The Ratesdotca website recently announced a list of the most livable places in Canada according to a number of objective factors such as scenery and non-objective factors such as average mortgage payment and home price.
The Northern Capital came in 125th place out of 166, coming in right behind Belleville, Ontario, and placing just ahead of Inverness, Nova Scotia.
“Prince George got high marks for things like home price stability and affordability,” said Robert Mclister, Mortgage Editor at Ratesdotca, “its average mortgage payment of $1,697 a month is about $300 lower than the national average.”
According to the list, the average price of a home in PG in 2020 was $406,943 while the average one-year home price growth was 9.6%.
“PG got lower marks for things like climate, as it’s not the warmest place in Canada, its nightlife doesn’t rank as high either,” Mclister noted.
The community’s nightlife only received two out of five stars, while the scenery and outdoor activity rankings did a little better, each receiving three out of five stars.
“Scenery is really objective, what’s great for one person might be only average to another,” he explained.
Some factors contributing to scenery ratings include proximity to a large body of water and mountains, which according to the site, Prince George isn’t near either.
Even with a number of relatively low marks, the site describes PG as, “Northern BC’s largest city and most stable economy,” with a population of 96,015.
BC communities accounted for about 20% of the list, nabbing 34 of the 166 total rankings and taking five of the top 10 spots.