Salary status · Lower-middle class~30th percentile · Entry-Level

Is $52K a Good Salary in New Brunswick? 2026 Take-Home Pay & Cost of Living

$52K
gross / year
$3,141 / month take-home in New Brunswick
Verdict
Workable middle-of-the-road income for New Brunswick

Yes — $52K in New Brunswick covers a single adult's costs with a modest cushion, though not a wealthy lifestyle.

Monthly take-home
$3,141
$37,690/yr net
Est. monthly savings
$249
After typical expenses
Housing pressure
High
Rent in New Brunswick
Effective tax
27.5%
On $52,000 gross
Affordability

Where your monthly paycheck goes

Visual split of a typical single-adult budget against your take-home pay.

High pressureMonthly flexibility · 8% of take-home
Money left after essentials
CA$249/mo
Workable, slim cushion
Rent (1BR avg)CA$1,15037%
Food & groceriesCA$38212%
TransportCA$43714%
Utilities, health, extrasCA$92329%
Leftover / savingsCA$2498%
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Take-home pay breakdown

Gross / year
$52,000
Net / year
$37,690
Net / month
$3,141
Effective tax
27.5%

Where your paycheck actually goes

Approximate split of CA$52,000 gross — federal, state/provincial, social, and what lands in your account.

Federal income tax
CA$6,006
12%
Provincial income tax
CA$5,070
10%
Social contributions
CA$3,234
6%
Take-home (net)
CA$37,690
72%
What this means in real life

At $52K/year in New Brunswick, a single adult typically clears about $3,141/month after tax. Rent on a 1-bedroom averages $1,150, leaving roughly $1,991 for everything else. That covers essentials with a small cushion — savings are possible but slow, and big-city Moncton rents will eat most of the margin.

Lifestyle verdict
Tight but workable

Workable for one person in most of New Brunswick, but Moncton rent and any family obligations push it from "fine" to "stressful". Saving is possible but slow.

How it stacks up in New Brunswick

Local median household$76,000
This salary$52,000
1.5× median$114,000

Roughly the 30th percentile of New Brunswick households. Entry-Level.

Who can comfortably live on this?

Same take-home pay, three very different realities.

Single adult
Workable

One income, one rent.

Budget: CA$2,892/mo
Leftover: CA$249/mo
Couple, no kids
Stretched

Shared rent, two earners possible.

Budget: CA$4,028/mo
Short: CA$887/mo
Family (2 adults + kids)
Stretched

Bigger apartment, childcare, more food.

Budget: CA$5,005/mo
Short: CA$1,864/mo
Reality check

What can you actually afford in New Brunswick with $52K?

A realistic monthly breakdown for a single adult — rent in Moncton, food, transport, insurance, and what's left to save. Tuned to the cost of living in New Brunswick.

Net / month
$3,141
Typical spend
$2,892
92% of net
Monthly leftover
$249
8% saveable
Spent 92%Saved 8%
  • Rent in Moncton

    $1,150/mo
    1-bedroom, average neighborhood
  • Food & groceries

    $382/mo
    Cooking mostly, eating out 1–2×/week
  • Car & transport

    $437/mo
    Fuel, insurance, public transit
  • Health & insurance

    $291/mo
    Coverage, dental, prescriptions
  • Utilities & internet

    $177/mo
    Power, water, mobile, broadband
  • Entertainment & dining

    $200/mo
    Streaming, restaurants, weekends
  • Savings potential

    $249/mo
    What's left after a typical month
Lifestyle insight

$52K in New Brunswick is workable: you can live in Moncton, cover the essentials, and put a little aside each month — but expect a tight budget on big-ticket lifestyle extras.

People love reality. Not just taxes.

Lifestyle & affordability

What life actually looks like on this salary

Can you live comfortably on this in New Brunswick?

  • Tight

    Publicly funded healthcare removes a major US-style cost line

  • Tight

    Housing in Moncton dominates the budget

  • Tight

    Winter heating + transit costs add real seasonal pressure

$52K in New Brunswick is shaped by Canadian housing pressure in the biggest cities and the cushion of publicly funded healthcare.

On $52K, Moncton is typically a flatshare or suburb story; smaller cities in New Brunswick support solo living more easily.

Winter utilities and transit reshape the monthly budget from late autumn through spring.

Reality check

$52K in New Brunswick is tight in Moncton; much more comfortable in smaller cities.

Lifestyle snapshot

1-bed in the suburbs or a smaller city, transit pass, modest but real savings.

Reality check

How rich you actually feel

A reality-based view of $52K in New Brunswick — after taxes, rent, and everyday costs.

Lifestyle classNew Brunswick
Lower-middle class

This income covers essentials in most of New Brunswick with a slim cushion — saving is possible but slow.

Higher than 30% of earners · Top 70%
Financial flexibility
42/100
Moderate flexibility
Blends leftover income, rent burden, savings ability and tax weight.
Income percentile
Top 70%
in New Brunswick
Higher than 30% of earners
Rent stress
37%
of take-home on typical rent
High urban housing pressure
Savings power
$211–$286/mo
$2,986/year potential
Take-home: $3,141/mo
Purchasing power
  • Comfortable solo apartment
  • Reliable car ownership
  • Dining out several times/week
  • Moderate travel flexibility
  • Luxury neighborhoods
Compare this salary

Monthly budget for a single adult in New Brunswick

Covers the basics with roughly 249/month left over — possible to live, hard to save aggressively.

Housing (rent + insurance)
CA$1,150
40%
Transportation
CA$437
15%
Groceries
CA$382
13%
Utilities & internet
CA$177
6%
Healthcare
CA$291
10%
Entertainment & dining
CA$200
7%
Misc & personal
CA$255
9%
Total
$2,892
Surplus / month
$249

Savings potential

With a typical single-adult budget, you could put away roughly $2,986/year — about 8% of take-home pay. Cheaper housing or living outside Moncton can lift this significantly.

Savings rate8%

Try your own numbers

All math runs locally in your browser — nothing is saved.

Manageable
$
$
$
Net / month
CA$3,141
Leftover / month
CA$249
Rent share
37%

Tip: housing experts suggest keeping rent under 30% of take-home pay. You're at 37%.

Rent share of take-home

Average rent in New Brunswick: $1,150 (1BR) · $1,400 (2BR).

1BR rent vs net monthly37%
2BR rent vs net monthly45%

Salary ladder in New Brunswick

  1. $40KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $2,461
    Save
    $0/mo
    Pctl
    21th
    $680/mo

    Roommates likely needed in Moncton.

  2. $45KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $2,744
    Save
    $0/mo
    Pctl
    25th
    $396/mo

    Covers basics — little room for savings.

  3. $50KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $3,028
    Save
    $136/mo
    Pctl
    29th
    $113/mo

    Covers basics — little room for savings.

  4. $55KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $3,311
    Save
    $419/mo
    Pctl
    33th
    +$170/mo+$170 savings

    Covers basics — little room for savings.

  5. $60KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $3,399
    Save
    $507/mo
    Pctl
    37th
    +$258/mo+$258 savings

    Covers basics — little room for savings.

Compare

Compare this salary reality

See how $52K changes shape across nearby provinces and different income levels.

At a glance

How $52K compares region by region

Same income, different cost structures — quick affordability snapshot.

What changes if you earn more?

Going from $52K to $60K in New Brunswick:

Take-home / month
+$258
Est. monthly savings
+$258
Rent burden
−2.8pp

Compare $52,000 across countries

Explore other salary ranges in New Brunswick

Ecosystem

Plan the rest of your finances

Use this salary as the input for the rest of the toolkit — affordability, taxes, savings, debt.

Keep exploring

You may also wonder

Common follow-up questions people ask at this income level.

Compare with neighboring provinces
Related tools

Common questions

These estimates are approximate and may vary by city, taxes, rent, family size, and personal spending. Use them as a starting point, not a substitute for personalised financial or tax advice.

Last updated: 2026. Estimates use simplified federal + province tax models and median rent figures.