Cost of Living in Nova Scotia

What is a livable wage in Nova Scotia?

How much you need to earn to live comfortably in Nova Scotia depends on where you live. For example, you need to earn more in Halifax, which is the capital of the province than in smaller places because your expenses in Halifax are greater.

To live comfortably in Nova Scotia, you need to earn between $22.85 – 26.50, which is less than you need in provinces such as British Columbia or Ontario. If we compare the monthly living cost without rent or mortgage for a family of four in Halifax, which is $5,029.50 to $5,569.30 in Toronto, and $5,766.50 in Vancouver, we can see that your wages will go further in Halifax than the other two cities. However, your monthly living costs in Halifax are higher than in Montreal where it is $4,938.30.

But as we will see when we look at the cost of living index and the local purchasing power towards the end of the article, it is not as simple as comparing the monthly living costs.

But before we look at the cost-of-living index and local purchasing power, we will look at the different things we spend money on, including transport, groceries, recreational activities, household bills and rent or mortgage. But first, we will look at how much income tax you will pay in Nova Scotia.

Taxes

One of the first things you need to do when you start working out how much money you will need to live comfortably in Nova Scotia is to take away your taxes from your monthly income.

Below you will see the income taxes in Nova Scotia in 2021.

If you have a taxable income that is $29,000 or less, then you will pay 8.79% income tax on that portion. When your income exceeds that amount, you will pay 14.95% on the portion of your taxable income that is more than $29,590, but not more than $59,180.

In the next bracket, which is on income above $59,180, but below $93,000, you will pay. 16.67%. Taxable income which is more than $93,000 but not more than $150,000 is taxed at 17.5%. And finally, if your income exceeds $150,000, you will be taxed 21% on the portion of your taxable income that is above it.

The above information on income taxes is from the website of the Government of Canada.

Accommodation

Whether you are looking to rent or buy, the cost of accommodation in Canada has risen significantly in recent years and Nova Scotia is no exception. However, the province is still among the cheapest provinces in the country and Halifax is a lot cheaper than some other major cities.

For example, let’s compare the price of the average family home in Halifax to the same three cities we used above. In Halifax, the average price was $588,133 in September 2024, in Toronto it was $1,079,236, and in Vancouver $1,196,500. From that, we can clearly see how much further your money will go on the housing market in Halifax. However, the average price of a home is slightly more than in Montreal where the average house price is $516,000.

Average rents have gone up, too. As of September 2024, the average monthly rent in Halifax is  $2,527. This is a 4% higher than the year before. However, if we compare the rental prices of Halifax to those in Toronto and Vancouver, you can still expect to pay about 70% less rent in Halifax. Montreal, once again, is only a little more expensive than Halifax.

Transport

When you are figuring out your monthly expenses, you need to include the cost of either public or private transport. Unless you walk or cycle everywhere and incur no costs.

Since data for other cities and towns in Nova Scotia is not as available, we will use Halifax as an example again. A single trip on public transport will cost you $2.75 in Halifax and a regular price monthly pass is $82.50. To fill up your car will cost you $1.75 per litre (September 2024).

Utilities

Another expense that needs to be included when working out monthly living costs is your utilities, including electricity, water and rubbish collection. The cost for these utilities combined for an 85m2 apartment is $273.69 per month. Having an internet connection at home will cost you a further $100.59 per month on average.

Groceries

The amount you will spend on food per month will depend on your diet and whether you prefer to cook, get take away or eat out. This is one area where Nova Scotia is dearer than other provinces such as Ontario or Quebec. One reason behind the higher cost is longer and more costly transport and another is the shorter growing season than in the more southern provinces.

Here are some price examples of what you can expect to spend in Halifax.

Hobbies and Entertainment

In this section, we have included prices for recreational activities such as going to the cinema, joining a gym or playing tennis for an hour during the weekend.

From the table above, we can see that the prices are very similar across all the four cities.

Childcare

If you have children, then you also need to account for the cost of childcare. Primary and secondary education are both free in Canada. However, if you wish to enter your child into a private primary school, then you would be looking at $16,000 per year for one child. The monthly cost of a private preschool place based on full day care is $732.22.

The prices for comparison in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are $1,659, $1,351 and $885.38 for preschool and $26,794, $25,561and $11,000 for private primary schools. From this, we can see that childcare and private education cost a lot less in Halifax than in Toronto or Vancouver.

Compared to Montreal, preschools are cheaper in Halifax, but private primary schools are more expensive.

Cost of Living Index

We can also compare the cost-of-living index of Halifax to other cities in the country. If you have not come across the cost-of-living index before, here is a brief explanation.

The cost-of-living index takes into account the different daily costs such as listed above and the average income to calculate an index, which is then compared to a baseline of one hundred. The further below the baseline, a country or a city is, the cheaper it is to live in. For Halifax, the index is 63.4, which is among the highest in Canada. 

Local Purchasing Power

Finally, we can compare the rankings of different Canadian cities based on their local purchasing power. How is the local purchasing power calculated?

To work out how much the local purchasing power is, you need to take the average household incomes for the area and compare them to the cost of living. This will give you the local purchasing power result. In other words, it shows you the relative purchasing power when buying goods and services in a given location for the average wage in that location.

The results are then compared to a baseline, similarly to the cost-of-living index. However, instead of a baseline of one hundred, the results are compared to New York City. The results are read differently, too. Here, the lower numbers mean the less you can get with your salary. Halifax has a purchasing power of 92.9.

In Conclusion

Nova Scotia is a beautiful place to live with stunning scenery and over 7,000 kilometres of coastline. It is a naturally beautiful province with sea, lakes, and forests. The space of life in Nova Scotia, even in its capital Halifax is slower than in more populated provinces.

It might not have the highest average salaries in Canada, nor the best purchasing power, but it still has one of the cheapest housing and rental markets in the country. The cost of private education is cheaper, too than in Ontario or British Columbia, so if you are a parent looking to get your child into a private school, then Nova Scotia is a good option.

We also need to remember that the figures such as the median household income are just that: a median. If you are highly skilled, you can earn above the median income and have more money left in your pocket after all your bills have gone out.