Cost of living
Table 1 Comparative personal income
Table 2 Cost of living
Currency
The per capita personal disposable income in Québec compares favourably to that in most industrialized countries:
| COUNTRY |
INCOME (C$) |
| United States |
30 469 (2005) |
| United Kingdom |
20 089 (2003) |
| Belgium |
17 930 (2003) |
| France |
17 796 (2003) |
| Québec |
17 740 (2005) |
| Italy |
17 553 (2003) |
| Japan |
17 267 (2003) |
| Germany |
17 253 (2000) |
| Mexico |
7 379 (2003) |
Source : Institut de la statistique du Québec, 2006.
However, a key advantage for Québec is that the cost of living is relatively low. The annual cost of living survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which includes housing costs, covers 145 business centres worldwide. It shows that Québec is in a strong position, in particular because of low housing rental and purchase costs, especially outside the main urban centres. Cost of living covers all household expenditure on goods and services as well as income tax, consumer taxes and other required contributions.
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2006 cost of living survey
(Québec City = 100)
| RANK |
CITY |
COST OF LIVING |
| 3 |
Tokyo |
152.82 |
| 4 |
Hong Kong |
144.86 |
| 5 |
London |
144.74 |
| 12 |
New York |
131.21 |
| 13 |
Paris |
124.78 |
| 20 |
Rome |
120.66 |
| 22 |
Shanghai |
120.36 |
| 44 |
Madrid |
109.73 |
| 66 |
Brussels |
106.92 |
| 69 |
Berlin |
106.39 |
| 73 |
Montréal |
104.00 |
| 76 |
Boston |
103.42 |
| 80 |
Mexico |
103.80 |
| 85 |
Québec City |
100.00 |
| 141 |
Buenos Aires |
72.89 |
Source : Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006.
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Currency
The legal currency in Québec is the Canadian dollar (C$). One dollar ($) equals 100 cents (¢). The currency is distributed as follows :
- coins: 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, $1 and $2;
- commonly-used banknotes: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.
Canadian currency can be obtained in the foreign exchange offices found in most major airports, and from currency brokers and some banks.
For more information…
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