Cost of Living

The Regina region boasts an excellent quality of life as well as a low cost of living in comparison to other major Canadian centres.  The combination of these factors has made Regina a swiftly growing city with career opportunities, time for family, friends, and activities, and a small town atmosphere in a medium-sized city.

Intercity Comparison of Taxes and Household Charges

One of the best measures for comparing multiple cities for affordability and cost-of-living is through an intercity comparison of taxes and household charges.  This comparison basically measures all necessities for the average year of living at various income levels.  (It does not, however, include federal tax, food, and automobile payments.  These are not included as they are assumed to be static across all provinces.)

As one can see from the chart below, Regina comes in first of these eight major Canadian cities for cost-of-living at the $75,000 family income level.  Of these eight cities, Regina also comes out ahead at the $25,000 single person, $50,000 single person, $50,000 family, and $110,000 family income levels.

Discretionary Income

Although it has been reported that Regina has a comparatively low “disposable” income among major Canadian cities, Regina has among the highest “discretionary” income of those same cities.  This confusion is resolved in the definition; economists and statisticians define “disposable income” as gross income minus taxes and “discretionary income” as gross income minus taxes minus cost-of-living (necessities).  Yet, many people refer to “discretionary income” as “disposable income.” So all things being equal, Reginans actually have the most money left over after taxes and necessities to spend on the things they want.

As a consequence of having a high discretionary income by comparison with the other cities (as much as over double that of Vancouver), Reginans can utilise their extra income to save for future activities and discretionary spending.  Regina itself has a remarkably strong cultural and arts scene for its size partially on account of the enhanced ability of Reginans to participate in such activities.

The graph below shows a comparison of discretionary income based on the cost-of-living as set forth in the intercity comparison of taxes and household charges at the $75,000 household income level.  This chart basically takes the $75,000 household income and subtracts the intercity comparison value along with federal tax, a food amount, and a car payment (not included in the intercity comparison) to arrive at a post-necessity or “discretionary” income level.

If you have any questions on the above and would like to know more about the low cost of living and high quality of life in Regina, please call us at 306-522-0227 or e-mail at reachus@rreda.com.