Calgary Housing Affordability Index

Data updated: September 2026 · figures for August 2026

Calgary Affordability at a Glance

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What Your Income Buys in Calgary

182 communities · August 2026

Income Needed by Calgary Community

Scroll the table sideways to see every column. Sorted from the lowest estimated income required upward.

Reading the table

How to Read the Affordability Bands

Every community in this index sits in one of four bands, assigned by the household income its typical home would require under the assumptions set out in the methodology. The bands are relative to Calgary and to each other. None of them means a community is affordable in absolute terms, and a community can move between bands from one month to the next because rates moved, not because anything changed on the ground. {'q1': 111100, 'q2': 146700, 'q3': 175300}

The calculation

How Much Income Do You Need to Buy a Home in Calgary?

There is no single salary that buys a house in Calgary. The number moves with the price you are paying, the size of your down payment, the mortgage rate you are offered, the amortization you choose, the property taxes on that specific address, the condo fees if there are any, the debt payments you already carry, your credit history, and the stress test the lender applies on top of all of it. Two households earning identical incomes can qualify for very different mortgages, and the difference is usually car payments, not salary.

What an index can do is hold the assumptions still and show you the shape of the market underneath. Based on the assumptions used in the Calgary Housing Affordability Index, the estimated household income required to purchase a typical Calgary home in August 2026 is approximately $125,200, at a price of $569,800, a $31,980 down payment and an estimated $3,015 per month in total carrying costs.

What different household incomes reach in Calgary

• $100,000 household income — supports a purchase price of roughly $449,938 on these assumptions. That covers the typical home in about 42 of the 182 communities in this index, and most apartment condos and townhouses across the city.
• $125,000 household income — roughly $569,298, or about 61 communities. This is the band where detached homes begin to appear in the outer suburbs and in the older inner-ring communities.
• $150,000 household income — roughly $691,214, or about 102 communities. Detached becomes the realistic default rather than the stretch.
• $200,000 household income — roughly $935,046, or about 154 communities, which opens the established inner-city and the west-side communities where detached prices sit well above the citywide typical price.

These figures assume no other debt payments. A $600 monthly car payment reduces the price a given income supports by a meaningful amount, because the lender counts it against the same debt service ratios. They are estimates for planning, not a lending decision, and no lender is bound by them.

Ranked from the data

The Most Affordable Calgary Communities

These are the 15 communities in the August 2026 index where the smallest household income clears a purchase. The entry point runs from $52,900 in Cliff Bungalow to $73,600 in Crescent Heights. 7 of the 15 sit in City Centre, and 13 of them are apartment stock — which is the more useful signal: at this end of the market it is the property type, more than the sector, that sets the number.

1. 1Cliff BungalowApartment · $197,000$52,900income needed
2. 2SunaltaApartment · $199,900$53,500income needed
3. 3DalhousieApartment · $216,900$58,200income needed
4. 4BankviewApartment · $217,000$58,600income needed
5. 5Windsor ParkApartment · $229,900$61,700income needed
6. 6HaysboroApartment · $235,000$62,500income needed
7. 7Forest HeightsRow/Townhouse · $259,900$63,700income needed
8. 8Lower Mount RoyalApartment · $248,842$64,400income needed
9. 9MidnaporeApartment · $259,900$68,600income needed
10. 10Skyview RanchApartment · $261,200$68,600income needed
11. 11BrentwoodApartment · $278,950$69,300income needed
12. 12Sage HillApartment · $279,990$71,100income needed
13. 13GlenbrookRow/Townhouse · $300,000$72,700income needed
14. 14Garrison WoodsApartment · $292,000$73,300income needed
15. 15Crescent HeightsApartment · $289,450$73,600income needed

Detached, semi, row, apartment

Calgary Affordability by Property Type

Property type changes affordability more than most buyers expect — often more than community does. The four types below are the four the Alberta MLS® System records, and each one plays a different role in how Calgary households move through the market.

Detached homes

Based on the assumptions used in the Calgary Housing Affordability Index, the estimated household income required to buy a typical Calgary detached home in August 2026 is approximately $160,900, at a price of $744,300, a $49,430 down payment and about $3,896 per month in carrying costs. Year over year, typical detached prices have moved -1%.

Detached is the largest segment of the Calgary market and the one that sets the citywide headline. It carries no condo fee, which removes one line from the lender's calculation, but it adds the maintenance and replacement costs a condominium corporation would otherwise handle for you. Detached prices also vary far more by community than any other type, which is why a citywide detached figure is a starting point rather than an answer. Browse Calgary detached homes.

Townhouses and row homes

The estimated household income required to buy a typical Calgary townhouse or row home in August 2026 is approximately $99,100, at a price of $415,200 and about $2,212 per month in carrying costs. Typical prices have moved -5% year over year.

Townhouses are the middle rung. They give you ground-level entry, usually a small yard or patio and an attached or assigned garage, at a price between apartment condos and detached homes. Most are condominium properties with a monthly fee, so the fee belongs in your affordability arithmetic from the start. A minority are freehold or bare-land title with no fee at all, and those two situations are not interchangeable. Browse Calgary townhomes and row homes.

Apartment condos

The estimated household income required to buy a typical Calgary apartment condo in August 2026 is approximately $75,600, at a price of $295,400, a $14,770 down payment and about $1,573 per month. Typical prices have moved -8% year over year.

Apartment condos are the entry point to ownership for most Calgary first-time buyers, and the only type where the typical price sits within reach of a single median income. The trade-off is the monthly fee, which is real money, is counted partly against your qualification, and rises over time. It is also the type where the documents matter most: reserve fund study, financial statements and any special assessment history change what the property is actually worth to you. Browse Calgary condos for sale, and read the condo document guides before you write an offer.

Semi-detached homes

The estimated household income required to buy a typical Calgary semi-detached home in August 2026 is approximately $149,900, at a price of $690,500 and about $3,624 per month. Typical prices have moved ~+1% year over year.

Semi-detached — a half duplex — is the type most buyers overlook and the one that most often solves the problem. You share one wall. In exchange you generally get a detached home's floor plan, a private yard and a title with no condo fee, at a price below the detached typical. In Calgary's older inner-ring communities and in new infill construction, semi-detached is where a lot of households find a location they had written off. Browse Calgary semi-detached homes.

What lenders actually count

Why Condo Fees Matter to Affordability

A $450,000 condo and a $450,000 detached home do not have the same affordability profile, even though the price is identical and the mortgage payment would be nearly the same.

The difference is the monthly condo contribution. Lenders count a portion of the condo fee as a housing cost when they calculate your debt service ratios, so the fee reduces the mortgage amount your income supports before you have signed anything. Two properties at the same price therefore require different incomes. The condo will require more.

The offsetting argument is that the fee is not purely a cost. It usually covers building insurance, exterior maintenance, snow and grounds, water in many buildings, and contributions to the reserve fund that pays for the roof, the windows and the mechanical systems when they need replacing. A detached owner pays for all of those too — just irregularly, out of their own pocket, and usually without having budgeted for them. What the fee buys you is predictability, and the condominium corporation's discipline in setting it.

Three things worth checking on any Calgary condo before you rely on the fee in your budget:

• What the fee includes. A fee that covers heat and water is not comparable to one that does not. Read the schedule, not the number.
• The reserve fund study. It states what the building will need to spend and whether the corporation has been funding it. An underfunded reserve is a future fee increase or a special assessment.
• Fee history and special assessments. Where the fee has been over the last several years tells you more than where it is today.

You can model the effect of a specific fee on a specific purchase with our condo fee impact calculator.

The statutory minimum

Minimum Down Payment in Calgary

Minimum down payment in Calgary is set by federal rules, not by Alberta and not by the individual lender. The rule applied in this index for August 2026 is:

Minimum 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the portion from $500,000 to $1,500,000, and 20% at $1,500,000 and above, where mortgage default insurance is not available.

Two consequences follow from that rule, and both catch buyers out. First, the minimum is tiered rather than flat, so the required amount does not rise in a straight line with price — it steps up as you cross a threshold. Second, above the price ceiling stated in the rule, mortgage default insurance is not available at all, which means the larger minimum applies and there is no insured option regardless of how strong the application is. Buyers shopping just under that ceiling should know exactly where it sits, because a small increase in price can produce a large increase in the cash required at closing.

Minimum down payment at common Calgary price points

• $400,000 — minimum down payment $20,000. Roughly the apartment condo and entry townhouse range.
• $500,000 — minimum down payment $25,000. In August 2026 there are 49 Calgary communities whose typical home price sits under this figure.
• $750,000 — minimum down payment $50,000.
• $1,000,000 — minimum down payment $75,000.
• $1,500,000 — minimum down payment $300,000.

The minimum is a floor, not a recommendation. A larger down payment lowers the mortgage, lowers the monthly payment, lowers or removes the default insurance premium, and widens the range of communities a given income reaches. It also has to be balanced against keeping enough cash for closing costs and the first year of ownership.

Work out the number for a specific purchase price with our minimum down payment calculator. Insurance requirements, premium rates and the insurable price ceiling are set federally and change from time to time; the figures above reflect the rules in force for the August 2026 edition of this index and are refreshed with it.

What the payment covers

Home Price Is Only Part of Affordability

The purchase price determines your mortgage. It does not determine what the home costs to own. Households that get into trouble in the first two years almost always budgeted the mortgage payment accurately and everything else not at all.

The full monthly picture on a Calgary home:

• Mortgage principal and interest. The largest line, and the only one most buyers model. Mortgage payment calculator.
• Property taxes. Levied by the City of Calgary against the assessed value of the specific property, billed annually and usually collected monthly by the lender through the tax instalment plan. Two homes at the same purchase price can carry different tax bills. How Calgary property assessment works.
• Home insurance. Required by every lender. Cost varies with the building, its age, its systems and its claims history — not with the price you paid.
• Utilities. Heat, electricity, water and waste. In Calgary these are seasonal, and a January bill on a detached home is not a July bill.
• Condo fees, if the property is a condominium. See the section above, and the condo fee impact calculator.
• Maintenance and replacement. On a detached or semi-detached home this is your own reserve fund, whether or not you formally keep one. Roofs, furnaces, hot water tanks and fences all have finite lives.
• Closing costs, which are one-time rather than monthly but have to be in the bank on possession day: legal fees and disbursements, title registration, adjustments, and in most cases a Real Property Report with compliance. Alberta charges no land transfer tax, which is a genuine cost advantage over most of the country, but it does charge registration levies on the transfer and the mortgage. Closing cost calculator.

The monthly figures shown throughout this index include the mortgage payment, estimated property taxes and, for condominium property types, an estimated condo fee. They do not include insurance, utilities or maintenance, because those vary by property rather than by price. Budget for them separately.

Side by side

Comparing Two Communities

Two communities can carry the same typical price and still ask different things of a buyer, because the stock behind that price differs. The community comparison calculator puts two side by side on price, property type and the income each implies.

Compare two Calgary communities

Method and assumptions

How We Calculate Calgary Housing Affordability

Every figure in this index comes from a stated source and a stated method. This section documents both, including the parts the model cannot capture. The August 2026 edition was generated on September 1, 2026.

Prices

Community and property-type prices are typical sold prices calculated by CalgaryListings Group from MLS® sold data for the Alberta MLS® System (Pillar 9™), over a rolling reporting window. We use medians rather than averages at community level, because a single unusual sale moves an average and does not move a median. Communities are assigned exactly as the listing records them, not by a boundary we have drawn. Property types are the four the board records: Detached, Semi-Detached, Row and Apartment.

Mortgage rate

The contract rate used across the whole index for August 2026 is 4.24%. It is a modelled reference rate, not a rate quoted by any lender, and no lender has offered it. It is derived from the 5-year Government of Canada bond yield published by the Bank of Canada — 3.33% as at 2026-08-31 — plus a stated lender spread of 0.91 percentage points. Contract rate is the site-wide illustrative mortgage rate of 4.24%, read from assets/mortgage-rules.json — the same centrally-maintained file the site's calculators use, so this index and /calculators/ always agree. It is an illustrative assumption for comparison across communities, not a rate quote from any lender and not an offer of credit. Lenders fund 5-year fixed mortgages against the 5-year Government of Canada bond, which stood at 3.33% as at 2026-08-31; that rate assumption therefore implies a spread of 0.91 percentage points over the bond today. For context, the Bank of Canada policy rate was 2.25% and prime was 4.45% on the same date. We use a derived rate deliberately: a rate scraped from any one lender's website would be a marketing rate, would be stale within days, and would make the whole index a quotation of that lender rather than an independent measure.

Stress test and qualification

Income requirements are calculated at a qualifying rate of 6.24%, which is the higher of the contract rate plus the federal stress-test buffer and the regulatory minimum qualifying rate. Debt service ratios are capped at a gross debt service ratio of 39% and a total debt service ratio of 44%. The model assumes the household carries no other debt payments; any car loan, line of credit, student loan or credit card balance reduces the price a given income supports. Amortization is 25 years.

Down payment

Down payments follow the federal minimums in force for this edition: Minimum 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the portion from $500,000 to $1,500,000, and 20% at $1,500,000 and above, where mortgage default insurance is not available.. Where the price requires mortgage default insurance, the premium is treated as added to the mortgage principal in the usual way.

Property taxes

Property tax is estimated at 0.65% of purchase price per year, applied monthly. Combined City of Calgary residential property tax (municipal plus provincial) modelled at 0.65% of value per year and applied to purchase price as a proxy for assessed value, which is what a lender does at application. See /sell/calgary-property-tax-assessment/ for how assessment and tax rates interact. This is a citywide estimate. An individual property's tax bill is calculated against its own City of Calgary assessed value, which is not the same figure as its sale price.

Condo fees

For Apartment and Row property types, a condo fee is included in the monthly cost and in the qualification calculation at $0.71 per square foot per month. Median monthly condo/HOA fee per square foot derived from a sample of 132 active MLS(R) listings spread across Calgary communities (CalgaryListings Group analysis). Applied to apartment and row/townhouse product only; 50% of the fee counts toward GDS. Lenders include a portion of the condo contribution in debt service ratios, and this model does the same. Row and townhouse properties that are freehold or bare-land title carry no fee, and the typical figure shown for that type will overstate their monthly cost.

How the affordability bands were cut

Communities are grouped into four bands by the household income their typical home would require under the assumptions above. {'q1': 111100, 'q2': 146700, 'q3': 175300} The bands are relative to Calgary, not to any national or provincial standard, and they are recut every time the index is regenerated — a community can move between bands as prices or rates move, without anything about the community itself having changed.

Refresh frequency

The index is regenerated monthly. Prices, rates, the stress-test rate and the band boundaries all refresh together, so figures on this page should be read as a August 2026 snapshot rather than as a fixed characteristic of any community.

What this model cannot tell you

It uses one rate for every buyer, assumes no existing debt, uses a citywide tax estimate rather than a property's own assessment, and works from typical prices rather than from any particular home. Communities with thin sales volume produce less stable typical prices than busy ones. The output is a comparison tool, not a lending decision, and it is not a forecast.

Read our full research methodology

From a Calgary REALTOR®

For journalists and researchers

Using CalgaryListings Housing Research

Journalists, researchers, educators, planners and industry professionals are welcome to reference individual statistics from the Calgary Housing Affordability Index. We ask for two things: attribution to CalgaryListings Group, and a link to this page so readers can see the assumptions the figure depends on.

Because every number here is conditional on a stated rate, amortization and down payment, a figure quoted without its assumptions is easy to misread. If you are citing an income requirement, please cite the reporting period (August 2026) alongside it.

We can usually supply the underlying community-level table, a longer time series, or a cut of the data for a specific set of communities or property types. There is no charge for this and no requirement to credit beyond the attribution above. If you need a figure checked before publication, or need the assumptions explained on the record, that is available too.

Media & Research Enquiries

More on our data, definitions and standing figures: media resources and Calgary real estate data.

How to cite this index

Common questions

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