Photo: LN? from Canada · CC BY 2.0The median home in Coldstream is worth 6.8 years of household income, against 4.7 in the typical Canadian town
Half the households earned more than $111,700, and half the owned homes were worth more than $755,000 at the 2021 census. These home values were given by owners themselves, in a census taken in May 2021. A two-bedroom apartment rented for an average $1,607 a month in October 2025, which over a year is 17% of household income. For two-bedroom rent, the only official count covers all of the Vernon area, Coldstream included. With its rents weighed too, Coldstream grades C for cost of living (#34 of 253 in British Columbia and #1,196 of 2,580 Canadian towns).
What Coldstream’s housing numbers say
Many renters pay more than they can spare
Renters cross the 30%-of-income line more often here than in most towns. For owners it is 12%. Shelter costs ↓
Local pay is high
Households earn 29% more than the median of British Columbia’s towns, so a home or a rent takes a smaller share of their pay. Cost of living Grade ↓
Getting around costs more here
Housing alone takes 16% of income; transport adds more on top than in most Canadian towns, mostly the cost of cars. Housing and transport ↓
Each figure against the typical Canadian town of 2,500 or more: census 2021 values, CMHC or census rents, StatCan’s housing and transport index.
Coldstream grades C for cost of living
The two measures the grade weighs, each against every one of the Canadian towns of 2,500 or more.
Of the two, rent is the better deal against pay; homes sit further up than in the typical Canadian town.
Its place on cost of living: #34 of 253 in British Columbia and #1,196 of 2,580 Canadian towns.
Owning in Coldstream means 1.5 years less of household income than in British Columbia’s towns
How many years of household income (2020, before tax) the median home was worth at the 2021 census, and how much of it a year of rent takes, against the towns of 2,500 or more.
Years of household income for the median home
A year’s rent, share of household income
A year of the two-bedroom rent takes 7 points less of local pay than it does in British Columbia’s towns.
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (home values, household income, census rents); CMHC Rental Market Survey, October (two-bedroom rents where CMHC counts).
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,607 a month
CMHC’s October 2025 survey of purpose-built rentals in Vernon: the two-bedroom average is about the same as the $1,598 of the typical Canadian town.
By size a month, the tick is the typical Canadian town
CMHC Rental Market Survey, October, via Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133: row and apartment buildings of three or more units.
Fewer households than usual are past the 30% line: 15%, against 18%
The census 2021 share of households whose rent or mortgage, utilities, taxes and fees come to 30% or more of income.
Spending 30%+ of income on shelter the tick is the typical Canadian town
Renters here are 3.3 times as likely as owners to spend 30% or more of income on shelter.
Statistics Canada, Census 2021: households spending 30% or more of total income on shelter costs.
Housing and transport take 34% of income, more than in most towns
Statistics Canada’s Housing and Transportation Cost Index sets both against the median household income, in May 2024 dollars.
Housing and transport, share of income
Transport costs as much as housing here, or more: most of it is owning and running cars.
Statistics Canada, Housing and Transportation Cost Index 2024 (tables 46-10-0090 and 46-10-0091).
90% of households own their home; 10% rent
Who owned and who rented at the 2021 census, against the medians of other towns. More households own than in the median of British Columbia’s towns (76%).
Among towns its size, homes in Coldstream cost more years of pay (6.8×, against 5.1×)
Canadian towns of 7,966 to 15,359 people (657 of them), lowest home value against income first.
| Town | Median home value | Rent | ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson, Manitoba A | $200K | $1,136 | 2.1× |
| … | |||
| Kitimat, British Columbia C+ | $348K | $1,250 | 3.3× |
| … | |||
| Dawson Creek, British Columbia C+ | $300K | $1,202 | 3.7× |
| … | |||
| Williams Lake, British Columbia C− | $320K | $1,455 | 4.2× |
| Prince Rupert, British Columbia B | $400K | $1,154 | 4.2× |
| … | |||
| Quesnel, British Columbia C− | $300K | $1,226 | 4.4× |
| … | |||
| Trail, British Columbia C− | $310K | $870 | 4.6× |
| … | |||
| Shelburne, Ontario C− | $670K | $1,100 | 6.8× |
| Penetanguishene, Ontario D | $500K | $1,541 | 6.8× |
| Powell River, British Columbia D | $452K | $1,182 | 6.8× |
| Coldstream C | $755K | $1,607 | 6.8× |
| Elmvale - Canterbury, Ottawa D | $645K | $1,916 | 6.8× |
| Stoney Creek, London D | $600K | $1,645 | 6.8× |
| Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario C | $700K | $1,000 | 6.8× |
| … | |||
| Shaughnessy, Vancouver D | $5M | $2,364 | 36.1× |
Census 2021 values and 2020 incomes; rents from CMHC or the census.
Lumby runs $307K below Coldstream on home value
Neighbours of Coldstream by 2021 home value, rent and value against income.
| Town | Grade | Median home value | Rent | ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coldstream | C | $755K | $1,607 | 6.8× |
| Vernon | D− | $524K | $1,607 | 7.1× |
| Electoral Area C, North Okanagan | C− | $755K | $1,607 | 7.2× |
| Electoral Area B, North Okanagan | D | $600K | $1,607 | 7.3× |
| Okanagan (Part) 1 | – | – | $1,607 | – |
| Lumby | C | $448K | $820 | 5.8× |
Values: census 2021. Rent: CMHC or census.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Rents. CMHC surveys purpose-built rental buildings of three or more units each October; the two-bedroom average leaves out condos and secondary suites.
- Income is the town’s own. Half the households earned more than the median in 2020, half less; the figure is before tax and includes that year’s pandemic support.
- Housing and transport. These shares are the newest figures on the page, for 2024, from a Statistics Canada model rather than a count.
- Property tax. Property tax is left out of this page: no open data set in British Columbia gives a figure for each municipality, Coldstream included.
- Compared with what. Medians come from towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a city as a whole or a reserve; British Columbia’s towns are counted the same way.
Questions about living costs in Coldstream
What do households in Coldstream earn?
More than the norm: $111,700 at the median in 2020, where Canada’s towns sit at $85,900 and British Columbia’s towns at $86,900.
What does owning a home cost each month in Coldstream?
With mortgage, property tax, condo fees and utilities together, the median owner paid $1,250 a month in 2021.
Is Coldstream expensive to live in?
Cheaper than the middle of British Columbia’s towns (8.3 years of income), once pay is counted.
How much is rent in Coldstream?
In October 2025, CMHC’s average rents were $1,234 a month for one bedroom, $1,607 for two and $1,826 for three.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · CMHC Rental Market Survey (Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133) · Statistics Canada, Housing and Transportation Cost Index 2024. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).