These 10 Small Cities In Ontario Were Just Ranked Among The Best In Canada & Here's Why
Might be time to move out of a big city!
Aerial view of Barrie. Right: Downtown Kingston.
Let's hear it for Ontario because 10 of the province's small cities were just recognized as some of the best across Canada.
Resonance Consultancy, an organization that regularly ranks the world's top destinations, drafted their top 25 list of small Canadian cities that are the best of the best. They looked at places with less than 200,000 residents and evaluated the following six categories: place, product, people, programming, prosperity and promotion.
These categories considered things like weather, traffic, health care, airport connectivity, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, employment rate, income equality, household income, home ownership and how many young adults live there, among many other factors.
So, without further ado, here are the 10 small cities in Ontario that cracked the top 25 list for the country.
Kingston
Rank: 3
Population: 135,169
Why It's The Best: This small Ontario city ranked the highest in the province for a ton of reasons, including its wide variety of shops, buzzing nightlife, top-tier universities and booming real estate market. It's also the top Googled city in the country.
"Few Canadian cities — large or small — have the soul, the influence and the sense of place of Kingston," the study reads.
Niagara Falls
Rank: 4
Population: 96,206
Why It's The Best: "It turns out that the honeymoon capital of the world is a pretty sweet place to put down roots and raise a family," the report reads.
This top tourist destination also comes out on top as one of the best small cities in the country due to the amount of family-friendly activities it has to offer, and of course, for its sights and landmarks. Hello, it's the falls.
Waterloo
Rank: 5
Population: 123,991
Why It's The Best: If you were ever wondering if Canada had its own version of Silicon Valley, the answer is apparently yes, and it's Waterloo. The report points out that the University of Waterloo produced BlackBerry, among other major companies too. This small city came out on top for having some of the "smartest" residents in Canada, its number of green spaces and having the highest number of young people living there.
Burlington
Rank: 7
Population: 193,533
Why It's The Best: According to the study, there are "few spots in Canada [that] can top the serenity of Burlington." With safety as its highest-ranked living feature, Burlington also boasts "the most sprawling green spaces of any city in the province." Day trip to the Niagara Escarpment, anyone?
Guelph
Rank: 8
Population: 146,600
Why It's The Best: Guelph is one of the fastest-growing cities in the province (and the country), as more university students kick back in this city after they graduate. Outside of their post-secondary schools, this small town clinched a spot in the best small Canadian cities list due to its landmarks and high ranking for Instagram hashtags and Google searches too.
Milton
Rank: 11
Population: 138,495
Why It's The Best: "The safest small city in Canada is also one of the fastest growing. Must be all those outdoor pursuits so close to Toronto," the report reads.
According to the study, Milton is projected to have its population double within the next 10 years, and it's ranked among the best small cities in the country for having such fast population growth. It also came out on top for being the safest in Canada and for having some of the "most educated" residents too.
Barrie
Rank: 17
Population: 153,169
Why It's The Best: While Barrie is close to both Toronto and Ontario's stunning cottage country, the report points to its restaurants as being one of the key features of why it's a great place to live.
"But it's what's in town that has people talking: with the #2-ranked restaurants in the country among small cities, Barrie is a culinary treasure trove," the report reads.
Thunder Bay
Rank: 21
Population: 110,790
Why It's The Best: "The great outdoors and great health care come together in a northern Ontario special blend," the report reads.
Thunder Bay cracked the top 25 list since its close to the largest freshwater lake in the world, and according to Resonance Consultancy, it has the "second-most health-care practitioners per capita among small cities in Canada."
Aurora
Rank: 24
Population: 63,981
Why It's The Best: Location, location, location, is always such a big real estate selling point, and it is also one of the reasons why Aurora cracked the top 25 list for small cities in Canada. After all, it has easy access to the GO train and is about an hour's drive away from the 6ix.
Aurora also ranked high for its home ownership, self-employment and family-friendly categories.
St. Catharines
Rank: 25
Population: 141,397
Why It's The Best: Last, but certainly not least, St. Catharines clinched the 25th spot because it's right in the heart of "Ontario's booming Niagara region".
"All this creativity, foodie culture and some of the province's most impressive breweries has people who missed out on affordability in Hamilton looking further west," the report reads.
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