Edmonton tied for 5th most affordable city for housing in world, Toronto, Vancouver, among least: report

The annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Report ranks Edmonton as tied for fifth most affordable city in the world.

Demographia is an international public policy consulting firm, this is the 20th year for the report.

The report examines 94 major markets across eight countries and nations, including:

• Australia
• Canada
• China
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• The United Kingdom
• The United States

A median price-to-income ratio is used to determine affordability. This is determined by dividing the median home price by the median household income.

A chart showing the number of cities in each country examined in the report ranked by housing affordability. (2024 Demographia International Housing Affordability Report)

Of the top 10 most affordable cities on this list, Edmonton is tied for fifth place, the full list is:

• Pittsburgh (3.1)
• Rochester (3.4)
• St. Louis (3.4)
• Cleveland (3.4)
• Edmonton (3.6)
• Buffalo (3.6)
• Detroit (3.6)
• Oklahoma City (3.6)
• Cincinnati (3.7)
• Louisville (3.7)

“Middle-income households face rapidly escalating housing costs, which is the primary cause of the present cost-of-living crisis,” the report stated. “Affordability is disappearing in high-income nations as housing costs now far outpace income growth.

“The crisis stems principally from land use policies that artificially restrict housing supply, driving up land prices and making homeownership unattainable for many.”

Of the 94 markets ranked, Vancouver is the least affordable market in Canada, third least affordable overall. Only Hong Kong and Sydney rank lower.

“Vancouver has been the first, second or third least affordable major market for each of the last 16 years,” stated the report.

The house price data for the report came from sources reporting on housing types and government sales registers. Household income data was estimated based on official government data.

The full report is available online.