Newmarket is a happy place to live, according to a new report from Point2 Homes — but it's not as happy as next-door neighbour Aurora.
Newmarket was ranked the 14th happiest city in Canada based on a 30-metric happiness index created by the real estate and analysis organization.
It looked at the 100 largest cities across the country and examined a number of metrics, including median after-tax income, poverty rate, perceived health, sense of belonging, commute time, rainfall and air quality, among others.
These were grouped into four main categories: the economy and real estate, location and demographics, health and well-being, and community and environment.
"Beyond the je-ne-sais-quoi of everyday joyfulness, there are metrics that can help us gauge the overall vibe of a city. Additionally, splitting these happiness factors across four quantifiable dimensions allows us to analyze a city’s forte in terms of everyday happiness," the report said.
Cities were scored out of a possible 100 and the highest score was Caledon with a 67.41 on the happiness index.
"Data shows that, just like in real life, there is no absolute happiness, as none of the largest cities in Canada ranked high in each and every happiness metric that would get them a “maximum happiness” index of 100," the report said.
Newmarket scored 59.59 and ranked highly for location and demographics, as well as health and well-being.
Mayor John Taylor joked that he was happy to hear that.
“We have an exceptionally strong sense of community and community engagement, involvement and pride. Everybody works together to build one of the best places to live in Canada and if you’re living in an amazing place, I’m not shocked to hear that people are ranked as being happier than average," he said.
He acknowledged the work of council, town staff, and community members in making Newmarket a great place to live. He also highlighted things like the award-winning downtown area, event programming, recreation, outdoor concerts, the Tom Taylor Trail, farmers market, and upcoming developments like the Mulock park and Postmark Hotel as other factors that make the town stand out.
"That’s what makes a great place to live and that’s what makes people smile,” Taylor said.
However, Newmarket was ranked below its neighbour to the south, Aurora, which cracked the top 10 with a score of 60.57. It also ranked highly for location and demographics and for health and well-being.
Taylor said he was happy for them to be ranked highly.
"I wish we were all tied for Number 1,” he said of all the communities nearby and where he has friends and family. “I wish everybody happiness and I think it’s great that other people are enjoying a high quality of life and wonderful opportunities and a strong sense of community.”
Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas celebrated the ranking in a Facebook post and said "I am not surprised that Aurora has made it to the top ten list of 'Most Happiest Places in Canada'! We are fortunate to live in such a wonderful town that truly reflects our community's happiness and well-being."
Aurora was the only York Region municipality in the top 10, with Vaughan ranked at 15th, right after Newmarket, with a score of 59.67.
Markham came in 39th with a score of 52.78 and Richmond Hill was 43rd with a score of 51.90. No other York municipalities were included in the ranking.
Based on the scores, Ontario in general seems to be leading the pack as seven out of the top 10 cities were in this province, including all of the top five happiest cities.
Major cities, however, didn't score as high on the happiness index. Toronto, for example, was ranked 72nd with a score of 45.97.
The full ranking of all 100 largest cities in Canada can be found online but these are the top 10 happiest:
- Caledon, ON
- Milton, ON
- Halton Hills, ON
- Clarington, ON
- Burlington, ON
- Lévis, QC
- Oakville, ON
- District of North Vancouver, BC
- Saguenay, QC
- Aurora, ON
