P.G. Moves Up in List of Best Places to Live
Prince George, B.C. – When it comes to the best place to live in Canada, Money Sense Magazine has given that distinction to Ottawa.
The Nation’s capital was given the number one overall ranking of the 219 communities evaluated in 35 categories including taxes, high incomes, weather, affordable housing, population health, low unemployment and low crime rates.
Prince George ranked 127, which is an improvement from 2015, when the city was ranked 163rd. Prince George scored high for having low priced housing, high incomes ( with the median being $83,926.00), low taxes (average property tax is $2,352.) and a 13.4% drop in the crime rate over five years.
The B.C. cities that ranked highest on the overall ranking were West Vancouver (7th) and North Vancouver (8th).
The ranking also looked at cities for specific life styles, and Nelson B.C. was ranked the best community in all of Canada to retire. That community received high ranking because of its access to health care, low taxes, and it’s easy to walk, bike or take transit.
When it comes to the best place in Canada to raise a family, Terrebonne Quebec tops the list. It has more than 57% of the population being families with children and an average monthly daycare cost of $166.
The richest city in the country? That would be Aurora Ontario, where the average household net worth is just shy of a million dollars ($965,813.00).
Here is how some communities in Central and Northern B.C. placed in the overall ranking last year and this year:
| Community | 2015 Rank | 2016 Rank |
| Ft. St. John | 47 | 61 |
| Terrace | 122 | 116 |
| Kelowna | 84 | 117 |
| Kamloops | 121 | 117 |
| Prince George | 163 | 127 |
| Williams Lake | 189 | 195 |
| Prince Rupert | 197 | 196 |
| Quesnel | 193 | 200 |
Comments
Have to question that median income figure of $83,926.00.
National Housing Survey using stats from 2011 census shows the median income in Prince George being $40,482.00 before income taxes, and $36,737.00 after income taxes.
Those number reflect all aspects of income in the City. Not sure how they could come with such a high number, but in any event its wrong.
maybe they are basing it on a 2 income family?
I wonder if one is household median and the other is individual median. Either way, I find it hard to believe Fort St. John is better to live than here. They don’t even have a ski hill.
As long as you don’t consider Powder King to be a skihill for PG then you would be correct.
NMG…. are you reading this ? We’re gaining on ya. ;-)
I’m reserving comment so as not to be accused of having ulterior motives with my posts, LOL ;)
I will agree with ski51 though. There’s no way that Fort St. John should be ranked ahead of PG.
Remember, the rankings are done by Money Sense magazine. FS John had one of the highest increases in family income in the country.
The stat is for FAMILY income in PG for 2011. PG is a smaller community and is included under CA (census agglomeration). It is also separated as the City of PG.
CMAs (Census Metropolitan Agglomerations) are tracked more frequently. The latest info is fro 2013.
Calgary had the highest median total family income (before tax) of all CMAs in 2013 at $101,260, according to data derived from personal income tax returns.
Calgary was followed by Edmonton ($98,480) and Ottawa–Gatineau ($96,710). These three have composed the top three CMAs since 2009.
So, oil and federal government/research generates the highest incomes.
Among census agglomerations (CAs), Wood Buffalo, Alberta ($181,240), had the highest median total family income, followed by Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories ($137,860).
Comments for this article are closed.