# Montreal vs New York

> On balanced weights, Montreal comes out ahead: 60 against 53 out of 100, mostly on safety and research output. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/montreal-ca-vs-new-york-us/

Scores out of 100: Montreal 60, New York 53. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=montreal-ca,new-york-us

## Line by line

| Line | Montreal | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €1,037 a month (CMHC Rental Market Survey: average rents (Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133-01); World Development Indicators) | at most €208 a month; money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) |
| Cost of living | €2,461 a month (CMHC Rental Market Survey: average rents (Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133-01); World Development Indicators) | money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 36 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 48 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 8 h 42 min | 9 h 15 min |
| Sunshine | 2,124 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | no data |
| Dry days | 141 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 125 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 8.6 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 7.1 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 2.0 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 5.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 82.1 years (World Development Indicators) | 78.9 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €73 a month (World Development Indicators) | €110 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 22 weeks (mother 20, father 2) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 0 weeks (mother 0, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.40 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | no data |
| Research output | 59 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 44 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 13 km (OurAirports airports) | 13 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | no data | 57 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Rail and metro stations | 85 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 303 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | 41 minutes (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Cycle network | 1.92 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.31 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 95 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | no data | 12.8 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Quick way out by bike | 11.3 km, about 45 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 14.6 km, about 58 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 329 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 1 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 129 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 142 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 10.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 8.7 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 53 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 54 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 87 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 96 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | no data | 36.4 % born abroad (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Doctors | 2.8 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 6.9 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 49.3 % of adults (World Development Indicators) | 54.4 % of adults (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) |
| Developers around | 16.0 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 15.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.59 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.87 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | no data |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 14 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 47 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 13 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 13 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 146 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 53 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 9 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 182 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 210 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 16 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 54 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 157 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 130 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 8 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 46 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 41 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 31 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Montreal or New York?

For one person renting a one-bedroom home, Montreal is cheaper: about €2,461 a month against €3,571, rent and everyday spending included. Rent comes from official rent statistics and everyday spending is scaled by each country's World Bank price level.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Montreal and in New York?

About CA$65,883 a year in Montreal (Canada 2026 tax rules) and US$50,730 in New York (United States 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Montreal or New York?

New York is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 17.4 °C against 11.0 °C in Montreal (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Montreal or New York?

New York has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.1 µg/m³ against 8.6 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2023 and 2022).

### Can a citizen of Canada live and work in New York without a visa?

No. Citizens of Canada need a visa or permit to live and work in the United States.

## Cite

Borgo, "Montreal vs New York", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/montreal-ca-vs-new-york-us/, figures as of 2026-11-05.