Two B.C. cities have been named among the best in the whole world for people from Gen Z to move to in 2026.
Vancouver and Victoria were the two B.C. cities to get a mention; however, they ranked lower than some other Canadian cities.
Remitly recently put together a list of the best cities in the world for Gen Z to move to.
“Your 20s are a genuinely great time to take a leap. Whether you’re eyeing a fresh start after university or college, chasing a job opportunity abroad, or just ready to live somewhere different. Moving to a new city (or a new country entirely) can be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make,” Remitly says.
Remitly says it analyzed 250 cities “across nine key factors” that are important to Gen Z, including rent and job prospects, to figure out which cities “genuinely deliver for this generation.”
Other factors Remitly considered include:
- Safety index
- LGBTQ+ equality
- Broadband speed
- Nightlife affordability
- Quality of life index
- Average monthly net salary
- Share of population aged 20-29
Victoria ranked 49th, with a total score of 63.46 out of 100, while Vancouver ranked 43rd, with a score of 64.26. For context, top-ranked cities Copenhagen in Denmark and Bern in Switzerland had scores of 76.67 and 74.01, respectively.
Ottawa was the highest-ranked Canadian spot, with a score of 68.77.
“Canada’s capital scored impressively on safety (68.4 – the highest out of any Canadian city analyzed), LGBTQ+ equality (79/100, one of the highest in the study), and affordability of a night out – especially compared to Canadian cities like Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver,” Remitly said of Ottawa.
It added, “Average monthly salaries of around $5,500 CAD ($4,008) and a youth unemployment rate of 13.8% reflect a city with a stable economy that offers predictability even if it lacks the startup energy of Vancouver or Toronto.”
Neither Vancouver nor Victoria ranked high enough for a blurb about the respective B.C. cities, as only the top 10 got a full Gen Z analysis from Remitly.
Other Canadian cities that ranked higher include Calgary (21st), Halifax (22nd), Montreal (28th), Edmonton (35th), and Toronto (39th).