And to the many queries about communities and regions without a living wage calculation, we are adding new coverage every year, and hope for 100% coverage in the future.

Thanks for adding to the dialogue KADC. The living wage calculation framework we use is for families who rent, and thus have no mortgage payments, which might account for that average.

There are many configurations of family and individual that are not represented in the local living wage calculations, and we’ve always acknowledged that. As I said below, the living wage is about supplying employers with a number per hour that is closer to reality than the minimum wage, and I think it accomplishes that.

Average household debt in Ontario is $154,000 (2016 statistics) so I think you need to include debt repayment as part of your calculation if you want your research to reflect reality for the average Ontarian.

I do not understand the reasoning behind the dual-income/two children household “national living wage framework”. Statistically, the average household in both Ontario and Canada is 2.9 people and has been approximately 3 people since the mid 1960s, being skewed slightly in favour of single parent/two children over two parents/one child, so the idea of the livable wage standard being based on dual-income households has not been the most representative option since the minimum wage in Ontario was raised to $1.00/hour for men and 85¢ for women.

For single people like myself and for virtually all young people starting out on their own, knowing the livable wage for individuals is vital information when researching career options and negotiating starting wages and raises so, regretfully, your research isn’t very helpful to us either.

I sincerely applaud your efforts, but please consider using a “national living wage framework” that is at least based on statistical reality with hopefully with some consideration for those of us who live alone as well.

It doesn’t seem that Prince Edward County is included. Any chance that might be updated? Thanks

What about North Bay?

Good work! I would like to see data for Hastings County when it is available.

I see Sarnia and Lambton County are not included. Is there any data available for us?

Thanks for the question Ryan. I’d be happy to connect you to the people who devise and update our living wage calculations if you email me: craig@ontariolivingwage.ca. We’d love to be of help to you.

Will you have living wage calculations by Census Division? Census Subdivision? This would be really impactful for us, to look at the distribution across Ontario.

Thanks for your interest Karen. We are currently updating our calculation, and plan to release them during Living Wage Week 2018, which is the first week of November. So stay tuned!

Will there be any update soon to some of these calculations? I am interested particularly in Guelph but the calculation here is 3 years old. Would I just multiply by the annual rate of inflation each year?

Thanks for your question Shaun. The living wage calculations include monthly rent payments and renter’s insurance. Monthly rent is typically one of the largest line items of all the factors that go into calculating the rates.

Why doesn’t the Living Wage include home ownership? Wouldn’t that be important as most people would need somewhere to live…

Thanks for your interest Julia. It would be possible to calculate what the living wage would be for any configuration of family or individual. Some would be lower than the current model of a 2 adult 2 child family, and some would be higher. It’s not a perfect representation of the complexities of society, but it was never meant to be. To me, the living wage is just trying to get closer to reality than the minimum wage, and I think it accomplishes that.

Fair enough. However, I’m still wondering if there is a way to calculate for “non-standard” families.
I’m know that there are many families with only one working parent and/or more than 2 children. There must be a per capita dollar figure needed for meeting basic needs. Is it double?
i.e. It would seem to make sense that a single parent of two children living in Ontario would need to earn twice what two wage earners would (so $34/hr). But that can’t be entirely accurate as there would be 3 to feed, not 4. And yet housing costs for 3 would remain fairly similar to those for 4).
It seems that the living wage calculation is rather simplistic and based on an idealized family situation. And – most trying to live on the minimum wage aren’t in an idealized situation.

Here in Ontario, we follow the national living wage framework, which settled on calculating the needs of two-parent families with young children.

Is there a formula for a larger or smaller sized family?

Thanks for your comment Joanna.

The living wage is calculated for a 37.5 hour work week.

How many hours per week make this wage liveable? One can earn a fair rate of pay but have too few hours to pay the bills.