Think $100K Is Enough? Why Toronto and Much of Ontario Are Out of Reach
Zoocasa finds a $100,000 salary buys the average home in just 4 of 18 Canadian markets — none in Ontario. Here’s where you can still get in and where you’ll need backup.
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By Torontoer Staff
If you live in Toronto and you’re earning six figures, you might still feel pinched when you scroll listings in the 416 or poke around the GTA. A new Zoocasa report confirms what many Torontonians already suspect: a $100,000 annual salary no longer guarantees you can afford the average home in most major Canadian cities — and that includes the whole of Ontario.
Zoocasa looked at 18 major markets across Canada and found that six-figure earners can afford the average home in only four of them. Spoiler: none of those affordable markets are in Ontario. If you’ve been budgeting for a house in Leslieville, the Junction, or Scarborough, this is the kind of news that changes the plan.
How Zoocasa did the math
To keep things comparable, Zoocasa used the CIBC Mortgage Affordability Calculator with a standardized stress test: a $100,000 gross income, 25-year amortization and a 3.89% interest rate. Instead of assuming a generous 20% down payment with no debt, the report used each province’s average annual salary (from Statistics Canada) as a proxy for what a buyer might realistically have saved — including help from family, which is increasingly common.
Importantly, this report avoids the unrealistic idea of a 20 per cent down payment with no debt. Instead, it uses the average annual salary in each province from Statistics Canada as the down payment amount.
Zoocasa report
That choice matters. CIBC has flagged the rise of intergenerational help for homebuyers: the national average parental gift has reached about $167,000, and in Ontario that number can climb to around $189,000 in the priciest markets. In other words, many buyers rely on a leg-up from family to bridge the gap.
Where $100K still gets you something
If you’re open to leaving the GTA bubble, there are pockets of Canada where a $100,000 salary still goes a long way. Prairie and Atlantic markets show the most breathing room — Regina tops the list, with an average home price of about $329,300, making it the most affordable market in Zoocasa’s analysis.
- Regina: average home ~$329,300 — most affordable market in the study
- Prairie and Atlantic provinces generally offer more buying power for $100K earners
- Condo markets in some Ontario cities remain within reach
The GTA and Toronto: a steep climb
Back home in the Greater Toronto Area, the numbers make it clear why so many people are priced out. Zoocasa’s report shows the average home price in the GTA at roughly $951,700. For a single $100,000 earner, that creates a shortfall of about $553,182 — a gap that’s tough to close without significant savings, a partner, or family help.
If you switch your sights to condos, the picture improves but doesn’t necessarily solve things in the city. In the GTA the average condo sits around $663,227; the average $100K earner, with a maximum calculated budget near $398,518, would still face a deficit of about $264,709.
Where Ontario $100K earners can still get a foot in the door
Not all of Ontario is out of reach. If you can live a little further from downtown Toronto, condo ownership becomes realistic in some mid-sized markets. London-St. Thomas and Kitchener–Waterloo show some of the province’s most affordable condo prices — roughly $324,000 and $366,784 respectively. In Ottawa, the average condo price of about $401,465 puts a $100K earner within striking distance, with a tiny deficit of roughly $2,947.
- London–St. Thomas condos: ~ $324,000
- Kitchener–Waterloo condos: ~ $366,784
- Ottawa condos: ~ $401,465 (deficit ≈ $2,947 for a $100K earner)
What buyers are doing instead
Faced with those gaps, many Torontonians are stretching in a few predictable ways: leaning on family gifts, pooling incomes (partners or roommates), shifting to condos or smaller units, or trading central neighbourhoods for more affordable suburbs and mid-sized cities. Some delay buying altogether and keep renting while they save more or wait for market corrections.
If you’re house-hunting on a $100K salary, that might mean rethinking must-haves — a backyard can become a bonus instead of a requirement, and a longer commute might be the trade-off for being able to buy.
What this means for you
The headline is simple: six figures no longer guarantees homeownership in many Canadian markets, and Toronto is a prime example. But the report also shows there are paths forward if you’re flexible about housing type or location, or if you can access family help. For Torontonians, it’s a reminder to shop around — sometimes the best move is to widen your search beyond the 416 and consider what trade-offs you’re willing to make for that first door key.
Whether you’re budgeting in the Annex, checking listings in North York, or thinking about relocating to Kitchener–Waterloo or Ottawa, knowing the numbers helps you plan. And if you want to be realistic about timelines and expectations, start with the affordability calculator and a frank conversation about down payments — family help included.
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