The results are in for the best cities in which to work in B.C. next year according to BC Business Magazine.
And there is a new number one.
Squamish has risen from number four to number one in this year’s ranking due to a number of factors says Matt O’Grady from BC Business.
“It’s a combination of really strong income growth over the past five years and the increasing probability with affordability in the Lower Mainland,” he says. “I think it’s forced people to reconsider where they buy a home, where they set up families, set up business.”
O’Grady says Squamish is also in a good location, it’s not too far from Vancouver or from Whistler.
The ranking of the cities is determined by seven factors:
- average household income
- average household income under 35
- average household spending on recreation
- average shelter costs
- five-year population growth
- five-year average household income growth
- unemployment rate
The top five cities in B.C. in which to work in 2017 are:
- Squamish
- Fort St. John
- Dawson Creek
- Kelowna
- Langley
The top four cities on the list each experienced income growth close to 20 per cent, according to BC Business.
“What has been the trend over the past couple years is that the cities that are just outside the old suburbs of Vancouver are doing quite well, Langley, Delta, Pitt Meadows, places where it’s still relatively affordable to live,” said O’Grady. “Where there are jobs, where you are still close to the heart of the Lower Mainland of Vancouver.”
Terrace came in at number six on the list, after a huge jump from number 25 in 2016, which O’Grady said is due to it being a service hub in the northwest of B.C. – close to Kitimat and on the way to Prince Rupert.
According to BC Business, the northeast part of the province is still an economically attractive region, but while the incomes remain high, the unemployment rate has grown to 9.4 per cent in September, 2016.
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