This Canadian city is the best place to live in Canada in 2024 with a high quality of life

Canada is home to several cities that boast a high quality of life thanks to their low cost of living, low crime index and overall happiness, but there's one spot in Ontario that came out on top.

Montreal-based company Moving Waldo ranked the top six best places to live in Canada with the best quality of life in 2024, highlighting regions with diverse cultures, amenities, parks, housing options, and safe areas that enhance its residents' welfare.

Moving Waldo based the ranking on three criteria: safety, affordability and quality of life. The safety ranking method used data sourced from Statistics Canada's 2022 records to analyze the Crime Severity Index.

The index encompasses all Criminal Code violations, traffic offences, drug violates and other federal statute breaches, the software company said. To best interpret the Crime Severity Index values, Moving Waldo outlined varying levels of low crime to very high crime.

Below 70 indicates low crime, while a score of 70 to 99 suggests moderate crime activity. Any value from 100 to 139 indicates high crime severity, while a score of 140 and above reflects a very high crime severity.

As for data regarding housing and renting, the Montreal company sourced data from Realtor.ca and Zumper. Furthermore, to measure the "best quality of life," Moving Waldo measured feedback from real people who have moved to these areas in their database or real people from trusted online forums.

So, which city managed to take the number one spot?

Moving Waldo ranked Wellington County as the best place to live in Canada with the best quality of life in 2024. Located in the southwestern region of Ontario, Wellington County is made up of areas including Elora, Fergus, Guelph, Drayton, Arthur and Harriston, to name a few.

The Canadian destination managed to receive a Crime Index Secveirty score of 27.80, which not only points to "low crime," per Moving Waldo's standards but next to no crime.

As noted by many of its locals, Wellington County is strategically located as it provides easy access to Brampton, Mississauga, Kitchener, and Downtown Toronto.

The company indicated that as of November 2023, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Wellington County is $1,738, and the average property price is $861,528.

"The city’s public safety services are dedicated to building and maintaining a community healthy, dynamic and safe. In fact, Wellington County excels in all 3 categories: low crime, low unemployment rate, and healthy population growth," Moving Waldo said.

The region is also home to a variety of parks and green spaces, including Elora Gorge and Victoria Park — allowing residents to take advantage of many outdoor activities such as cycling and hiking.

Moving Waldo did specify that the area does not have the best public transit system, making owning a car essential.

Wondering which other Canadian cities made the cut? Here's the complete top six of the best places to live in Canada, per Moving Waldo:

1. Wellington County, Ontario
2. Oak Bay, British Columbia
3. LaSalle, Ontario
4. Lévis, Quebec
5. Burlington, Ontario
6. Edmundston, New Brunswick

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

This article has been updated since it was originally published on March 5, 2024.