Most people living below Canada’s official poverty line avoid homelessness, not because they can afford housing, but because they sacrifice essential needs to pay rent. This study introduces the Homelessness Income Cut Off (HICO): a data-driven benchmark that reveals how much income individuals and families actually need to stay housed after exhausting personal coping strategies like relying on food banks, downsizing, or forgoing necessities.
Covering seven Canadian cities from 2015 to 2022, this paper highlights the gap between current income supports and what’s truly needed to prevent homelessness. With rising housing costs and inadequate safety nets, the HICO offers policymakers a practical tool to assess and improve income support programs.