Survey ranks two Alberta cities as best places to live

A MoneySense survey has named two Albertan cities as the best places to live in Canada, reports CityNews.ca.

For the first time ever, the magazine’s Best Places to Live in Canada ranking saw St. Albert place first overall, after placing second in 2013. Calgary earned the number two spot.

“It was a bit of race in Alberta for the top spot – Calgary continues to do well,” MoneySense deputy editor Sarah Efron said of the results in an interview.

The ranking examines a number of key factors that add to the quality of life in over 200 cities and towns across the nation. Some of the areas of focus include employment, average housing prices, crime, weather and average household income.

Additionally, the results show that nearly half of the top 20 cities are in Western Canada, led by St. Albert. Located near Edmonton, St. Albert, which has a population of 64,000, has an unemployment rate near 4 per cent, with incomes near the top in the country and a low crime rate.