and transport: TrueIncome variable config synced from public market and Statistics Canada sources.
Data, sources, and assumptions
Results combine Canadian tax rules, city cost baselines, and market assumptions versioned with the site code.