$280,000 in Los Angeles ≈ CA$317,125 in Vancouver
Moving to Vancouver from Los Angeles with a family
Equivalence is solved so household net cash matches across both cities, with taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, food, and travel all included.
What changes: Los Angeles → Vancouver
- ▴ 18 more paid parental-leave weeks (28 vs 10)
- ▴ Universal healthcare in Vancouver (no premium / minimal OOP)
- ▴ Childcare drops ~$27k/yr in Vancouver (subsidized)
The headline math
| Los Angeles household gross | $280,000 |
| Los Angeles taxes (26.2%) | −$73,450 |
| Los Angeles living costs | −$119,525 |
| Los Angeles net cash | $87,025 |
| ≈ | |
| Vancouver household gross needed | CA$317,125($223,328) |
| Vancouver taxes (34.0%) | −CA$107,933 |
| Vancouver living costs | −CA$85,616 |
| Vancouver net cash | CA$123,576 |
Computed at the city-median tech-worker salary, Los Angeles (a family with two kids) · effective tax rates: 26.2% vs 34.0%
These numbers use one scenario's assumptions. Plug in your own salary, family size, and lifestyle.
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Moving from Los Angeles to Vancouver for a family
For a family of four, this comparison produces a different answer than a single-person look at the same cities. Childcare costs, parental leave policy, and the second earner's tax treatment all push the number. With a partner at 60% of the primary salary and two kids in daycare, a $280,000 household in Los Angeles needs CA$317,125 in Vancouver to keep the same net cash.
Childcare is the biggest single swing factor in this comparison. Los Angeles households pay $31,200 per year; Vancouver caps it at CA$6,240 via subsidy. That difference flows directly to net cash. A standard salary comparison won't show it at all.
Parental leave: Vancouver provides 28 weeks paid vs 10 in Los Angeles. A new child in the first year of the move is exactly the scenario where that gap shows up as real money (and real stress avoided).
With kids in the house, healthcare is the line that quietly compounds. Vancouver runs a universal system, so a rough year doesn't turn into a billing event. The Los Angeles side carries $9,537 a year in premiums and out-of-pocket costs, exposure that simply doesn't follow you across.
K-12 schools score higher on PISA 2022 in Canada (506 (math 497, reading 507, science 515)) than in USA (489 (math 465, reading 504, science 499)), a 17-point gap on the OECD's standardized 15-year-old assessment. PISA is one signal; local school choice and curriculum philosophy matter at least as much.
The second-earner question is worth running separately. In high-childcare-cost cities, full-time daycare can eat most of a partner's after-tax income. In Vancouver, subsidized childcare changes that math entirely: both salaries actually make it to the household. Use the "Partner works in" toggle in the calculator to see what that shift does to your specific numbers.
Common questions
How much do you need to earn in Vancouver to match a $280,000 salary in Los Angeles?
About CA$317,125. cityparity solves for the Vancouver gross salary whose net cash (after taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, and the rest) equals what you keep in Los Angeles. It's an equivalence, not a raw conversion.
How much is childcare in Vancouver compared with Los Angeles?
Childcare is one of the biggest swings for a family moving from Los Angeles to Vancouver. cityparity nets each city's daycare cost against any government child allowance, so the figure reflects what you'd actually pay out of pocket.
Is healthcare free in Vancouver?
Vancouver has universal healthcare, so there are no US-style premiums or large deductibles. cityparity counts that as real money you don't spend, which is part of why the equivalent salary is lower than the raw number suggests.
How much vacation and parental leave do you get in Vancouver?
Vancouver has about 26 paid days off a year (vacation plus public holidays) and 50 weeks of parental leave. cityparity surfaces these as deltas rather than dollars, because time off is part of the real comparison.
Run your own numbers in the interactive calculator →