Fort McMurray housing prices are the highest in the province so the assumption is often made that all Fort McMurray prices are high. In fact, other markets in Fort McMurray are in line with other those in other communities. All prices are in Canadian funds (currency converter).

2005 Place-to-Place Price Comparison Survey for Selected Alberta Communities

A spatial price survey of 37 Alberta communities ranks Fort McMurray's shelter index second in the province and third in the "all commodity" category.

Statistics Canada's cost of living information is available online.

According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), affordable dwellings cost less than 30 per cent of before-tax household income. So, if a person is paying more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, it is not affordable. (E.g. Using the February 2008 two-bedroom average of $2,044 per month, a person would have to make at least $81,756 annually for it to be affordable. In February 2007, with the average two-bedroom costing $1,543, a person would have had to make $61,720, so in a year, a person would have had to increase their salary by $20,000.)