Windsor-Essex has been ranked the 11th most affordable city in Canada, according to a recent study by real estate company Royal LePage. The study, which analyzed 62 major Canadian cities, found that 61 of them saw improved affordability between 2024 and 2026.
Top Affordable Cities
Lethbridge, Alberta, tops the list with an aggregate house price of $338,700 in 2026 and an affordability factor of 18.9%, meaning less than 19% of a household's monthly income is needed to service mortgage payments. Saint John, New Brunswick, follows in second place with an aggregate house price of $265,900 but a slightly higher affordability factor of 19.6% due to lower average household income. Thunder Bay, Ontario, which held the top spot in 2024, slipped to third place.
Red Deer, Alberta, and Regina, Saskatchewan, round out the top five, where no more than 25% of monthly household income is spent on mortgage payments.
Windsor-Essex Details
Windsor-Essex recorded the biggest affordability improvement among the top 15 cities, with the percentage of household income spent on mortgage payments dropping by 7.7% since 2024. The region has an aggregate house price of $480,500, an average monthly rental payment of $2,158, and a median household income of $90,200. On average, 28.7% of monthly household income in Windsor-Essex is required to service the mortgage.
Complete List of Top 15
The rest of the top 15 most affordable cities includes: St. John's (NL), Edmonton (AB), Trois-Rivières (QC), Fredericton (NB), Winnipeg (MB), Windsor-Essex (ON), Saskatoon (SK), Sherbrooke (QC), Moncton (NB), and Charlottetown (PE).
Methodology and Market Trends
The report uses Statistics Canada 2024 provincial median total income and city-level aggregate home price data from the Royal LePage Q1 2026 House Price Survey to determine affordability. According to Phil Soper, president and CEO at Royal LePage, “Over the past two years, home prices in Canada’s major urban centres – particularly Toronto, Vancouver and their surrounding communities – have softened, as demand in these higher-cost regions has been tempered by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, reduced immigration levels and an unprecedented increase in supply.”
Overall, the study highlights a broad trend of improved affordability across Canada, with only one major city not showing improvement.
