It's getting more and more expensive to live in the City of Toronto, thanks in large part to fast-rising housing costs.

Population growth and a shortage of new, purpose-built units have thrown the rental market into a supply crunch, pushing competition (and thus rent prices) to record highs. Incomes, meanwhile, have remained stagnant for nearly four decades.

The freshly-released October 2019 National Rent Report by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research shows that Toronto remains the most expensive city for renters in Canada with an average one-bedroom unit currently going for $2,304.

This is down, month-over-month, from a high of $2,330 in August of 2019, but rental rates per square foot are still trending upward, particularly among one and two-bedroom units.

"When looking at Rentals.ca listings data over the past year for rental and condominium apartments (two property types that compete for the same tenants)... Toronto is up over $200 per month on average," reads the report.

"Two-bedroom units have been the clear favourite among prospective tenants, with the slope of the linear trendline showing the largest upward angle."

This aforementioned data also shows that rent price per square foot goes up the smaller a unit gets.

Below, the firm breaks down rent prices by square foot for all Toronto condo projects with five or more listings during each of the last four quarters. 

As of this most recent quarter, the most expensive building to live in, for the space, is at 300 Front Street West. Called "Three Hundred," this Tridel development has a 29-storey residential tower and a 12-storey loft complex.

At $5.30 per square foot, it would cost you nearly $3,200 a month for a modest 600-square-foot pad here. 

It's got some slick amenities, like a "tranquillity whirlpool" and rooftop tanning cabanas, but the price is best justified by this building's central location in downtown Toronto, just steps from the CN Tower.

The second-most expensive building is The Code on Parkwood Ave. in Forest Hill with a rental price-per-square-foot of $5.14, while third place goes to the 18 Yorkville Condos (fittingly located at 18 Yorkville Avenue) with a PSF price of $5.09.

You'd be hard pressed to find buildings anywhere in Canada that command a higher price per amount of living space than these ones.