Social conditions: Housing affordability
Who is in core housing need, and is the rental market easing?
In 2022, 11.6% of households in the provinces were in core housing need. Renters were 3.6 times as likely as owners to be affected. Since then, more rental supply has pushed the national vacancy rate up to 3.1% in 2025, but rents are still rising faster than inflation.
- Households in core housing need, 2022
- 11.6%
- 11.3% in 2018
- Renters vs owners, 2022
- 22.1%vs 6.1%
- Share in core housing need
- Rental vacancy rate, 2025
- 3.1%
- Record low 1.5% in 2023
- Average two-bedroom rent, 2025
- $1,550
- +5.1% in a year (purpose-built)
Core housing need by province
Core housing need by province
% of households in core housing need. The survey does not cover the territories.
- 2022
- 2018
Renters and Indigenous households carry most of the burden
Core housing need by tenure and Indigenous identity
% of households in core housing need, 2018 and 2022.
- 2022
- 2018
The largest cities are the least affordable
Core housing need in selected cities, 2022
% of households.
Try the 30% rule
Is this rent affordable?
The housing standard treats shelter costs of 30% or more of before-tax household income as unaffordable. Try your own numbers.
| Annual rent | $18,600 |
| Highest affordable rent at 30% | $1,000 a month |
| Income needed for this rent at 30% | $62,000 a year |
| Equivalent hourly wage (2,000 hours) | $31.00 |
At or above 30%: unaffordable by the standard measure. If no cheaper adequate unit is available locally, this household would be in core housing need.
Exercises
At the national average two-bedroom rent of $1,550, what before-tax income does a household need to stay under 30%? What hourly wage is that for one full-time earner?
Check your reasoning
$62,000 a year, or about $31.00 an hour for 2,000 hours of work.
Quebec has the lowest rate of core housing need (5.5%) and British Columbia the highest (16.0%). Give two economic reasons for the gap.
Check your reasoning
Rents are much lower relative to incomes in Quebec (more rental stock, slower land-price growth, rent tribunal rules), while British Columbia, especially Vancouver, has very high land and housing costs from constrained land supply and strong demand.
Vacancy rose from 1.5% to 3.1% between 2023 and 2025, yet rents still grew about 5% a year. Use a supply-and-demand diagram and the idea of sticky prices to explain why.
Check your reasoning
Rising supply and slower demand shift the market toward balance, but posted rents adjust gradually: leases are annual, sitting tenants are protected by caps, and landlords hold out before cutting asking rents. Higher vacancy slows rent growth first; prices fall only if it persists.
Compare rent control, housing allowances paid to tenants, and building non-market housing as responses to core housing need. Who benefits from each in the short and long run?
Check your reasoning
Rent control protects sitting tenants now but can reduce new supply and mobility. Housing allowances help targeted households quickly but can push rents up when supply is fixed. Non-market housing adds permanent affordable units but is slow and costly up front. Good answers discuss incidence and time horizons.