Best Communities

Canada’s richest communities 2019

The richest place in Canada has an average household net worth of $4.5 million

west vancouver, richest place, richest community in canada, best communities in canada

West Vancouver, British Columbia (RonTech2000/iStock)

Watchers of Canadian real estate prices won’t be surprised the most affluent place in Canada is West Vancouver, with an average household net worth of $4.5 million. The median household income in this municipality sits at $107,000, but West Vancouver’s average housing price of $2.8 million—the highest in the country—indicates that property values are still the primary driving force behind household net worth. The city’s median household income is about $107,000 according to the latest data from Environics Analytics.

With property prices outpacing wages, net worth metrics can be deceiving. Someone making a modest income who bought a house in Canada’s most expensive cities years ago might find themself a millionaire on paper. Meanwhile, a would-be first-time buyer making the exact same income today might find themself priced out of the market.

READ: Why Burlington, Ont. is the best community in Canada

Our figures show the housing crisis in Canada’s major cities persists, despite measures taken by various levels of government to tamp them down. Taxes on foreign buyers and tighter mortgage rules have slowed stratospheric gains in Toronto and Vancouver, but the cost of homeownership relative to median incomes is still unattainably high for many.

Westmount, Que., an affluent enclave of Montreal, finished second in our ranking of the wealthiest communities, with an average household net worth of $3.7 million. Alberta’s Rocky View County, which surrounds most of Calgary, finished third with $3.3 million. The township of King, north of Toronto, and Mont-Royal, Que., west of downtown Montreal, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

READ: Why supercharged small towns trump big cities

To get an idea of the disparities between communities, Burlington, Ont., this year’s winner in the Best Communities ranking, has a median household income of $101,000 and an average household net worth of $1.1 million. That’s $3 million less than the average net worth of a person who lives in West Vancouver. The average West Vancouver household has quadruple the wealth of a Burlington household, despite bringing in a similar income.

Maclean’s Best Communities in Canada ranks 415 cities across the country based on 10 categories: Wealth and economy, affordability, population growth, taxes, commute, crime, weather, access to health care, amenities and culture. For more information, please see the methodology page. To see even more statistics about the Best Communities in Canada, see the full ranking.

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Rank City Province Average household net worth
1 West Vancouver BC $4,454,424
2 Westmount QC $3,653,100
3 Rocky View County AB $3,336,048
4 King ON $2,792,290
5 Mont-Royal QC $2,588,821
6 Whitchurch-Stouffville ON $2,410,521
7 Oak Bay BC $2,314,752
8 Foothills No. 31 AB $2,301,251
9 North Saanich BC $2,028,871
10 North Vancouver BC $1,996,489
11 Greater Vancouver BC $1,778,235
12 Vaughan ON $1,767,338
13 Beaconsfield QC $1,745,755
14 Oakville ON $1,737,882
15 Markham ON $1,594,766
16 Aurora ON $1,580,178
17 Whistler BC $1,558,966
18 Richmond Hill ON $1,486,850
19 Canmore AB $1,446,699
20 Uxbridge ON $1,431,766
21 Langley BC $1,405,439
22 Caledon ON $1,404,222
23 Guelph ON $1,349,216
24 Adjala-Tosorontio ON $1,330,956
25 Halton Hills ON $1,300,762
26 Woolwich ON $1,300,121
27 Salt Spring Island BC $1,274,810
28 Richmond BC $1,271,200
29 Delta BC $1,263,460
30 Erin ON $1,259,442
31 Niagara-on-the-Lake ON $1,255,495
32 Kirkland QC $1,245,639
33 Coldstream BC $1,238,512
34 Vancouver BC $1,220,613
35 East Gwillimbury ON $1,209,158
36 Leduc County AB $1,193,992
37 Port Moody BC $1,193,348
38 Milton ON $1,188,971
39 Côte-Saint-Luc QC $1,182,805
40 White Rock BC $1,179,025
41 Central Saanich BC $1,176,930
42 Pelham ON $1,171,714
43 Springwater ON $1,164,633
44 Sturgeon County AB $1,124,982
45 Middlesex Centre ON $1,109,584
46 Burlington ON $1,099,461
47 Coquitlam BC $1,095,819
48 Strathcona County AB $1,082,581
49 Surrey BC $1,079,951
50 Red Deer County AB $1,075,721
51 Saanich BC $1,069,875
52 Oro-Medonte ON $1,068,261
53 Chestermere AB $1,039,118
54 Parkland County AB $1,018,335
55 West Kelowna BC $1,016,369
56 Sidney BC $1,008,780
57 Burnaby BC $1,002,938
58 Scugog ON $1,002,422
59 Rosemère QC $1,002,384
60 Rothesay NB $999,754
61 Cochrane AB $989,918
62 Wellesley ON $981,400
63 Lincoln ON $975,321
64 Lake Country BC $972,810
65 Okotoks AB $962,486
66 Newmarket ON $956,210
67 Maple Ridge BC $955,690
68 Pickering ON $946,052
69 Lacombe County AB $943,696
70 Toronto ON $941,973
71 Pitt Meadows BC $941,009
72 Grande Prairie County No. 1 AB $927,899
73 Saint-Lambert QC $915,793
74 Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville QC $912,912
75 Waterloo ON $910,103
76 Brampton ON $904,562
77 Brant ON $902,709
78 Wilmot ON $902,570
79 Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield ON $898,737
80 St. Andrews MB $895,566
81 Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures QC $890,027
82 Kelowna BC $887,998
83 Boucherville QC $887,289
84 Mont-Saint-Hilaire QC $886,221
85 Grimsby ON $880,615
86 Weyburn SK $880,193
87 Ajax ON $877,112
88 Mississauga ON $867,992
89 West Lincoln ON $866,767
90 North Vancouver BC $862,344
91 Thames Centre ON $861,106
92 Hamilton ON $857,014
93 Saugeen Shores ON $853,394
94 Whitby ON $853,148
95 Mapleton ON $850,786
96 Port Coquitlam BC $850,383
97 Lloydminster AB $848,282
98 Bradford West Gwillimbury ON $847,902
99 New Tecumseth ON $845,233
100 Georgian Bluffs ON $844,667

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