It's not cheaper to call rural Ontario home, living wage report says

Most people believe that once you leave the city limits the cost of living drops — but that’s simply not the case.

“Bruce-Grey-Huron-Perth-Simcoe is the second highest now in terms of what a living wage is, what it costs to live in a rural community. And it’s a 9.6 per cent increase over last year,” explained Francesca Dobbyn, executive director of the United Way of Bruce-Grey.

The Greater Toronto Area is the only region in southern Ontario with a higher cost of living than midwestern Ontario, which hit $22.75 an hour this year, up from $20.70 last year.

Places like London-Oxford-Elgin and Windsor-Essex, at $18.85 and $18.65 an hour, have the lowest living wages required for families to pay basic bills, such as food, shelter and transportation.

“It is not cheaper to live in rural Ontario. It’s a stereotype that you’ve got farmers near you, so food will be cheaper. It’s simply not. We don’t have employment friendly transportation between communities, so it’s a challenge to hold down a job without a vehicle,” said Dobbyn.

Living wages across Ontario rise by double digits, in most areas, thanks to increased housing and food costs. Here is the living wage breakdown for Huron-Perth in 2023. (Source: Ontario Living Wage Network)

If you think the yearly calculation of living wages — done by the Ontario Living Wage Network in conjunction with United Ways across the province — only impacts a small fraction of the population, that’s also not correct, according to Ryan Erb, with the United Way of Perth-Huron.

“The United Way calculates annually the statistic around this, and we know that about half our community are living on less than the local living wage,” said Erb.

It’s not just the extra cost of transportation in rural Ontario that’s pushed up the cost of living, shelter in particular is no longer “cheaper” outside of urban boundaries.

Living wages across Ontario rise by double digits, in most areas, thanks to increased housing and food costs. Here is the living wage breakdown for Grey-Bruce in 2023. (Source: Ontario Living Wage Network)

“The cost of housing has gone through the roof for our region. The out migration of people from urban area [and] the lack of rentals is really driving up a lot of costs. We have an increase in homelessness. More people holding down jobs, but classified as homeless because they’re living in their car or couch surfing. We work with people everyday who can’t afford their utilities. Rent is eating up everything they have,” said Dobbyn.

Dobbyn and Erb said more employers than ever have signed up to pay their employees a living wage, but that can also add to the costs of goods, transportation and food.

Right now, the rising cost of living is a question with not many answers. 

A graphic illustrating the living wages in 2023 for regions across Ontario. (Source: Ontario Living Wage Network)