A recent report from the Monitor found that the wages needed to afford a one—or two-bedroom apartment in Edmonton are far outpacing the minimum wage.
Using data from last year, it found that Edmontonians needed to make at least $21.87 per hour to afford a one-bedroom apartment and at least $26.71 per hour to rent a two-bedroom apartment.
These rental wages are higher than the minimum wage for workers in Edmonton, with the hourly income needed for a one-bedroom apartment being $6.87 more.
Alberta’s last minimum wage increase was on October 1, 2018, when it was set at $15 per hour.
Edmontonians working for minimum wage had to work seven more hours per month to afford rent compared to 2018.
Monitor
The report calculated the rental wage for neighbourhoods across the country using data from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It calculated the rental wage of each city as “the hourly wage required to pay rent while working a 40-hour week, 52 weeks a year, and spending no more than 30% of one’s income on housing.”
In other words, the rental wage is the minimum income you need to afford rent without sacrificing your other basic needs.
The report dubbed rental wages across Canada as “out of control.”
It also examined the percentage of neighbourhoods with affordable rental units for full-time minimum-wage workers and found that nowhere in Edmonton met the criteria.
Alberta saw the gap between minimum wage and the wage needed to rent a two-bedroom apartment grow larger than any other province in Canada.
Our neighbours to the south in Calgary have seen a considerable difference between their minimum wage and the income needed for rent. Calgarians working for minimum wage had to work a whopping 23 more hours monthly to afford rent compared to 2018.
Other cities that ranked highly for unaffordable rental wages included Vancouver, Toronto, and Victoria.
With files from Beth Rochester