Not the sticker price — the monthly reality. We combined mortgage payments, property tax, and home insurance for 20 Ontario cities into one comparable monthly figure.
Estimated true monthly cost = mortgage (20% down, 4.50% 5-year fixed, 25-yr amortization) + property tax + home insurance. Figures rounded.
| # | City | Home price | Mortgage | Prop. tax | Insurance | True cost/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thunder Bay | $345,100 | $1,528 | $553 | $186 | $2,267 |
| 2 | Sudbury | $499,500 | $2,212 | $794 | $186 | $3,192 |
| 3 | Ottawa | $623,500 | $2,761 | $661 | $186 | $3,608 |
| 4 | Kingston | $612,691 | $2,713 | $820 | $186 | $3,719 |
| 5 | Brantford | $614,900 | $2,723 | $817 | $186 | $3,726 |
| 6 | Windsor | $579,100 | $2,564 | $1,012 | $186 | $3,762 |
| 7 | London | $611,509 | $2,708 | $880 | $186 | $3,774 |
| 8 | Kitchener | $644,601 | $2,854 | $755 | $186 | $3,796 |
| 9 | Oshawa | $652,775 | $2,890 | $857 | $186 | $3,934 |
| 10 | Barrie | $667,703 | $2,956 | $817 | $186 | $3,959 |
| 11 | St. Catharines | $638,102 | $2,825 | $980 | $186 | $3,991 |
| 12 | Waterloo | $712,279 | $3,154 | $850 | $186 | $4,190 |
| 13 | Hamilton | $738,025 | $3,268 | $958 | $186 | $4,412 |
| 14 | Cambridge | $746,672 | $3,306 | $941 | $186 | $4,433 |
| 15 | Guelph | $778,565 | $3,447 | $970 | $186 | $4,603 |
| 16 | Mississauga | $898,510 | $3,978 | $815 | $186 | $4,979 |
| 17 | Brampton | $886,865 | $3,927 | $926 | $186 | $5,039 |
| 18 | Toronto | $979,684 | $4,338 | $626 | $186 | $5,151 |
| 19 | Pickering | $935,490 | $4,142 | $1,043 | $186 | $5,371 |
| 20 | Burlington | $1,020,937 | $4,520 | $864 | $186 | $5,571 |
Owning the typical home in Burlington (~$5,571/mo) costs nearly two-and-a-half times what it costs in Thunder Bay (~$2,267/mo). That's a $39,600-a-year difference for the same "owned home" — bigger than many household incomes.
Toronto ranks #18, behind Burlington and Pickering. Surprising? Toronto's residential tax rate (0.77%) is the lowest of all 20 cities — its monthly cost comes almost entirely from the price tag. Its property tax bill (~$626/mo) is barely half of Windsor's (~$1,012/mo), the city with Ontario's highest residential rate at 2.10%.
The capital ranks #3 cheapest at ~$3,608/mo — a mid-size-city price with big-city wages nearby. Kingston (#4) and Brantford (#5) round out an affordable top five that most buyers overlook while bidding in the GTA.
Windsor's home price is modest (#6 cheapest), but its 2.10% tax rate — the highest in the ranking — pushes it to #6 overall on monthly cost. Two cities with similar prices can differ by hundreds a month purely on tax policy.
Home price: the most recent published figure per city (Aug/Sep 2026; Windsor Jul 2026) — MLS HPI composite benchmarks or average sale prices from local real estate boards, TRREB, CREA, or board-cited analyses. Each figure's type, month, and source are listed below.
Mortgage: 20% down, 25-year amortization, monthly payments at 4.50% nominal compounded semi-annually (Canadian convention) — the best available uninsured 5-year fixed rate published for Ontario as of October 6, 2026 (Ratehub).
Property tax: each city's published 2026 combined residential tax rate, applied to the listed price, divided by 12.
Home insurance: $2,235/year ($186/mo), the 2026 Ontario average (Rates.ca Home Insuramap).
Excluded: land transfer tax, closing costs, utilities, maintenance, condo fees, and renewal rate changes — too buyer-specific to rank fairly.
These are estimates for comparison, not quotes or appraisals. Full reproducible method in methodology.txt.
Home price sources and property tax rate sources per city.
| City | Home price source (month) | Source link | 2026 tax rate | Tax source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay | Thunder Bay Real Estate Board via CREA (Aug 2026) | link | 1.923136% | WOWA.ca |
| Sudbury | Sudbury Real Estate Board via CREA (Aug 2026) | link | 1.907170% | WOWA.ca |
| Ottawa | Ottawa Real Estate Board (Sep 2026) | link | 1.272144% | WOWA.ca |
| Kingston | Kingston and Area Real Estate Association via CREA (Aug 2026) | link | 1.605435% | WOWA.ca |
| Brantford | Brantford Regional Real Estate Association via CREA (Aug 2026) | link | 1.595108% | WOWA.ca |
| Windsor | Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS via CREA (Jul 2026) | link | 2.096514% | WOWA.ca |
| London | London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (Sep 2026) | link | 1.727111% | WOWA.ca |
| Kitchener | Cornerstone Association of REALTORS via WRX Property Group (Sep 2026) | link | 1.405998% | WOWA.ca |
| Oshawa | TRREB via ViewHomes.ca (Aug 2026) | link | 1.575342% | WOWA.ca |
| Barrie | Barrie realtor market update (MLS data) via YouTube (Aug 2026) | link | 1.467503% | WOWA.ca |
| St. Catharines | Niagara Association of REALTORS via CREA (Aug 2026) | link | 1.842187% | City of St. Catharines |
| Waterloo | Cornerstone Association of REALTORS via ViewHomes.ca (Aug 2026) | link | 1.432260% | WOWA.ca |
| Hamilton | Smith Dobrowsky Market Intelligence Report (board data) (Aug 2026) | link | 1.557234% | WOWA.ca |
| Cambridge | Cornerstone Association of REALTORS via ViewHomes.ca (Aug 2026) | link | 1.512180% | WOWA.ca |
| Guelph | OnePoint Association of REALTORS (Aug 2026) | link | 1.494407% | WOWA.ca |
| Mississauga | TRREB via ViewHomes.ca (Aug 2026) | link | 1.087901% | WOWA.ca |
| Brampton | TRREB via ViewHomes.ca (Aug 2026) | link | 1.253381% | WOWA.ca |
| Toronto | TRREB Market Watch via Daryl King Team (Aug 2026) | link | 0.767311% | Ontario Housing Market |
| Pickering | TRREB via ViewHomes.ca (Aug 2026) | link | 1.337288% | WOWA.ca |
| Burlington | TRREB via ViewHomes.ca (Aug 2026) | link | 1.01529% | City of Burlington |
In the Q4 2026 ranking, Thunder Bay is cheapest at an estimated $2,267/month all-in, followed by Sudbury at $3,192.
Burlington tops the ranking at ~$5,571/month, followed by Pickering ($5,371) and Toronto ($5,151).
No — Toronto's 0.77% residential rate is the lowest of the 20 cities ranked. Windsor's 2.10% is the highest. Toronto's monthly cost is driven by prices, not taxes.
Estimates for comparison. Prices are published board figures, the rate is the best available uninsured 5-year fixed as of October 2026, tax rates are each city's published 2026 residential rate, and insurance uses the provincial average. Your actual costs will differ by home, neighbourhood, and lender.
Q1 2027. Prices, rates, and tax rates are re-pulled each quarter; the methodology stays fixed so editions are comparable.
Journalists, bloggers, and researchers: cite any figure with attribution to NorthPeak Estimates and a link to this page:
https://northpeak-home.pages.dev/ontario-city-cost-rankings/
Suggested attribution: "Source: NorthPeak Estimates, Ontario City Cost Rankings, Q4 2026"
For quotes, custom cuts (by region, by price band), or the underlying dataset, contact northpeakest@proton.me.
Related: 2026 Ontario Home Cost Report · Canadian Mortgage Payment Calculator · Take-Home Pay Calculator