See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app.Ranked: The Income Needed to Be Happy in 19 Canadian CitiesKey TakeawaysVictoria has Canada’s highest happiness threshold at $169,951 CAD per year, narrowly ahead of Vancouver and Toronto, which tie at $166,982.Saskatoon and Calgary rank fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of larger cities including Ottawa and Montreal.The highest threshold is just 21% above the lowest, compared with a 60% gap between New York and Cincinnati in the U.S.Researchers call it the satiation point: the income level beyond which additional earnings no longer improve a person’s overall life evaluation. The threshold varies by location and, among the Canadian cities analyzed, is highest in Victoria.This graphic ranks 19 major Canadian cities by their estimated income satiation point using data from Remitly.Remitly adapted Purdue University research on income satiation, adjusting for purchasing power and inflation before scaling Canada’s national figure to each city using Numbeo’s cost-of-living index. Figures are in Canadian dollars and current as of March 2026.Victoria Edges Out Vancouver and TorontoVictoria’s threshold of $169,951 CAD ($124,047 USD) is less than 2% higher than the $166,982 CAD ($121,881 USD) shared by Vancouver and Toronto, making the top three effectively a three-way tie.The table below shows the estimated income needed for happiness in each city and how much higher Victoria’s threshold is by comparison.RankCityProvincePrice of Happiness (CAD)Victoria Premium1VictoriaBC$169,951—2VancouverBC$166,982+1.8%2TorontoON$166,982+1.8%4SaskatoonSK$159,808+6.3%5CalgaryAB$159,561+6.5%6KitchenerON$159,066+6.8%7GuelphON$157,829+7.7%8HalifaxNS$156,592+8.5%9KelownaBC$156,098+8.9%10ReginaSK$155,850+9.0%11MississaugaON$154,366+10.1%12EdmontonAB$153,624+10.6%13OttawaON$152,634+11.3%14Quebec CityQC$149,913+13.4%15MontrealQC$148,181+14.7%16LondonON$147,934+14.9%16WinnipegMB$147,934+14.9%18HamiltonON$145,708+16.6%19KingstonON$140,513+21.0%Victoria’s top ranking reflects its high everyday costs. Living Wage BC puts the city’s 2025 living wage at $27.40 per hour, $9.55 above the provincial minimum wage, with housing, food, and child care among the fastest-growing expenses.British Columbia is the only province with two cities in the top three. Kelowna gives the province a third entry in the top 10, ranking ninth at $156,098.For context, Remitly estimates Canada’s national happiness threshold at $113,755 USD. Victoria sits about 9% above that figure, while the U.S. national threshold of $134,827 USD is nearly one-fifth higher.Prairie cities also place near the top. Saskatoon ranks fourth at $159,808, while Calgary ranks fifth at $159,561. Both finish ahead of Ottawa in 13th at $152,634 and Montreal in 15th at $148,181. Montreal’s lower threshold reflects its comparatively affordable housing costs, an advantage that also appears in rankings of the world’s most and least livable cities in 2026.A Much Narrower Spread Than the U.S.At the other end of the ranking, Kingston has the lowest happiness threshold at $140,513 CAD ($102,560 USD). Ontario is the most represented province, with eight of the 19 cities spanning nearly the full ranking, from Toronto in second place to Kingston in last.The gap between the highest and lowest thresholds is just 21%. By comparison, the same Remitly analysis found New York’s threshold to be 60% higher than Cincinnati’s in the United States, while London’s is 38.7% higher than Sheffield’s in the United Kingdom.The figures do not represent recommended salaries, direct measures of happiness, or conventional cost-of-living estimates. Instead, they estimate the income level at which additional earnings stop improving overall life evaluation. A higher threshold generally signals a more expensive city, not a happier one.Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Money Can Buy Happiness After All on Voronoi.