A new report shows that Lethbridge is the eighth most affordable Canadian city in terms of rental costs. (Photo: Sparky2000 | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge maintains top-10 spot on rent affordability list

Dec 8, 2025 | 10:16 AM

More than half of Canada’s 10 most affordable cities for rent are in Alberta.

Rentals.ca and Urbanation have released the latest National Rent Report, covering reported costs for November 2025.

Of the 60 communities analyzed, Lethbridge was the eighth most affordable for rent.

The average cost for all apartment sizes was $1,577 per month.

One-bedroom apartments here rented for $1,365 per month, increasing by 2.8 per cent from one month ago and 1.4 per cent from the same time last year.

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Units with two rooms cost $1,615 on a monthly basis, which is 1.4 per cent higher than in October, but down 0.5 per cent annually.

Airdrie was the most expensive community in Alberta that was included, even beating out Calgary. It had the 35th-highest prices nationally, with an average of $2,024 for all apartment sizes.

The list of all Alberta communities in descending order of price is available below. The number in brackets represents its place on the national list out of 60:

• Airdrie (35)
  • Total: $2,024/month
  • One bedroom: $1,418/month, -7% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,777/month, -0.3% annually
• Calgary (43)
  • Total: $1,888/month
  • One bedroom: $1,539/month, -5.8% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,860/month, -0.7% annually
• Edmonton (51)
  • Total: $1,616/month
  • One bedroom: $1,404/month, -2.3% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,816/month, -1% annually
• Lethbridge (53)
  • Total: $1,577/month
  • One bedroom: $1,365/month, +1.4% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,615/month, -0.5% annually
• Red Deer (55)
  • Total: $1,562/month
  • One bedroom: $1,240/month, +0.2% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,446/month, +1.5% annually
• Fort McMurray (57)
  • Total: $1,391/month
  • One bedroom: $1,178/month, -1.8% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,384/month, -1.4% annually
• Medicine Hat (58)
  • Total: $1,394/month
  • One bedroom: $1,223/month, -1% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,394/month, +1% annually
• Lloydminster – Alberta side (59)
  • Total: $1,229/month
  • One bedroom: $1,045/month, +4.3% annually
  • Two bedrooms: $1,321/month, -0.1% annually

Lethbridge remains under the provincial average for rental costs. Albertans can expect to pay around $1,755 per month for a rental unit, which decreased by 5.7 per cent over the last year.

The most expensive city in Canada was, once again, North Vancouver. The average cost of rent there was $3,018 per month in November.

You can read the full National Rent Report on rentals.ca