Here's how much money you need to to make to afford living in the GTA

How much money per hour do you think the average person in the greater Toronto area needs to live? $30. A good $25, $27. Probably like $20 an hour. The Ontario Living Wage Network, a non-profit that calculates living wage rates for 10 regions across the province, says in 2026, someone in the GTA needs to earn $27.60 per hour. So in the GTA, the living wage rate is actually $9.65 higher than the current minimum wage. So if somebody is working full-time, full-year, earning minimum wage, they're really not going to be able to make ends meet. Coleman's organization factors in all the basics to calculate its rates, the cost of rent, food, clothing, transportation. It even allows for a little bit of money to participate in community, like putting children in after-school programs and paying for birthday presents. The wage also factors in government transfers. Bottom line, no matter where you live in Ontario, you need more money to get by. Every region saw the cost of living climb, and once again, the GTA tops the list of the most expensive region to live in. So, why? The real reason for that in every area is the increasing cost of food. To put food on the table right now, it's very hard. The prices have gone up. I just went shopping at a grocery store and walked out with $130 worth of groceries and that was for one dinner and maybe breakfast. The Living Wage Network does more than crunch the numbers. It certifies employers who offer a living wage, like Toronto's Factory Theatre. Or J. Davis Painting. Its owner says paying a living wage attracts high quality people who deliver a better product to clients. To be one of the best painting companies, we have to have some of the best workers working here. And we don't want people to show up to work totally stressed out about being able to make ends meet or having to get a second job. A lot of business owners, I think, maybe believe that they sit across the table from their workers. But we think that there's a way that you can sit on the same side of the table together. There are more than 600 businesses like this in Ontario, including about 150 in the GTA. But this economist says it's not a wage model that works for every company. You will price out a lot of students or first-time job holders from the market. And that creates a problem in an economy when you don't have that stepping stone. Gaudreau says the Ontario government needs to better address the primary drivers of the cost-of-living crisis, like housing, transportation and food. The province's minimum wage increased at the beginning of last month, now sitting at $17.95 per hour. Dale Monakaka, CBC News, Toronto.