Cost of Living inHamilton, ON, Canada
Image credit: Nhl4hamilton (Rick Cordeiro)
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Canada: $56,707/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 37% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.9 / 10
#15 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Monthly Costs
Rent
Food
Transport
Utilities
Education
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Canada; Hamilton, ON-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Good public schools
Assessment snapshot: 2022
Expat access
Available to residents
conditionalInstruction
English / French
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
497
Above OECD avg
PISA 2022 · OECD avg ~480
Why this quality rating
Canada has a strong public-school system overall, with dependable local-school infrastructure and many districts that are attractive for resident families.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can generally enroll, but school assignment is district-based and the long-term fit still depends on local English or French integration.
🗺️ Homeschooling
Varies by provinceLegal in all provinces/territories. Alberta and British Columbia have well-established frameworks with some funding available. Ontario requires notification only. Quebec has stricter requirements including annual progress reports.
Homeschool legality in Canada — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Canada.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$1,900-$3,500
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$2,200-$4,300
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Hamilton, ON is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Canada.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, deep nursing capacity, and life expectancy is high support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage and strong public funding help, but the tracked facility mix leans away from public providers.
Private care
MixedA clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
92/100
2023
Physicians
2.82/1k
2023
Hospital beds
2.54/1k
2022
Out of pocket
15%
2024
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
82.1 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
12/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
3.4/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Canada yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Construction | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Real Estate | — |
2023 annual wages in Hamilton, ON, Canada · Source: StatCan (region-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 180 days without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
working holiday
IEC Working HolidayQuick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Hamilton compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.2x further in Hamilton than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Canada here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Hamilton cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Hamilton is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 37% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Hamilton. We are using the country-level cost index for Canada here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Hamilton compare with New York City?
Rent in Hamilton is about 69% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Canada here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Hamilton?
Groceries in Hamilton are about 30% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 36% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Canada here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Hamilton, ON
Hamilton is a city in southern Ontario, Canada, with roughly 569,000 residents at the western tip of Lake Ontario about 70 kilometers from Toronto, anchoring the larger Greater Hamilton metropolitan area. Historically the steel capital of Canada (Stelco and Dofasco operations defined the local economy through the 20th century), the city has restructured around healthcare services led by McMaster University and its affiliated teaching hospitals, advanced manufacturing, logistics tied to the John C. Munro airport and the port, and education. The climate is humid continental with cold winters bringing meaningful snow off Lake Ontario and warm humid summers. English is universal with growing francophone and immigrant communities. Relocators get GO Transit commuter rail access to Toronto in roughly an hour, materially cheaper housing than Toronto proper, Canada's universal healthcare, and easy access to Niagara Falls and the US border 80 kilometers south.
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