Edmonton ranked just outside the global top 100 cities for quality of life
Edmonton ranked just outside the global top 100 cities for quality of life, performing well in housing affordability and health care but trailing in several other categories.
The Quality of Life Index measures how liveable 304 cities across the world are based on factors including purchasing power, pollution, housing affordability, safety, health care, commute times, and climate. Higher scores indicate a better overall quality of life.
The index is published by Numbeo, a crowdsourced database that relies on user surveys and data submitted by users.
Using a weighted formula that combines all categories, Edmonton received an overall Quality of Life Index score of 175,2, placing it 111th in the world. This puts Edmonton just behind Tokyo, Japan and ahead of Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Numbeo
When broken down by category, Edmonton scored particularly well for housing affordability. The city ranked 42nd globally for its property price-to-income ratio, putting it just ahead of Regina but behind San Antonio, Texas.
Health care was another strong category for the city. Edmonton ranked 37th globally on the health care index, placing it behind Graz, Austria, but ahead of 38th-place Paris, France.
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The city also performed relatively well when it comes to pollution, ranking 59th best in the world between Sydney, Australia, and Tucson. Traffic commute times placed Edmonton 63rd globally.
Other categories were less favourable. Edmonton ranked 166th worldwide for cost of living and 179th on the safety index, with an equal score as Beirut, Lebanon.
Numbeo
Climate was Edmonton’s worst category by a wide margin. The city posted a climate index score of 32.1, making it the eighth worst in the world, just behind Calgary in ninth place. Regina ranked last globally, scoring lower than cities such as Novosibirsk, Russia, and Kuwait City.
Edmonton ranked 112th globally for purchasing power.
So while affordable housing and healthcare are working in Edmonton’s favour, the index finds that the city is falling short when it comes to the overall cost of living, safety, and climate.
You can find the full Quality of Life Index on Numbeo’s website.
Do you agree with where Edmonton landed on this quality of life list? Let us know in the comments.