Moving to Toronto, Ontario

Why people move to Toronto

Toronto rewards people who come for the work and stay for the food. The city anchors Canada's banking, insurance and tech sectors, so professional salaries tend to run higher here than almost anywhere else in the country, and that income has to stretch across a genuinely expensive rental and ownership market — the tradeoff is one of the most diverse, walkable, transit-connected downtown cores on the continent, where more than 200 languages get spoken and an entire neighbourhood's food scene can turn over every few blocks. New arrivals from smaller Canadian cities are usually surprised by how car-optional life feels inside the old city boundaries, and by how much colder and snowier winter runs than its 'not-quite-New-England' reputation suggests. People coming from London, New York or Hong Kong, on the other hand, often find Toronto's pace calmer and its housing costs comparatively survivable, even with two layers of land transfer tax stacked on a home purchase. The city works best for people willing to trade a house and a backyard for a condo and a subway stop — those chasing suburban space at Toronto prices tend to end up disappointed, and often end up in Mississauga or Vaughan instead. Everyone else finds a genuinely global city that rewards a bit of patience through that first winter.

• TTC subway, streetcar and GO Transit trains make downtown living genuinely car-optional
• One of the world's most diverse cities, with over 200 languages spoken daily
• Home to Canada's five biggest banks and a fast-growing tech and film industry
• Pearson Airport connects nonstop to nearly every major world hub within hours
• Two land transfer taxes stack on every home purchase — budget for both upfront
• Real winters with real snow, softened by a genuinely great patio-season summer

What Toronto is famous for

• CN Tower

  For decades the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere, its EdgeWalk and glass floor still pull tourists and new residents alike downtown.

• Toronto Islands

  A short ferry ride from the harbourfront delivers car-free beaches, bike paths and skyline views that most first-time visitors don't expect from a Canadian downtown.

• PATH underground city

  More than 30 kilometres of connected underground tunnels link offices, shops and subway stations beneath the Financial District, handy for surviving January without a coat.

• Kensington Market

  A jumble of vintage shops, produce stalls and murals that's stayed resolutely uncommercial even as condo towers rise on every side of it.

• TIFF

  The Toronto International Film Festival each September turns King Street into a red-carpet strip and draws the industry's biggest names for ten days.

• A genuinely global food scene

  Waves of immigration have made Toronto one of the world's most diverse cities, and its restaurants — from Scarborough's Sri Lankan strip to Little Portugal — are usually the fastest way to feel that.

• Major-league sports

  The Blue Jays, Raptors, Maple Leafs and Argonauts all play within a few kilometres of each other, giving the city a packed pro-sports calendar most towns can't match.

• Distillery District

  Restored Victorian-era whisky-distillery buildings now hold galleries, restaurants and a cobblestone pedestrian zone that becomes a full Christmas market every winter.

Neighborhoods in Toronto

Toronto is really six cities layered into one: the old downtown core and five formerly independent municipalities — East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York — that merged into a single city government in 1998 but never fully merged in character. Downtown and the neighbourhoods hugging it stay dense, walkable and condo-heavy, built around subway lines and streetcar routes. Move north or east past the old city boundary and the grain changes fast: postwar bungalows, strip plazas and a car become far more normal, even though a TTC bus is usually still close by. Rent and home prices generally step down the further you get from the subway, which is the single biggest lever most movers have over their budget here.

• Downtown Core / Financial & Entertainment Districts

  Glass office towers, condo high-rises and the underground PATH network sit on top of each other here, and crowds spill out of theatres, arenas and restaurant rows most nights of the week.

  Good for

  young professionals, people who want to walk or subway to work, anyone chasing nightlife over square footage

• Yorkville

  Narrow Victorian streets that once housed a bohemian arts scene now sit under luxury condo towers and design-forward boutiques, with prices to match the postal code.

  Good for

  high earners, empty-nesters downsizing from a house, anyone prioritizing walkable luxury retail

• Kensington Market & Chinatown

  Independent shops, produce stalls and street murals give this pocket a scrappy, market-town feel that's held on stubbornly as the rest of downtown redevelops around it.

  Good for

  students, artists, and renters who want character and food variety over a modern building

• Distillery District & Corktown

  Cobblestone lanes between restored Victorian brick warehouses sit beside a wave of new waterfront condo construction, blending heritage character with some of the city's newest housing stock.

  Good for

  professionals who want new-build convenience with a genuinely historic backdrop nearby

• Liberty Village & King West

  Converted factory lofts and glassy new towers pack in a young renter crowd, with a gym, patio or dog park always within a five-minute walk.

  Good for

  renters in their 20s and 30s, tech and finance workers, first apartments after university

• Leslieville & Riverdale

  Renovated Victorian rowhouses line quiet residential streets a few minutes from an indie coffee shop or brunch spot, with a noticeably slower pace than downtown proper.

  Good for

  young families and remote workers who want downtown access without downtown density

• The Beaches

  A wooden boardwalk runs the length of the neighbourhood along Lake Ontario, and the small-town main street feel makes it easy to forget you're still inside the city.

  Good for

  families, retirees and dog owners who want lake access and a slower rhythm

• North York (Yonge-Eglinton & Willowdale)

  Toronto's unofficial second downtown, with its own dense cluster of office and condo towers around Yonge-Eglinton and a large East and Southeast Asian community further north near Finch.

  Good for

  families wanting more space and good subway access without downtown-core prices

• Scarborough

  The city's largest and most ethnically diverse district by far, mixing postwar suburban streets with dramatic lakeside cliffs at the Scarborough Bluffs and some of Toronto's most affordable housing stock.

  Good for

  larger households, first-time buyers, and newcomers looking to join an established diaspora community

• Etobicoke

  Leafy and lower-density, with postwar bungalows near the Humber River giving way to new condo clusters along the lake and easy highway access toward Pearson.

  Good for

  families wanting suburban-style space, commuters who need quick airport or highway access

Former municipalities

Toronto amalgamated six formerly independent municipalities on January 1, 1998 — the old City of Toronto, East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York — into a single 'megacity' government; longtime residents still use these names as informal geographic shorthand and they show up on real estate listings and school-board maps alike.

Wards

The city is currently divided into 25 municipal wards for City Council representation, in place since the 2018 ward boundary review.

Climate in Toronto

Toronto runs a proper four-season climate, moderated just enough by Lake Ontario to soften the extremes a bit. Winter, from December through March, brings real snow and stretches of sub-zero days, with January the coldest month and a wind off the lake that makes it feel colder than the thermometer suggests. Summer turns hot and humid by July and August, with plenty of patio and waterfront weather but also the occasional heat-and-humidity stretch that sends people looking for air conditioning. Spring and fall are shorter than either extreme season and genuinely pleasant, with fall in particular delivering crisp, clear stretches that are good for exploring the ravines and islands before the cold sets back in. Rain and snow are spread fairly evenly across the year rather than concentrated in one season.

Annual precipitation

33.3 in

Source: Climate-Data.org long-term averages; Environment and Climate Change Canada 1991-2020 Climate Normals (Toronto Pearson station)

Cost of living in Toronto

Rent figures come from CMHC's official survey, which averages every occupied purpose-built rental unit including long-tenured tenants protected by Ontario's rent control rules — so it runs well under what's actually being asked for a new lease today. Rentals.ca's July 2026 listings data shows current asking rents closer to $2,234 for a one-bedroom and $2,947 for a two-bedroom; use the CMHC figures as a conservative citywide floor and the listings figures as a closer read on what a new mover will actually be quoted. Home prices are GTA-wide TRREB averages, not street-level asking prices for a specific building — downtown condo towers and detached houses in family-heavy areas like Leaside or the Beaches routinely sell well above these citywide figures, while Scarborough and parts of Etobicoke run below them.

Taxes when you move to Toronto

Income tax

Federal marginal rates run from 14% on income up to $58,523 to 33% above $258,482 (2026 brackets). Ontario layers its own provincial tax on top, from 5.05% up to $53,891 to 13.16% above $220,000, plus an Ontario surtax (20% of Ontario tax owing above $5,818, and a further 36% above $7,446) that pushes the effective combined federal-plus-Ontario top marginal rate to roughly 53.5%.

Local tax

None. Unlike Philadelphia and some other US cities, Toronto and Ontario municipalities generally do not levy a separate local income or wage tax on residents or commuters; the city funds services primarily through property tax, user fees and provincial/federal transfers instead.

Sales tax

13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) — combines the 5% federal GST with an 8% Ontario portion, applied to most goods and services

Property tax

Toronto's 2026 blended residential property tax rate is about 0.767% of assessed value (a 0.605% city rate, 0.153% provincial education rate and a 0.009% City Building Fund levy), assessed against value set by MPAC, Ontario's property assessment authority. On top of that, Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that charges its own Municipal Land Transfer Tax when a property changes hands, stacked directly on top of Ontario's separate provincial Land Transfer Tax — effectively doubling the land-transfer portion of closing costs compared with buying almost anywhere else in the province.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency — Canadian income tax rates for individuals; Ontario Ministry of Finance — Personal income tax; City of Toronto — Property Tax Rates and Fees; City of Toronto — Municipal Land Transfer Tax

Jobs in Toronto

Unemployment: 6.7% (July 2026), down from a recent high of 9.0% in July 2025.

Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey — Toronto CMA (July 2026)

Key industries: Banking and financial services; Film and television production; Technology and startups; Healthcare and life sciences; Higher education; Logistics and air cargo (Pearson corridor).

Schools in Toronto

Toronto runs four separate publicly funded school systems side by side — English public, English Catholic, French public and French Catholic — so which one covers a given address depends on both language and faith-based board boundaries, not just geography. The Toronto District School Board, the country's largest, serves roughly 235,000 students across more than 580 schools and has seen enrollment drift downward the last couple of years as the city's population skews older and family formation shifts toward the surrounding 905-area suburbs. Check a specific address against the TDSB's or the Toronto Catholic board's boundary maps before assuming which school it feeds into.

Public enrollment

235,000

2025-26 school year

• Toronto District School Board (public, English)
• Toronto Catholic District School Board (Catholic, English)
• Conseil scolaire Viamonde (public, French)
• Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (Catholic, French)

Source: Toronto District School Board — About Us / Quick Facts

Crime and safety in Toronto

Canadian police services, including Toronto's, report crime through Statistics Canada's Crime Severity Index and a rate per 100,000 population rather than the per-1,000 violent/property split common on US city data pages — so those two numeric fields are intentionally left blank here rather than force-converted into a figure StatCan doesn't actually publish. By both of StatCan's real measures, Toronto ran below the national average in 2025: a Crime Severity Index of 55.0 against a national 75.0, and a crime rate of 3,950 incidents per 100,000 people against 5,585 nationally. Both figures fell year-over-year, continuing a decline that started in 2024.

Overall index

Crime Severity Index 55.0 (2025), down 7% from 2024 — below Canada's national CSI of 75.0

Toronto's 2025 crime rate of 3,950 incidents per 100,000 population and Crime Severity Index of 55.0 both sit well below the national figures of 5,585 per 100,000 and a CSI of 75.0.

Source: Statistics Canada — Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2025 (released July 22, 2026)

Getting around Toronto

The TTC's two subway lines, extensive streetcar network and citywide buses make downtown Toronto one of the few places in Canada where skipping car ownership is genuinely realistic, and GO Transit's regional trains and buses extend that reach out to Hamilton, Barrie and the rest of the 905-area suburbs. A single Presto fare card works across TTC, GO and most neighbouring regional systems, which matters once a move crosses a municipal boundary. Driving is still the default outside the old city core, and the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway both back up hard at rush hour.

• TTC Subway

  Two full subway lines (Line 1 Yonge-University, Line 2 Bloor-Danforth) plus light rail on Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West, covering the old city core

• TTC Streetcar & Bus

  A citywide streetcar network on downtown routes plus bus service reaching every corner of the city, including 24-hour Blue Night routes

• GO Transit

  Regional rail and bus service run by Metrolinx connecting Toronto to Hamilton, Barrie, Kitchener, Oshawa and the rest of the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• UP Express

  Dedicated rail link between Union Station and Pearson Airport, with a 28-minute nonstop run

• Presto

  Shared fare card accepted across TTC, GO Transit and most neighbouring 905-region transit systems

Major roads: Highway 401 (Macdonald-Cartier Freeway); Gardiner Expressway; Don Valley Parkway (DVP); Highway 400; Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW).

Airports near Toronto

• Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)

  international

  ~20 km / 12 miles northwest of downtown, roughly 30-45 minutes by car depending on traffic

  UP Express rail direct to Union Station in 28 minutes; TTC 24-hour bus routes including the 900 Airport Express to Kipling subway station

• Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ)

  domestic

  ~3 km from downtown, on the Toronto Islands just offshore from the harbourfront

  90-second passenger ferry or a pedestrian tunnel under the harbour, both landing a few minutes' walk from Union Station; a free shuttle bus also runs from Union Station every 15 minutes

Moving permits in Toronto

What to sort before you move

1. Budget for two layers of land transfer tax if buying — Ontario's provincial tax plus Toronto's own municipal tax
2. Compare CMHC's survey rent to current Rentals.ca asking rents before setting a budget — the gap between them is real
3. Check a target address against TDSB, TCDSB and the relevant French-language board boundaries before assuming a school
4. Book a service elevator and confirm any move-in deposit with a condo or apartment property manager in advance
5. Plan a daily commute around Pearson's UP Express or a specific GO Transit line if that matters to the job
6. Get quotes from movers who are established, insured, and ideally members of the Canadian Association of Movers
7. Time a move for spring or fall if the calendar allows — winter moving in Toronto means real snow and ice

How Toronto compares

Toronto's rent sits close to Vancouver's and well above Montreal's, while looking downright affordable next to Manhattan — useful context whether the move is coming from within Canada or across the border.

• Vancouver, BC

  1BR rent delta: -$143/month (Toronto is slightly cheaper)

  Both cities' one-bedroom asking rents ran within about 6% of each other in July 2026 — Toronto at $2,234 vs Vancouver at $2,377, per Rentals.ca listings data

• Montreal, QC

  1BR rent delta: +$465/month (Toronto is notably pricier)

  Montreal remains Canada's most affordable major rental market by a wide margin — $1,769 for a one-bedroom in July 2026 versus Toronto's $2,234

• New York City, NY (USD)

  1BR rent delta: Roughly half of NYC's rent even before currency conversion

  Manhattan-area one-bedroom listings averaged about $4,500 USD in August 2026 versus Toronto's $2,234 CAD — the two currencies aren't directly comparable, but the gap is large enough to matter for anyone relocating from New York

Moving to Toronto: FAQ