For the most part, Vancouver house prices are pretty expensive, it's virtually impossible to find a house for under 1 million in Vancouver. Given these prices, anyone familiar with the wages in Vancouver will tell you we're depressingly behind most cities with similar cost of living. I do feel like rent prices are quite a bit cheaper than the Bay Area though.

Recently saw some articles claiming that Vancouver has the highest living costs in all of North America but I doubt that without seeing any extensive data and thorough comparisons.