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)

August 8, 2019

[linknav category=536894]

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.

Search to filter by city or province:

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

tags:Best Communities in Canada 2019 Editor's Picks wealth

Canada’s richest communities 2019

Share