CityScoreCanada
Transparency

12 metrics from public sources

Data Sources & Methodology

Every metric displayed in CityScore Canada is sourced from official public datasets. No proprietary data. All sources freely accessible.

How Scores Are Calculated

01

Normalize

Each metric is normalized to a 0–100 score using min-max normalization across all 35 CMAs. Values beyond 3 standard deviations are clipped to prevent outliers from collapsing other scores.

02

Aggregate

Dimension scores are the unweighted average of constituent metric scores. If a metric is unavailable for a CMA, it is excluded from that dimension average.

03

Weight

The overall score is the weighted average of all dimension scores. Default weights: Economic 25%, Housing 25%, Quality of Life 20%, Safety 15%, Environment 10%, Demographics 5%.

Data Freshness

FreshWithin 60 days
Aging61–365 days old
StaleOlder than 365 days
HistoricalCensus data (5-year cycle)

Freshness is derived from the source publication date, not when CityScore Canada collected the data. Stale data is still shown but clearly marked — it is never silently omitted.

Sources by Metric

Economic Vitality(3 metrics)

MetricSource
Unemployment Rate
Lower is better
Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey
14-10-0459-01
Open dataset ↗
Employment Rate
Higher is better
Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey
14-10-0459-01
Open dataset ↗
Median Household Income
Higher is better
Statistics Canada T1FF / Census
11-10-0162-01
Open dataset ↗

Housing Affordability(3 metrics)

MetricSource
Average Monthly Rent (2BR)
Lower is better
CMHC Rental Market Survey
Open dataset ↗
Rental Vacancy Rate
Higher is better
CMHC Rental Market Survey
Open dataset ↗
New Housing Price Index
Lower is better
CMHC / Statistics Canada (CREA HPI proxy)
18-10-0205-01
Open dataset ↗

Quality of Life(2 metrics)

MetricSource
Consumer Price Index
Lower is better
Statistics Canada CPI
18-10-0004-01
Open dataset ↗
5-Year Population Growth Rate
Higher is better
Statistics Canada Population Estimates
17-10-0148-01
Open dataset ↗

Safety(1 metric)

MetricSource
Crime Severity Index
Lower is better
Statistics Canada Uniform Crime Reporting Survey
35-10-0026-01
Open dataset ↗

Environment(1 metric)

MetricSource
Air Quality Health Index (30-day avg)
Lower is better
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Open dataset ↗

Demographics(4 metrics)

MetricSource
Population
Display only
Statistics Canada Population Estimates
17-10-0148-01
Open dataset ↗
5-Year Population Growth
Higher is better
Statistics Canada Population Estimates
17-10-0148-01
Open dataset ↗
Immigration Share
Higher is better
Statistics Canada Census 2021
98-10-0384-01
Open dataset ↗
Median Age
Display only
Statistics Canada Census 2021
98-10-0384-01
Open dataset ↗