Hamilton
All dollar amounts on this page are in Canadian dollars.
City introduction
Hamilton is a single-tier municipality in Ontario: unlike two-tier cities, the City of Hamilton sets the entire municipal property tax levy itself, with no regional government layer above it. The City adopts a tax-supported operating budget each year and publishes the resulting residential tax increase, expressed against the average residential assessment, in its budget news releases.
Source: City of Hamilton — City of Hamilton, City budget.
Combined chart
Hamilton property tax increase, Canada inflation, and Canadian dollar Real CEER, 2015–2026
Bars: City of Hamilton residential tax annual increase.
Lines: Canada inflation (Canada CPI annual average, Statistics Canada) and Canadian dollar Real CEER (Bank of Canada). CEER is on the separate right axis and is not a percentage.
- Line — Canada inflation (Statistics Canada CPI annual average)
- Line — Canadian dollar Real CEER — Bank of Canada, annual average of monthly values, total index (1999=100)
Data behind the chart
The data table below carries one row per year, in year order, with the tax increase, the inflation value and the CEER value for that year, or “No data” where a series has no verified figure.
| Year | City of Hamilton residential tax increase | Canada inflation — Statistics Canada CPI annual average | Canadian dollar Real CEER — Bank of Canada, annual average of monthly values, total index (1999=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | No data | 1.1% | 110.0 |
| 2016 | 1.8% | 1.4% | 108.4 |
| 2017 | 2.1% | 1.6% | 110.0 |
| 2018 | 1.9% | 2.3% | 109.3 |
| 2019 | 2.5% | 1.9% | 108.6 |
| 2020 | 2.9% | 0.7% | 108.0 |
| Year | City of Hamilton residential tax increase | Canada inflation — Statistics Canada CPI annual average | Canadian dollar Real CEER — Bank of Canada, annual average of monthly values, total index (1999=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2.1% | 3.4% | 113.0 |
| 2022 | 2.8% | 6.8% | 113.0 |
| 2023 | 5.85% | 3.9% | 108.4 |
| 2024 | 5.79% | 2.4% | 107.6 |
| 2025 | 5.6% | 2.1% | 104.9 |
| 2026 | 3.87% | No data | No data |
Sources for this chart:
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2016: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2016 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2017: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2017 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2018: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2018 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2019: City of Hamilton news release, Hamilton City Council approves 2019 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2020: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2020 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2021: City of Hamilton news release, City Council adopts 2021 tax supported operating budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2022: City of Hamilton news release, Hamilton City Council adopts 2022 tax supported operating budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2023: City of Hamilton news release, 2023 Hamilton budget passes
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2024: City of Hamilton, 2024 tax rate budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2025: City of Hamilton, 2025 tax rate budget
- City of Hamilton property tax increase, 2026: City of Hamilton news release, City adopts 2026 tax budget focused on affordability
- Canada inflation, 2015–2025: Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0005-01, CPI annual average. The 2026 annual average is not yet published.
- Canadian dollar Real CEER, 2015–2025: Bank of Canada, Valet series CEER_BROADM, total index (1999=100), source file; explainer, Canadian effective exchange rates. Each value is the annual average of the 12 monthly total Real CEER values (a computed annual average, not a figure the Bank publishes directly as an annual value). CEER for 2026 is No data because the year is incomplete.
Housing property-tax historical trend
The trend uses one measure only: the City of Hamilton's adopted residential tax increase for the year. Each row is the figure for that year on that one measure. A year with no verified figure on that measure is shown as No data.
| Year | Figure |
|---|---|
| 2015 | No data |
| 2016 | 1.8% |
| 2017 | 2.1% |
| 2018 | 1.9% |
| 2019 | 2.5% |
| 2020 | 2.9% |
| Year | Figure |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2.1% |
| 2022 | 2.8% |
| 2023 | 5.85% |
| 2024 | 5.79% |
| 2025 | 5.6% |
| 2026 | 3.87% |
Separate note — tax rates, not the trend
This note is separate from the trend above and is not part of it. A residential tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value can move even when the levy increase is small, because the assessment base changes. Rate figures are therefore not used as the trend and are not mixed into the increase chart.
The City explains how its tax rates are calculated on its How property tax rates are calculated page, but no multi-year City-published residential rate-per-$1,000 series is recorded here, so none is stated here. Source page: City of Hamilton, How property tax rates are calculated, https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/property-taxes/understanding-property-tax/how-property-tax-rates-are-calculated
Method
This trend uses one metric only, every year: the City of Hamilton's adopted residential tax increase for the year.
Where a city publishes an increase as components, the components are recorded in the scope notes; a total is used only where the city itself publishes it.
Canada inflation is Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0005-01, CPI annual average. Canadian dollar Real CEER is Bank of Canada, Valet series CEER_BROADM, total index (1999=100); each value is the annual average of the 12 monthly total Real CEER values (a computed annual average, not a figure the Bank publishes directly as an annual value).
How to read this page
Bars are the Hamilton residential tax increase. Lines are Canada inflation and Canadian dollar Real CEER.
The left axis is a percentage axis shared by the bars and the inflation line. The right axis is a separate index axis for Canadian dollar Real CEER only. CEER is an index and is not a percentage.
A year shown as “No data” has no bar for property tax and no line point for that series, and a missing year breaks a line.
Tax rates per $1,000 are separate from the trend and are not charted.
Sources
- City of Hamilton introduction: City of Hamilton, City budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2016 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2017 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2018 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, Hamilton City Council approves 2019 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, City Council approves 2020 tax operating budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, City Council adopts 2021 tax supported operating budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, Hamilton City Council adopts 2022 tax supported operating budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, 2023 Hamilton budget passes
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton, 2024 tax rate budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton, 2025 tax rate budget
- City of Hamilton: City of Hamilton news release, City adopts 2026 tax budget focused on affordability
- Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0005-01: CPI annual average
- Bank of Canada, Valet series CEER_BROADM: Real CEER source file
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This page is an independent guide. It is not a government site and it is not an official site. It is general information only and is not tax advice. Check the official City of Hamilton source before relying on a figure.