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Moving to Victoria

Cost of living in Victoria BC: your monthly costs, line by line from official sources

Photo: DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0

There is no single official cost of living for Victoria, so this calculator builds yours line by line. CMHC’s October 2025 survey puts average rent at $1,625 for a 1 bedroom and $2,120 for a 2 bedroom; a BC Transit adult 30-day pass is $85; MSP premiums are $0. Statistics Canada’s Market Basket Measure, a low-income line for 2 adults and 2 children, was $59,363 a year, or $4,947 a month, in 2025 for BC cities of Victoria’s size. Lines with no official figure, like car insurance, start blank for you to fill in.

Last updated October 19, 2026 · Prices and schedules checked October 19, 2026

Your monthly costs in Victoria

Official figures fill in where one exists. Everything else is yours to enter; a line left blank is left out of the total, never guessed.

Rent

Greater Victoria, October 2025, CMHC Rental Market Survey. Checked October 19, 2026. Source

Electricity (BC Hydro)

Tiered: 11.87¢ a kWh up to about 675 kWh a month, 14.08¢ above, plus23.44¢ a day. Flat: 12.7¢ a kWh plus 25¢ a day. Taxes are not included. Source

Natural gas (FortisBC)

Mainland and Vancouver Island rates in force from 1 July 2026. Leave blank if you have no gas. Taxes are not included. Source

Getting around by bus (BC Transit)

Victoria Regional Transit. Post-secondary students: the U-Pass price is set by your school. Source

Provincial health insurance (MSP)

$0 a month: BC eliminated MSP premiums on 1 January 2020. Extended health, dental and prescription plans are separate, so add yours below. Source

Vehicle insurance (ICBC)

Blank on purpose: ICBC does not publish an average for Victoria, because the premium depends on you, your vehicle and how you use it. Get your own figure from ICBC. The government says basic rates do not rise through spring 2027. Source

Food and groceries

The reference figure is a share of the Market Basket Measure low-income line for a family of 2 adults and 2 children, 2025, divided by 12. It is not an average of what people spend. Source

Clothing

The reference figure is a share of the Market Basket Measure low-income line for a family of 2 adults and 2 children, 2025, divided by 12. It is not an average of what people spend. Source

Phone and internet

The reference figure is a share of the Market Basket Measure low-income line for a family of 2 adults and 2 children, 2025, divided by 12. It is not an average of what people spend. Source

Fuel, parking and other transport

The reference figure is a share of the Market Basket Measure low-income line for a family of 2 adults and 2 children, 2025, divided by 12. It is not an average of what people spend. Source

Everything else (household goods, recreation, personal care)

The reference figure is a share of the Market Basket Measure low-income line for a family of 2 adults and 2 children, 2025, divided by 12. It is not an average of what people spend. Source

Anything else you pay (childcare, extended health, insurance, subscriptions)
Optional: your monthly income after tax

Prices in Victoria rose 3.2% over the 12 months to August 2026 (Statistics Canada, all-items CPI), and rents 4%. The calculator uses today’s published prices and does not project them. Utility and transit figures checked October 19, 2026.

Official figures behind the numbers

How prices in Victoria have changed

Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index for Victoria, August 2026 compared withAugust 2025. An index shows change over time inside one city (2002 = 100). It is not a price and not a way to compare cities. Checked October 19, 2026. Source

All-items, 12 months to August 2026

+3.2% over the year (index 156.3 to 161.3)

Rented accommodation, 12 months to August 2026

+4.0% over the year (index 173.1 to 180)

Consumer Price Index for Victoria, August 2026 (2002=100)
SeriesAugust 2025August 2026Change over 12 months
All-items156.3161.3+3.2%
Shelter158.6162.5+2.5%
Rented accommodation173.1180+4.0%
Owned accommodation143144.9+1.3%
Water, fuel and electricity230244.5+6.3%

Statistics Canada publishes these five series for Victoria, not food, transport or the other main groups. Change is calculated here from the published index values.

The living wage for Greater Victoria

$27.40 an hour (2025) Living Wage BC and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC, working with the Victoria Social Planning Council, put the living wage for Greater Victoria at $27.40 an hour, a 2.30% change since 2024 and $9.55 above the BC minimum wage. It is one wage weighted across three household types (a single adult, a single parent with one child, and two adults with two children), covering rent, food, transport, child care and similar costs, and leaving out retirement savings and debt payments. It is a measure of what a basic decent standard of living costs, not what you will spend. Checked October 19, 2026. Source (2025 briefing)

Statistics Canada’s Market Basket Measure

The Market Basket Measure (MBM) is Canada’s official low-income line: the cost of a basket of food, clothing, shelter, transportation and other items for a reference family of 2 adults and 2 children. It is the line for a modest basket, not an average household budget. Statistics Canada publishes no Victoria-only figure; this is its threshold for British Columbia communities of 100,000 to 499,999 people, the group a city of Victoria’s size belongs to (2025). CheckedOctober 19, 2026. Source

MBM threshold for the reference family, British Columbia 100,000 to 499,999 people, 2025
ComponentA yearA month
Food$16,463$1,372
Shelter$23,510$1,959
Transportation$5,272$439
Clothing$2,895$241
Communication services$1,540$128
Other expenses$9,684$807
Total$59,363$4,947

How the calculator works

Each line is one of three things, and says which. An official figure comes from a government or utility page, with its date: CMHC’s average rent for the bedroom count you pick, BC Hydro and FortisBC rates applied to the kWh or gigajoules on your bill, a BC Transit fare, and the $0 MSP premium. Your amount is a number you type. A line with neither is blank and left out of the total, with a count of how many lines are missing.

For food, clothing, phone and internet, other transport and everything else there is no Victoria average, so those boxes start empty. If you want a starting point, each has a button that fills in the matching share of Statistics Canada’s Market Basket Measure for a family of four. That is a modest low-income basket divided by 12, so treat it as a floor for a family of that size, not as what you will spend.

Rent is the line that moves most

CMHC publishes an average for all surveyed units and a separate average for units that were vacant. A new tenant usually faces the second. The calculator lets you choose either, or type the rent of a place you are actually looking at. Averages by area are on rent in Victoria, and the share of income they take is in the rent affordability calculator.

Another reference: the living wage

Living Wage BC puts the 2025 living wage for Greater Victoria at $27.40 an hour. It is a published measure of what a basic standard of living costs for a mix of household types, shown with its date in the reference section below the calculator. It is not a budget for your household and it is not used in the calculator’s total.

What has been changing

Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index tracks how prices change in Victoria over time. It covers five series for the city, so food and transport are not broken out. It cannot say what anything costs, and it cannot be used to compare Victoria’s index numbers with another city’s; the Victoria and Vancouver comparison uses only figures published on the same basis.

Next steps

Thinking of buying instead? See the rent vs buy calculator, closing costs and the first-time home buyer guide.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to live in Victoria BC?

No official source publishes one figure for everyone, and this site does not invent one. The published pieces are CMHC’s average rent ($1,625 for a 1 bedroom, $2,120 for a 2 bedroom in October 2025), BC Hydro, FortisBC and BC Transit rates, and Statistics Canada’s Market Basket Measure for a reference family ($4,947 a month in 2025). Enter your own food, transport and other costs to complete the total.

Is the Market Basket Measure the cost of living in Victoria?

No. It is Canada’s official low-income line: the cost of a modest basket of goods and services for 2 adults and 2 children. Statistics Canada does not publish a Victoria-only threshold; the figure here is for BC communities of 100,000 to 499,999 people, the group a city of Victoria’s size falls in according to the table. It is a reference point, not an average budget.

Do I pay for MSP health coverage in BC?

There is no monthly premium: the BC Government says MSP premiums were eliminated on 1 January 2020. New residents still have to enrol, and may face a wait of the rest of the month of arrival plus two months, so arrange cover for that period.

What does BC Hydro electricity cost?

On the tiered plan BC Hydro charges 11.87 cents a kWh up to about 675 kWh a month and 14.08 cents above that, plus 23.44 cents a day. The flat plan is 12.70 cents a kWh plus 25.00 cents a day. Enter the kWh from your bill and the calculator works out a month under either plan.

How much is car insurance in Victoria?

There is no published average, so the line is left blank. ICBC sets a premium for each driver and vehicle. The BC Government has said basic rates will not rise through spring 2027, but that is a statement about rate changes, not a price. Use your own ICBC quote.

Why are some lines blank?

Because no official source gives a number we can stand behind. A blank line is left out of the total and counted, so the page tells you how many lines are missing; it does not treat a blank as zero.

More in Moving to Victoria

Sources

This is an independent planning site, not the operator or a government body. Prices checked on October 19, 2026; confirm with the operator before you book.