Last week, Maclean’s magazine published its ‘Best Communities in Canada’ list and Bradford made it to the top 100.
Out of the 415 communities researched, BWG ranked 60th.
The weightings were based on a number of factors including affordability, health, taxes, weather, wealth and economy, demographics, commute, amenities, culture and community and crime.
The top three features for Bradford were: demographics, crime, and wealth and economy.
The data reported the average value of a home being $861,916 with a median household income of $103,029.
Neighbouring town New Tecumseth ranked 5th overall with the average home there being $642,416 with a median household income of $95,380. Their top features included demographics, crime and culture, and community.
Newmarket was ranked 93rd, East Gwillimbury- 124th Barrie- 154th, and Innisfil -188th.
The number one spot went to Burlington and in last place was Mountain View County, Alberta.
Both Ontario and British Columbia had most of the top communities listed in the top 50. The report credited their strong economies and good weather for their high rankings.
The report noticed a trend in this year’s list, with many of the top spots going to towns with populations of less than 40,000 people. Bradford is just slightly over with 41,055 residents.
With more affordable housing and lower crime rates, the small towns cleaned up in the rankings.
The report states it weighted categories based on what they thought would be important to most people, but invite people to visit the online tool to make their own weighted scale based on priorities and needs.
To check out the full list, click here
