New Report: Langley City and White Rock Most Affordable Places to Live in South of the Fraser

There is an old saying, “drive until you qualify,” when it comes to housing in urban regions. The thought being that the cost of living is lower the further you get from core urban areas.

Back in 2015, Metro Vancouver Regional District staff challenged the assumption in their report, “The Metro Vancouver Housing and Transportation Cost Burden Study – A New Way of Looking at Affordability.” I posted about it over 10 years ago, and you can read more about that first report. It challenges the assumption that it is cheaper to live further out.

The cost of transportation is similar to the cost of housing for many people, which is why, when evaluating affordability, you need to consider both housing and transportation costs.

The short of it is that it found that when considering housing and transportation costs, it was actually most cost-effective to live in places like New Westminster than in Delta.

A lot has changed in the last decade, and Regional District staff have updated this report for 2025. One of the significant differences in the report is that it provides a more fine-grained mapping of affordability. So instead of “the Langleys” or the North Shore, you can go down to the neighborhood level in this 2025 update.

Combined housing and transportation costs by neighborhood in Metro Vancouver. Select the map to enlarge.

What becomes apparent is that the total cost of housing and transportation is lower in areas with higher densities and good transit access, no matter where you are in the region.

Map of Urban Centres and Frequent Transit Development Areas. Select the map to enlarge.

To drive the point home, the following table from the report shows this. The northern part of Langley City is an urban centre.

Combined housing and transportation costs by area type, UCB = Urban Containment Boundary ($ thousands)

At a municipal scale in the South of Fraser, the most affordable communities to live in for housing and transportation costs, from most to least, are:

• Langley City and White Rock: $38,000/year
• Surrey: $43,000/year
• Delta and Township of Langley: $47,000/year

For more information, please read the full report, “Housing and Transportation Cost Burden Study - 2025 Update.”