Many Torontonians are struggling with income lagging rising costs
Toronto may be home to Canada’s largest financial hub, but it also has some economic issues that need to be addressed according to a new report.
The Toronto Foundation, an organization that connects philanthropy with community needs, says that growing economic vulnerability in the city – with some concerning metrics - is leading to weakened mental and physical wellbeing.
Its research found that 40% of Torontonians that took part said that their income is not enough and this was a 9-percentage-point increase in 2024 compared to last year. That means around 2.7 million residents could be struggling with insufficient income, driven by sharp rises in everyday expenses including food and shelter.
"It's time to get a grip on growth," says Sharon Avery, CEO of Toronto Foundation. "Our new Roundup provides a detailed picture of how population growth is showing up, which matters for a city that will always rely on immigration. Digging into the data, we learned that population growth alone does not reflect the state of the city. What really struck us was an overlooked story of growth. The rise in vulnerability requires our full attention."
One in ten of those surveyed are using food banks even though they are employed. Half of Toronto tax filers earn less than $38,500 per year, significantly under the $45,600 considered a living wage.
Unemployment is rising too with a rate of 8.4% on average in 2024 and young people are heavily impacted with a rate of near 20%. Many of those who are not working report disabilities that affect their daily lives.
The report is not all downbeat though and highlights economic gains for the city with the average hourly wage now $39, up from $30 in early 2020, and the job vacancy rate has fallen sharply from a high of 5.3% in 2022 to 2.8% in 2024 which returns it to pre-pandemic levels, easing worker shortages in many sectors of the economy.
Toronto CMA retail sales were 75% higher in 2023 versus 2015, well beyond inflationary increases.
"It's not all bad news," concluded Avery. "Our hope is that the economic growth will continue, so the heightened vulnerability will begin to drop. But when 2.7 million people say they don't have enough to make ends meet, we can't look away. The time to be an active citizen is now."
