Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Cost Of Living

A+

7%

Overall NAT. AVG.

4%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

41%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Search Homes for Sale

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2025 and was released from Statistics Canada.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Cape Breton	Nova Scotia	National
Cost of living	93	98	100
Goods & Services	104	112	100
Groceries	105	109	100
Health care	96	95	100
Housing	59	64	100
Transportation	92	94	100
Utilities	140	140	100

Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Cape Breton is 5% lower than the Nova Scotia average
The cost of living in Cape Breton is 7% lower than the national average
Cape Breton housing is 41% lower than the national average
Nova Scotia general sales tax is 67% higher than the national average
Nova Scotia state income tax is 4% higher than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Cape Breton

See all the best places to live around Cape Breton

Compare Cape Breton, NS Cost of Living

Write a review to give others more information about this area.

See all Cape Breton poll results

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Nova Scotia Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Nova Scotia	10%	15%

Nova Scotia Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Nova Scotia	8.79%	21%

Goods & Services

Item	Cape Breton	National avg.	Difference
Personal Care	$88.00	$95.07	7.4%
Recreation	$103.00	$101.73	1.2%

Groceries

Item	Cape Breton	National avg.	Difference
Meat, Poultry and Fish	$96.00	$102.47	6.3%
Dairy Products and Eggs	$105.00	$106.00	0.9%
Bakery and Cereal Products	$110.00	$111.87	1.7%
Fruit and Vegetables	$105.00	$112.87	7.0%
Alcoholic Beverages	$108.00	$106.80	1.1%

Health Care

Item	Cape Breton	National avg.	Difference
Doctor	$99.00	$101.07	2.0%

Housing

Item	Cape Breton	National avg.	Difference
Home Price ($)	$395,940.00	$665,961.00	40.5%
Apartment Rent ($)	$866.00	$2,146.00	59.6%

Transportation

Item	Cape Breton	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$97.00	$102.53	5.4%

Utilities

Item	Cape Breton	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$96.00	$98.80	2.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Membertou 28B, NS	1,070	94	6.0%
Cape Breton, NS	94,573	93	7.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
North Vancouver, BC	94,662	110	10.0%
Alafaya, FL	94,471	n/a
Kirkland, WA	94,699	n/a
Carson, CA	94,352	n/a
Victoria, BC	94,229	118	17.9%
Cape Breton, NS	94,573	93	7.2%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2020 and was released from Statistics Canada.