They say money can't buy happiness. But it can get you a better standard of living, and according to a new report, Montreal's price tag for that kind of happiness is lower than most other major cities in Canada.
The report comes from Remitly, a digital money transfer company, and builds on a Purdue University study on income and self-reported well-being. That original research found that as people earn more, their happiness climbs right along with it, up until a certain income level, called the point of "income satiation." Past that threshold, extra income seems to stop making much of a meaningful difference.
Remitly took that concept and calculated what it actually looks like in real dollars, both by country and by city, including Montreal. They took Purdue's original satiation figures, and converted them into local currencies using purchasing power ratios from the International Monetary Fund. From there, they adjusted for inflation up to March 2026, then adjusted again at the city level using cost-of-living data from Numbeo.
The result is what Remitly calls each city's "price of happiness." It's basically an estimate of the income point where more money stops moving the needle on how happy people say they are.
So how much dough will bring a smile to our face?
Well, nationally, Canada's price of happiness comes out to $155,850 CAD a year (one of the top 20 figures in the world). That number shifts depending on which Canadian city you're in, and Montreal lands noticeably below the national mark.
Where Montreal lands
Montreal's price of happiness sits at $148,181 CAD, good for 15th out of the 19 major Canadian cities Remitly looked at. That puts it well below Toronto and Vancouver, which are tied for the second-highest figure in the country at $166,982 CAD each, and behind Victoria, which topped the list entirely at $169,951 CAD.
The price of happiness in different Canadian cities, 2026. Remitly
Quebec City isn't far off from Montreal either, landing just above it at $149,913 CAD.
Together, Quebec's two biggest cities sit toward the more affordable end of the list nationally, at least when it comes to the income it takes to stop seeing a meaningful happiness boost from every extra dollar.
How every major Canadian city compares
- Victoria — $169,951
- Vancouver — $166,982 (tied)
- Toronto — $166,982 (tied)
- Saskatoon — $159,808
- Calgary — $159,561
- Kitchener — $159,066
- Guelph — $157,829
- Halifax — $156,592
- Kelowna — $156,098
- Regina — $155,850
- Mississauga — $154,366
- Edmonton — $153,624
- Ottawa — $152,634
- Quebec City — $149,913
- Montreal — $148,181
- London — $147,934 (tied)
- Winnipeg — $147,934 (tied)
- Hamilton — $145,708
- Kingston — $140,513
Kingston, at the bottom of the list, has the lowest price of happiness of any major Canadian city, despite also being one of the country's most expensive cities to rent in right now, according to the report.
It's worth noting that this isn't about how a single raise makes any one person feel. It's a broader comparison of income and reported life satisfaction across large groups of people in each city, so your own mileage, and your own price of happiness, may vary.
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