A $20-an-hour job pays well above Alberta’s minimum wage. In Calgary and Edmonton, it still falls short of what it takes to live there.
Calgary’s 2026 living wage is $26.90 an hour. Edmonton’s is $22.65. Both were released Monday, along with rates for 18 other Alberta communities. Banff is the highest at $27.45. Medicine Hat is the lowest at $18.05.
Every one of them is above Alberta’s minimum wage, which has been $15 an hour since 2018 and is now the lowest in Canada.
“At $26.90 an hour, the gap between Calgary’s living wage and Alberta’s $15 minimum wage remains substantial,” said Michelle James of Vibrant Communities Calgary, which calculates the city’s rate.
A living wage isn’t a legal pay rate. It’s an estimate of what a full-time worker needs to earn to cover a modest standard of living in a specific community, after taxes and government benefits.
All 20 Alberta living wages for 2026
Ranked from highest to lowest. The last column shows how far each rate is above the $15 minimum.
| Community | 2026 living wage | Change from 2025 | Above $15 minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banff | $27.45 | First year calculated | $12.45 |
| St. Albert | $27.20 | +6.25% | $12.20 |
| Calgary | $26.90 | +1.51% | $11.90 |
| High River | $23.85 | +1.92% | $8.85 |
| Stony Plain | $23.65 | −2.67% | $8.65 |
| Bonnyville | $23.25 | +4.97% | $8.25 |
| Barrhead | $23.00 | +6.73% | $8.00 |
| Fort McMurray | $22.90 | −0.43% | $7.90 |
| Spruce Grove | $22.70 | −4.22% | $7.70 |
| Edmonton | $22.65 | +1.57% | $7.65 |
| Red Deer | $22.35 | +8.23% | $7.35 |
| Grande Prairie | $21.70 | −0.46% | $6.70 |
| Lethbridge | $21.45 | −3.81% | $6.45 |
| Special Areas | $21.45 | +0.94% | $6.45 |
| Drayton Valley | $21.35 | +4.91% | $6.35 |
| Lloydminster (AB/SK) | $21.10 | −2.54% | $6.10 |
| Rocky Mountain House | $21.05 | −3.66% | $6.05 |
| Brooks | $20.60 | −6.36% | $5.60 |
| Cold Lake | $18.70 | −2.09% | $3.70 |
| Medicine Hat | $18.05 | −0.55% | $3.05 |
Source: Alberta Living Wage Network, 2026. Percentage changes and minimum-wage gaps are calculated from the published rates.
Calgary is closer to Toronto than to Edmonton
Calgary’s rate rose 40 cents this year, from $26.50 to $26.90. That’s its smallest increase in five years. Last year it jumped by about $2.
But Calgary is now just 70 cents behind Toronto, at $27.60. Edmonton is $4.25 behind Calgary.
“Calgary’s living wage is inching closer to Toronto’s while moving farther away from our nearby neighbour of Edmonton,” James said.
That gap has grown fast. In 2023, Calgary and Edmonton were $1.45 apart. Now it’s nearly three times that. Over a full-time year, $4.25 an hour works out to about $8,840 in gross pay.
Why Calgary’s increase was small
Rent for one- and two-bedroom units came down, which lowered the living wage for single adults and single parents. Vibrant Communities Calgary credits the City’s Home is Here housing strategy and affordable housing spending by the province and Ottawa. Three-bedroom and larger units still went up.
Transportation was the fastest-rising cost for every household type, up more than 10 per cent.
“We’re just starting to see progress,” said Chris Bell, CEO of Norfolk Housing Association. “We need to keep investing in the homes Calgarians need.”
Why living wages fell in 10 communities
Nine communities went up, 10 went down, and Banff was calculated for the first time. Red Deer had the biggest increase, up 8.23 per cent to $22.35. Brooks had the biggest drop, down 6.36 per cent to $20.60.
A lower rate doesn’t mean life got cheaper there. The calculation subtracts government benefits, so more support means a household needs less income from work, even if bills went up. Shelter costs rose in 13 of the 19 communities with comparable figures, and food costs rose in 10. Changes to benefits, including how the Canada Workers Benefit is calculated, pulled some rates down.
What a living wage covers
The Alberta Living Wage Network builds budgets for three household types:
Two parents with two young children
A single parent with one young child
A single adult living alone
It blends them into one community rate, assuming the adults work full time. The budget covers housing, food, transportation, child care, clothing, education and a small amount for community life. It doesn’t include savings, debt payments or retirement.
“A living wage is a baseline,” said Melanie Grylls, CEO of Kindred. “It is not a guarantee of financial security.”
Your own number could be higher or lower. Someone sharing rent has different costs than someone living alone, and a family paying for child care has different costs than a household without kids.
The $15 question
Alberta’s general minimum wage is $15 an hour, unchanged since 2018. A separate $13 rate applies to eligible students under 18. Five provinces raised their minimums on Oct. 1, and Alberta is now the lowest in the country. Our earlier story explains how Alberta’s rate compares, and how it went from Canada’s highest to its lowest.
Vibrant Communities Calgary isn’t softening its message. “It’s quite clear that minimum wage is actually keeping people now under the poverty line in Calgary,” James said. “We would strongly suggest to the government of Alberta that it is high time to examine Alberta’s minimum wage.”
James also described families “having to choose to sleep in snow gear instead of paying their utility bill.”
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he sees the report “as evidence that would support the case for an increase to Alberta’s minimum wage.”
The province sets the minimum wage, and it hasn’t announced any plans to change it.
What employers are doing
Some employers already pay at or above the living wage and get certified for it. Benefits and paid leave above the legal minimums can count toward certification, so a certified employer’s hourly wage can sit below the headline rate.
Grylls says paying a living wage has helped Kindred hire and keep staff. Bell says Norfolk Housing has had little turnover in the 10 years since it became a living wage employer, and that staff are “way more productive.”
Comparing a job offer?
Hourly pay is only part of it. Check guaranteed hours, commute costs, benefits and paid time off. A higher hourly rate with fewer hours can pay less in a week.
Our Alberta jobs database lists current openings across the province, and our top employers page shows who’s hiring most. If you want to compare notes on what jobs in your city actually pay, start a thread in the forum.
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