Point2Homes, an online real estate marketplace, recently ranked Canada’s 100 largest cities for renters, with Airdrie coming in at number 94.
According to the company, the report looked at the 100 largest census districts (cities) based on the latest 2021 Census data from Statistics Canada, analyzing 24 metrics grouped into three categories: economy and housing, quality of life and community.
Overall, Airdrie’s renter rate is 20.7 percent and the average rent is $1,485.
Other indicators that factored into the overall ranking were the average green space, where Airdrie scored 25, and the Walk Score of 33. Airdrie’s air quality scored 6, while the crime severity index was 46.6 percent.
But how does Airdrie compare to the top cities? According to the study’s key findings, St. John’s, Newfoundland, is the best city for renters, followed by Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Quebec City, Quebec.
“Quebec leads the way with seven cities in the top 10 best places for renters. New Brunswick follows at a distance with two cities in the top 10: Fredericton and St. John. Although they stand out in certain criteria, none of Canada’s 10 largest cities are among the best cities for renters,” the study emphasizes.
It was also pointed out that Quebec is unrivaled in terms of residential and economic hotspots.
“The top 10 cities in metrics such as housing affordability, unemployment rate and rental availability are all in this province. Quality of life hotspots: Quebec leads the way here too, with five cities in the top 10 best places for life satisfaction, perceived stress levels and air quality, among others, but Ontario also manages to secure three spots.”
Airdrie scored a total of 65 points in the economy and housing category. The report states: “In terms of affordability, Wood Buffalo is the absolute leader in Alberta, with an impressive 82.8 percent of renters here spending 30 percent or less of their income on housing costs.”
“Given their high scores in this category, it is not surprising that Quebec cities follow suit, leaving little room for Saint John, NB and Prince George, BC to squeeze into the top 20 cities for this criterion.”
In comparison, over 64 percent of renters in Airdrie spend 30 percent or less of their income on housing costs.
In terms of quality of life in the hotspots, Airdrie performed well overall, ranking 37th.
“Aspects such as monthly rent, total housing costs, income and affordability are always a priority for renters, no matter where they live. However, aspects such as safety, air quality, walking distance, commuting time and access to nature and green spaces within the city are rapidly gaining importance and relevance. These factors can determine the overall attractiveness and standard of living of a city,” the report says.
According to the report, British Columbia scores highly in the area of walkability, with four cities in the province ranking among the highest walkability scores of all cities analyzed. Vancouver, North Vancouver City, Victoria and New Westminster all have walkability scores above 70.
According to the report, a combination of ranking scores and weighted averages is used.
“We analyzed 23 metrics, each rated on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the city with the best performance on that specific metric. Data reported by Statistics Canada are at the city level, with exceptions where the lack of this data resulted in metropolitan-level data being used instead.”
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