St. Albert is ranked as the best place in Canada to raise kids in 2015 by MoneySense magazine. The botanical arts city also placed first in the reader’s choice division of the Canadian magazine’s annual ranking of communities.
But in the overall ranking of 209 communities from coast to coast, St. Albert dropped from its 2014 first place spot to fourth, beaten out by Boucherville, Que., Ottawa and Burlington, Ont.
“I’m a little bit disappointed, but on the other hand [it’s] still a very high ranking in Canada,” Mayor Nolan Crouse said Monday. “There’s a certain amount of pride that goes with being No. 1 and I think when you’ve still got the top ranking on places to raise a kid and still in the top four, you’ve still got the bragging rights of a great place.”
The ranking is determined by a weighted score that looks at many categories including weather, the number of luxury cars on the road, access to health care, and crime.
St. Albert’s statistics show low unemployment numbers, a high median household income of $129,129 and a falling crime rate, along with a number of other positive indicators.
Sarah Efron, acting editor-in-chief of MoneySense, said St. Albert dropped a few points this year due to what they considered to be overly fast population growth and high real estate prices.
They look for a sweet spot for growth, Efron said, and MoneySense’s calculations had population growing 12.1 per cent between 2010 and 2015.
“That can put a strain on social services, medical services, things like that,” Efron said.
Crouse said it was interesting that St. Albert’s population growth was considered too fast, noting it’s modest compared to some other Alberta communities.
Another reason St. Albert dropped was its high real estate prices, Efron said, though she acknowledged that’s the result of a good economy in Alberta.
“That does push prices up and makes it less affordable compared to other cities on our list,” Efron said.
Crouse said the issue of high housing prices didn’t surprise him, noting the housing stock available at an entry or downsizing-level is “inadequate.”
He noted that over the years council has changed land-use bylaws to encourage a greater diversity of affordable housing stock.
The No. 1 place to raise kids ranking system looked at additional categories, such as child-care spaces, the population of those 14 and under, average daycare costs and the percentage of families with kids, along with other related data.
St. Albert’s numbers, according to MoneySense’s statistics, show 57.6 per cent of families have children, that 19.1 per cent of the population is under the age of 15, and that the average monthly daycare cost is $955.
“Daycare isn’t cheap but salaries are quite strong, so it’s affordable for most people,” Efron said.
St. Albert was joined by many other Albertan communities in moving down the rankings this year. The magazine notes that booming population growth impacting services, in addition to rising unemployment, as two of the reasons why many communities in this province dropped a few spots.
The city didn’t lose as much ground as some of last year’s close competitors. Last year, Calgary was ranked second overall and this year fell to 19th place. Strathcona County was third last year, and fell to 18th place.
