10 Things About Canada's Cheapest Rental City

According to the new Rentals.ca Rent Report, Fort McMurray, Alberta, has the cheapest rents for newcomers among Canada's mid-sized cities.

Here are 10 things newcomers looking for affordable rents need to know about Fort McMurray, located in north-eastern Alberta, close to the border with Saskatchewan:

1 - According to Rentals.ca, the asking price for a one-bedroom apartment in Fort McMurray in September 2024 was $1,240, down 1.2 percent from August.

2—The asking rent for a two-bedroom was $1.412, down 2.5 percent from the previous month.

3 - The difference in monthly rent for a one-bedroom in Calgary and Fort McMurray is $452. The difference between Vancouver and "Fort Mac" is $1,409 a month.

4 - Fort McMurray is 739.7 kilometres from Calgary and 435 from Edmonton.

5 - The unemployment rate in Fort McMurray is 7 percent, up 0.1 percent from August. The jobless rate in Alberta is 7.3 percent.

**Panethnic groups in Fort McMurray (2016−2021 - Wikipedia)**

Five Things Newcomers to Canada Need to Know About Housing in Alberta

6 - The average home price in Fort McMurray is $360,259, up 1.9 percent year-over-year.

7 - Fort McMurray has seen a 4 percent year-over-year increase in home sales, with the average price rising by 2 percent in September to $360,259. The months of available housing supply in Fort McMurray were 5.12, which has increased by 1 percent year-over-year.

8 - The population of Fort McMurray is 68,002, up 1.3 percent from 2016.

The Northern Lights provide spectacular viewing g in Fort McMurray

9 - Utility bills in Fort McMurray average around $150 per month for a single person and $250 for a household (the cost of utilities depends on household size).

10 - Monthly food expenses are estimated at just under $600, or about $1,500 for a household of four.

Finally, average salaries and wages in Canada's "oil and gas" capital are high. Salaries range from $60,000 to $70,000, with an hourly rate of around $33. The average income is higher than in other parts of Alberta.

Is Canada's cheapest city for rent prices right for you?

SOURCES: Rentals.ca, Statistics Canada. CREA, Wowa, HomeForSale.ca

If you have a question, please email us at rentals@prepareforcanada.com

Steve Tustin is the Editor for Rentals for Newcomers and a contributing editor for Prepare for Canada. He is also the former managing editor of Storeys.com and a former senior editor at the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

*No AI-generated content was used in the writing of this story, and all sources are cited and credited where possible.