Many newcomers are drawn to Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis and essentially the most numerous on the planet, for its thrilling ambiance. Nevertheless, the price of dwelling in Toronto is excessive. Making the suitable alternative about the place to reside is essential on your profession and funds. You’ll want to match Toronto’s job market, profession prospects, housing choices and prices, and high quality of life with different places within the Higher Toronto Space (GTA) and throughout Canada. Uncover what to learn about dwelling in Toronto that will help you make an knowledgeable determination.
About Toronto, Ontario
Toronto is the monetary capital of Canada and the second-largest monetary providers heart in North America. About 40 p.c of Canada’s enterprise headquarters are right here, together with the nation’s largest banks. Toronto is the capital of the Province of Ontario and is positioned on the north shore of Lake Ontario.
It was settled in 1750 as Fort Rouille, established as York in 1793, and integrated as Toronto in 1834. Town amalgamated with neighbouring cities in 1953 as Metro Toronto. In 1998 it amalgamated because the Metropolis of Toronto with a lot nice growth since then.
Often called the ‘metropolis of neighbourhoods’ Toronto has greater than 240 neighbourhoods throughout six native boroughs: : East York, Etobicoke, North York, Outdated Toronto, Scarborough, and York.
Frequent Questions Immigrants Ask About Dwelling in Toronto
How Many Individuals Dwell in Toronto, Ontario?
The inhabitants of the Metropolis of Toronto topped 3 million in 2024. The Higher Toronto Space (GTA) inhabitants is roughly 7.1 million.
What’s the Higher Toronto Space (GTA)?
The GTA consists of the Metropolis of Toronto and 4 regional municipalities:
Halton Area consists of: Burlington, Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills.
Peel Area consists of: Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon.
York Area consists of: Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughn, and Whitchurch-Stouffville
Durham Area consists of: Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington, Uxbridge, Scogog, and Brock.
What are the Benefits and Disadvantages of Dwelling in Toronto?
Toronto, a multicultural metropolis with world-class facilities together with schooling and healthcare, supplies ample alternatives for profession development. Nevertheless, the excessive value of dwelling and site visitors congestion may deter those that want a slower tempo or smaller neighborhood.
Is Toronto a Good Location for Immigrants?
Toronto is essentially the most numerous metropolis in Canada with a robust help system for newcomers, together with settlement providers. You’ll have entry to assets, native ethnic communities, and providers to ease your transition to Canada. This makes it a really perfect metropolis for newcomers.
Is Shifting to Toronto Value it?
It’s costly to reside in Toronto. However, it gives extra job alternatives than different cities in Canada. It is a perfect location for career-focused people. There are lots of enterprise alternatives, and town is economically secure. Nevertheless, you must earn a excessive wage to reside comfortably.
The way to Discover a Job & Construct a Profession in Toronto
The Native Financial system
Toronto’s numerous economic system gives enterprise {and professional} alternatives in every part from expertise to inexperienced power, movie, retail, and monetary providers. It’s Canada’s enterprise and monetary capital and the second-largest monetary providers centre in North America.
Toronto-based companies export over $70 billion in items and providers to each nook of the globe with retail gross sales of $62 billion yearly. Town’s economic system depends on innovation and new concepts to create financial wealth.
Key industries are:
- Monetary providers
- Aerospace
- Training
- Movie
- Style
- Meals & Beverage
- Inexperienced power
- Biotechnology and Life sciences
- Data and Communications and Know-how
- Tourism.
Main Employers
This metropolis is residence to main employers in lots of industries. A few of the prime employers within the area are:
- Canada’s large 5 banks: Scotiabank, Royal Financial institution of Canada, Canadian Imperial Financial institution of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion Financial institution, and Financial institution of Montreal
- Proctor & Gamble Inc.
- Questrade, Inc.
- Salesforce
- College of Toronto.
Town can also be residence to 9 of Canada’s 10 largest legislation practices, 9 of the highest 10 accounting corporations, and all 10 prime human assets and advantages corporations.
Profession Pathways
Roughly 35% of jobs are in downtown Toronto throughout all sectors together with finance, expertise, retail, and repair. Toronto is North America’s fastest-growing tech market, providing distinctive profession alternatives.
Toronto’s thriving tourism trade accounted for $9 billion in 2024. With a whole lot of conferences, concert events, and occasions, there are lots of hospitality and customer support jobs.
Whereas wages are increased than anyplace else in Canada, so is the price of dwelling in Toronto. Analysis the price of dwelling, wage estimates on your occupation, and housing costs to make sure you can reside comfortably.
Native recruitment companies comparable to Randstad Canada, IQ Companions, and Movement Recruitment, can assist you whenever you arrive in Canada.
The Toronto Housing Market
The place you reside is likely one of the largest selections you’ll make whenever you transfer to a brand new metropolis. It’s vital to think about value and availability. As a result of it’s costly to reside in Toronto, given the excessive value of housing, many individuals select to reside in surrounding cities within the GTA.
Is Housing Costly in Toronto, Ontario?
Whereas many newcomers wish to reside in Toronto for comfort and way of life, it comes with increased rental and home-buying costs. Dwelling farther from the downtown core means you’ll seemingly be capable of afford a bigger residence in a quieter setting. However, in the event you work downtown, your each day commute will likely be longer.
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Discovering a Place to Lease
Leases for Newcomers and different web sites can assist you seek for leases and analysis present costs in Toronto. As of February 2025, the common value to lease an house or apartment in Toronto is $2,364 for a 1-bedroom, $3,084 for a 2-bedroom, and $3,642 for a 3-bedroom.
Shopping for a Residence in Toronto
Shopping for a house on this metropolis is dear and costs proceed to rise. Toronto has at all times had a number of the highest actual property prices, and low housing provide is growing costs.
| Sort of Residence | Common Value | % Change from Jan 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Single-Household Indifferent Residence | $1,377,430 | + 2% |
| Semi-Indifferent Residence | $1,047,728 | +0.9% |
| Townhouse | $983,856 | + 2.1% |
| Condos | $970,675 | -1.7% |
Supply: WOWA, January 2025
When shopping for a house, think about these first-time residence purchaser ideas for newcomers.
Driving & Public Transit in Toronto
Driving
Toronto has the busiest roadways in North America. It’s the most important hub for street, rail, and air transportation. It has an in depth freeway system with over 400,000 automobiles utilizing Freeway 401 and roughly 2.5 million each day commuters.
There are six main highways:
- Freeway 401: The foremost east-west freeway within the metropolis’s north finish
- Queen Elizabeth Method/Gardiner Expressway: The foremost east-west freeway within the metropolis’s south finish.
- 407 ETR (Categorical Toll Route): A multi-lane freeway that runs throughout the highest of the GTA.
- Don Valley Parkway/Freeway 404: The foremost north-south freeway east of downtown Toronto
- Freeway 427: North-south freeway on the west aspect of town
- Freeway 400: North-south freeway on the east aspect of town
Drivers should know how one can drive safely in winter and on highways with excessive site visitors volumes.
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Public Transit
Toronto residents can journey inside Toronto and to different GTA cities utilizing public transit together with subways, Fast Transit (RT), buses, streetcars, and GO trains.
The Toronto Transit Fee (TTC) operates the transit system. The Toronto Streetcar system is North America’s largest and busiest light-rail system.
GO Transit operates a regional transit service inside the GTA. Public transit gives an awesome different to purchasing and working a automobile in Toronto. Many individuals in Toronto want public transit to cut back journey time and keep away from street congestion.
Public transit prices range based mostly on the mode of journey and distance. Study extra about Public Transit in Toronto.
Pearson Worldwide Airport (YYZ) positioned in Mississauga alongside Freeway 401 is likely one of the busiest on the planet. Toronto can also be residence to Billy Bishop Toronto Metropolis Airport (YTZ). All airports are accessible utilizing public transit.
Many settlement companies can assist newcomers adapt to life in Canada and Toronto. Settlement companies can assist you discover a home, job, childcare, and get details about healthcare and social providers.
There are a whole lot of settlement companies within the Higher Toronto Space. To search out one near your own home, click on right here. Study extra about providers in Canada to assist newcomers settle.
Language Assist in Toronto
Town is a mosaic of greater than 150 languages spoken each day. Over 30% of Toronto residents converse a language apart from English or French at residence. There are a whole lot of ethnocultural organizations, together with skilled associations and neighborhood centres within the metropolis.
3-1-1 is a particular phone quantity for non-emergency municipal providers and gives data in additional than 180 languages. The Metropolis of Toronto web site supplies data in additional than 50 languages.
Private Finance & Banking
All banks in Toronto have packages to assist new immigrants open a checking account get a bank card, or mortgage, and find out about monetary providers and merchandise. You’ll be able to open a checking account earlier than arriving in Canada.
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Toronto’s Training System
The Metropolis of Toronto gives many schooling choices together with licensed little one care facilities, public, Catholic, francophone, bilingual, language immersion, non-public, and non secular faculties.
Toronto additionally has threee universities and 5 faculties that supply coaching for nearly each occupation and ability. In case you are in search of little one care providers, click on right here to search out licensed little one care centres.
Elementary and Excessive Faculty Training
Training in Canada is necessary for kids between 5 and 16 they usually can attend public or non-public faculties.
There are 583 public faculties inside the Toronto District Faculty Board and 195 faculties within the Catholic District Faculty Board. French-language public schooling and personal faculties are additionally an choice. Uncover extra about education in Canada and how one can register your youngsters.
Submit Secondary Establishments
Toronto is a Canadian chief within the variety of post-secondary faculties and graduates with greater than 15,000 medical/ biotech researchers, two top-ranked MBA faculties, and glorious engineering, laptop sciences, and multi-media packages.
Universities embody Ryerson College, York College, College of Toronto, and OCAD College. Schools embody Centennial Faculty, George Brown Faculty, Humber Faculty, and Seneca Faculty.
The place to Get Medical Care in Toronto, Ontario
There are over 30 hospitals positioned throughout town. Toronto Normal Hospital is ranked as one of many prime hospitals on the planet. Toronto has one of many highest requirements on the planet for healthcare and medical providers. Town has world-class hospitals, medical communities, and analysis amenities.
In case of an emergency name 9-1-1. This quantity is identical regardless of the place you reside in Canada.
Toronto residents are eligible for Ontario Well being Insurance coverage Plan (OHIP). This provincially-funded medical plan provides free, important hospital and medical care to everlasting residents in Ontario.
Making use of for the OHIP card is likely one of the first belongings you do whenever you arrive to make sure you and your loved ones obtain important well being care. You’ll be able to purchase non-public medical insurance to cowl the ready interval for the provincial healthcare program, or for remedy and providers that Ontario Well being doesn’t cowl. Some individuals have third-party medical insurance via their employer advantages packages.
The way to Discover a Household Physician
Discovering a household physician is an important step to making sure your well being and well-being. Register with Well being Care Join to seek for a household physician. You could be placed on a ready checklist.
In case you are unable to discover a household physician, you’ll be able to go to considered one of many non-emergency walk-in clinics within the metropolis. Get extra details about well being care in Canada: Steps to Entry Free Well being Care in Canada
What’s Day-to-Day Life Like in Toronto?
Issues to Do
As the largest metropolis in Canada, Toronto has one thing to supply everybody. Whether or not you’re a foodie, or sports activities fanatic, love artwork, music, theatre, or the outside, you’ll discover many issues to do within the metropolis. There may be at all times one thing occurring. And, you’ll be able to usually discover many free occasions or low-cost actions.
Public Areas & Points of interest
There are lots of world-class points of interest within the metropolis. Some prime locations to go to embody Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, Artwork Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Zoo, and Eaton Centre.
Town can also be residence to occasions such because the Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant (TIFF), Canadian Nationwide Exhibition, Luminato, Nuit Blanche, Caribbean Pageant, Toronto Pleasure, and plenty of extra.
Eating places & Nightlife
Toronto has eating places galore. A few of the greatest locations to eat are within the Distillery District, Dundas Sq., and Queen Avenue West. You’ll be able to wander via Kensington Market and St. Lawrence Market to pattern meals, store, and extra. The Leisure District, King West, and plenty of different places all through town give you all sorts of bars, pubs, and golf equipment.
Nature & Pure Landscapes
Regardless that it’s an city metropolis, there are nonetheless a variety of outside actions. You’ll be able to stroll alongside the Harbourfront, go to Toronto Island, Excessive Park, Scarborough Bluffs, and plenty of different parks all through town. It gives ample inexperienced house, over 1,600 parks to discover, and delightful seashores on Lake Ontario.
Sporting Occasions & Live shows
Toronto is a sports activities metropolis. It’s residence to the Maple Leafs of the Nationwide Hockey League, the Raptors of the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation, the Blue Jays of Main League Baseball, Toronto FC of Main League Soccer, and the Argos of the Canadian Soccer League. And, it’s residence to the Hockey Corridor of Fame.
Town can also be a music hub. From small gigs in bars to concert events for 50,000 individuals, it has all of it. Roy Thompson Live performance Corridor is residence to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. It’s also possible to take pleasure in outside concert events by the lake on the Budweiser stage, see prime artists in Scotiabank Space, and native acts at music golf equipment all through town.
Tradition & Range in Toronto
Range
Toronto is essentially the most culturally numerous metropolis in Canada. Annually tens of 1000’s of newcomers transfer right here from world wide. In 2021, there have been 1,286,140 immigrants, or 47% of the inhabitants.
The highest represented ethnicities are: China (10%), Philippines (9%), India (6%), Sir Lanka (4%), Italy (4%), and Jamaica (4%). United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Portugal, and Guyana are 3% every. The highest three international locations for current immigrants are the Philippines, China, and India. Greater than 23,000 residents determine as Aboriginal, 86% are First Nations, and 14% are Metis.
Locations of Worship
As a various metropolis, there are lots of locations of worship in Toronto to practise your spiritual beliefs. Although all Toronto neighbourhoods have sacred areas for believers to assemble, sure metropolis areas have a bigger variety of spiritual communities than others. The primary religions that folks observe within the metropolis embody Christianity, Muslim, Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism.
The Climate in Toronto
Toronto has a average local weather due to its location on the shores of Lake Ontario. The world has 4 distinct seasons:
Spring is a wet season. The common temperature is about 12°C in March, April, and early Might.
Summer season begins on June 21, however July and August are the warmest and most humid months with daytime temperatures often above 20°C and infrequently rising above 30°C.
Fall has cooler climate and it rains usually. Common temperatues are about 10°C to 12°C.
Winter is chilly and it snows usually. The snow stays on the bottom for weeks or months. The t From December to February, the temperature is often under 0°C, day and evening. Temperatures can drop under -25°C.
WRITTEN BY
Corinna Frattini
Senior Editor, Put together for Canada
Corinna Frattini is the Senior Editor and Content material Director for Put together for Canada. She contributes articles to assist newcomers obtain their targets in key areas associated to dwelling, working, and settling in Canada. With an in depth background in human assets and management growth, her articles deal with what Canadian employers search and the way newcomers can proceed their careers in Canada.
© Put together for Canada 2025
