Composite profile
Overall score
84/100
Vancouver is most useful for users comparing outdoor amenity, clean-energy direction, and tech-sector growth against high housing pressure.
Overall84/100
Affordability56/100
Air quality86/100
Energy90/100
Canada / North America
Vancouver, Canada City Intelligence
Vancouver is a Pacific-coast Canadian city with strong outdoor amenity, low-carbon hydroelectricity, and a fast-growing tech and creative economy. Vancouver is a north america city of about 2.6M metro in Canada. On the composite city-intelligence score, Vancouver sits comfortably above the indexed median (84/100).
- Last updated
- 2026-05-16
- Data year
- 2025
- Population
- 2.6M metro
Image credit: Image: Northwest / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Visual context
Additional verified imagery for Vancouver, Canada. Each photo is sourced from Wikimedia Commons with full attribution and a permissive license.
Stanley Park
Image credit: Image: squeakymarmot / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Overall city intelligence
Strong84/100
Strong amenity and clean-energy profile balanced against high housing pressure.
Outdoor amenity
Very high
Coastal and mountain amenity supports a strong quality of daily life.
Energy mix
Low-carbon
Hydropower supports a favorable transition baseline.
Vancouver data table
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 84/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 56/100 | Vancouver is expensive on housing and central services, partially offset by outdoor amenity and service depth. |
| Air Quality | 86/100 | Vancouver has strong baseline air quality, helped by coastal context, with episodic wildfire smoke the main seasonal concern. |
| Energy | 90/100 | Vancouver operates with a low-carbon electricity baseline led by hydropower, with active building and transport electrification work. |
| Safety | 84/100 | Vancouver is among the safer large North American cities, with low violent-crime context and strong institutional response. |
| Internet Speed | 88/100 | Vancouver delivers fast fiber broadband and reliable mobile coverage, supporting a growing tech and creative economy. |
| Climate Risk | 76/100 | Vancouver faces moderate climate exposure from heat, atmospheric-river rainfall, and seasonal wildfire smoke, balanced by active adaptation. |
| Resilience | 80/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Safety
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Safety
Overall safety77/100
Low crime80/100
Personal safety79/100
Night safety70/100
Road safety77/100
Vancouver is estimated to be a generally safe city (77/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators, though night-time scores run lower.
Quality of Life
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Quality of Life
Quality of life84/100
Healthcare86/100
Education90/100
Green space86/100
Cleanliness89/100
Infrastructure98/100
Mobility72/100
Vancouver has a very high quality-of-life estimate (84/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport, green space, cleanliness and infrastructure.
Family Friendliness
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Family Friendliness
Family friendliness82/100
Education90/100
Green space86/100
Overall safety77/100
Vancouver scores very high for family living (82/100), helped by education access, safety, parks and green space and healthcare.
Digital Nomad Suitability
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Digital Nomad Suitability
Digital nomad suitability79/100
Walkability74/100
Cycling61/100
Infrastructure98/100
Vancouver is high for remote workers (79/100), based on connectivity, walkability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Retirement Suitability
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Retirement Suitability
Retirement suitability77/100
Healthcare86/100
Cleanliness89/100
Outdoor lifestyle52/100
Vancouver is high for retirement (77/100), appealing for healthcare access and a clean environment.
Emergency and public safety in Vancouver
Local public safety guidance for Vancouver, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
| Service | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Universal emergency | 91124/7 | 911 reaches police, fire, and emergency medical dispatch in most regions of Canada. |
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Vancouver, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the Canada emergency profile.
Public safety sources
Each emergency contact above is attributed to an official emergency service or government publisher. Confirm current numbers directly with these sources.
- Government of Canada: Emergency services in Canada
Used as the primary attribution for Canada's 911 universal emergency number.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare and hospitals in Vancouver
Healthcare context for Vancouver, with national-level information from Canada where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Vancouver, see the Canada healthcare profile.
Official hospital registry
Canadian Institute for Health Information
National source of comparable Canadian health-system data and analysis recognised by federal and provincial governments.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Healthcare sources
Each entry above is attributed to an official government, public health, or recognised health-system publisher. Confirm current information directly with these sources.
- Government of Canada: Health Canada
Used as the primary federal attribution for Canadian public-health context.
- Canadian Institute for Health Information: Canadian Institute for Health Information
Used as the primary reference for Canadian health-system statistics and hospital-system framing.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Transport and mobility in Vancouver
Local mobility context for Vancouver, with national-level context from Canada where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Vancouver, see the Canada transport profile.
Transport sources
Each entry above is attributed to an official transport authority, national operator, airport publisher, or government source. Confirm current information directly with these publishers.
- Government of Canada: Transport Canada
Used as the primary federal attribution for Canadian national transport context.
- VIA Rail Canada: VIA Rail Canada
Used as the primary attribution for Canadian national rail operator information.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Air quality dataset
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Vancouver. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Air quality dataset for Vancouver
Verified data unavailableLast updated 2026-05-16 / data year 2025
Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location
Source-attributed values for Vancouver will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Data provenance
Source attributionGlobal City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailable- Publisher
- Global City Intelligence
- Last verified
- 2026-05-16
The air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Methodology and context
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
- Scoring methodology — how indicators across the platform are constructed.
- Data sources registry — the official sources cited by verified datasets.
- Open the Vancouver air-quality module
- Browse the clean-air city collection
Quick answers
Quick, evidence-based answers about Vancouver drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Quick answers about Vancouver
Is Vancouver worth visiting?
Yes — excellent quality of life (84/100), with nearby nature such as Stanley Park, Mount Seymour Provincial Park.
Is Vancouver good for families?
Excellent (82/100) on safety, schools and green space.
Is Vancouver affordable?
Around average cost; about C$2,460/month for one person (estimate).
When is the best time to visit Vancouver?
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jul, coldest in Jan.
What are Vancouver's main industries?
Mainly energy, technology, aerospace.
What is the climate in Vancouver?
An oceanic climate, averaging about 11.7°C.
Does Vancouver have universities?
Higher education is strong (78/100).
What is healthcare like in Vancouver?
Healthcare access is strong (76/100).
Is Vancouver good for retirement?
Retirement suitability is strong (69/100).
What nature is near Vancouver?
Within ~170 km: Stanley Park, Mount Seymour Provincial Park.
Related comparisons
Pairs that share a city, comparison intent, or region — useful for users planning a wider relocation, remote-work, or business decision.
North America · Regional alternative
Vancouver vs Toronto: Cost, Safety, Healthcare & Transport
Compare Vancouver and Toronto across cost of living, air quality, safety, healthcare, transport, and country context for Canadian intra-country relocation.
North America · Regional alternative
Calgary vs Vancouver: Cost, Safety, Healthcare & Transport
Pair Calgary and Vancouver for a Western-Canada comparison across cost framing, country-level public-service context, and natural-environment considerations.
Explore Vancouver modules
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Cost of Living in Vancouver
Vancouver is expensive on housing and central services, partially offset by outdoor amenity and service depth.
Air Quality in Vancouver
Vancouver has strong baseline air quality, helped by coastal context, with episodic wildfire smoke the main seasonal concern.
Energy in Vancouver
Vancouver operates with a low-carbon electricity baseline led by hydropower, with active building and transport electrification work.
Safety in Vancouver
Vancouver is among the safer large North American cities, with low violent-crime context and strong institutional response.
Internet Speed in Vancouver
Vancouver delivers fast fiber broadband and reliable mobile coverage, supporting a growing tech and creative economy.
Climate Risk in Vancouver
Vancouver faces moderate climate exposure from heat, atmospheric-river rainfall, and seasonal wildfire smoke, balanced by active adaptation.
City rankings
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living in Vancouver
Cost of living estimates for Vancouver — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate in Vancouver
Climate profile for Vancouver — Oceanic climate, annual average 11.7°C, comfort score 64/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs in Vancouver
Economy and jobs profile for Vancouver — major economy, economy score 80/100, key industries including energy, technology, aerospace. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Universities and education in Vancouver
Education profile for Vancouver — major university city, education score 76/100, 9 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement in Vancouver
Healthcare and retirement profile for Vancouver — major healthcare center, healthcare score 76/100, retirement score 69/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Arrival planning guide for Vancouver
Practical arrival planning context for Vancouver — links into transport, public-safety, healthcare, budgeting tools, and methodology. Not an official airport or travel instruction service.
Neighborhood planning guide for Vancouver
Structured neighborhood research checklist for Vancouver — links into transport, public-safety, healthcare, arrival planning, and budgeting tools. Not a real-estate, rental, or safety-ranking service.
Moving to Vancouver planning guide
Structured relocation research checklist for Vancouver — links into country context, arrival planning, neighborhood research, cost tools, healthcare, public safety, and transport. Not immigration, visa, tax, legal, financial, medical, or property advice.
Visual guide to Vancouver
Source-attributed visual context for Vancouver using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.
Summer 2026 travel planning guide for Vancouver
Summer 2026 travel planning checklist for Vancouver — links into arrival planning, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not a weather forecast, events calendar, hotel-price guide, or tourism ranking.
Weekend trip planning guide for Vancouver
Weekend trip planning checklist for Vancouver — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.
Nearby weekend places from Vancouver
Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.
Estimate a monthly budget for Vancouver
Estimate a monthly budget for Vancouver using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Vancouver
Plan a trip budget for Vancouver using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Nearby cities from Vancouver
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Vancouver. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Burnaby, Canada
Same region · about 15 km from Vancouver. Explore Burnaby's city intelligence profile.
Surrey, Canada
Same region · about 25 km from Vancouver. Explore Surrey's city intelligence profile.
Nanaimo, Canada
Mountain cluster · about 60 km from Vancouver. Explore Nanaimo's city intelligence profile.
Abbotsford, Canada
Same region · about 65 km from Vancouver. Explore Abbotsford's city intelligence profile.
Bellingham, United States
Cross-border · about 77 km from Vancouver. Explore Bellingham's city intelligence profile.
Chilliwack, Canada
Same region · about 87 km from Vancouver. Explore Chilliwack's city intelligence profile.
Victoria, Canada
Same region · about 99 km from Vancouver. Explore Victoria's city intelligence profile.
Seattle, United States
Cross-border · about 196 km from Vancouver. Explore Seattle's city intelligence profile.
Kamloops, Canada
Weekend trip · about 252 km from Vancouver. Explore Kamloops's city intelligence profile.
Penticton, Canada
Same region · about 258 km from Vancouver. Explore Penticton's city intelligence profile.
Related collections
Regional discovery collections that include Vancouver — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.
Canada Mountains
Mountain region · 11 places across 59 cities.
Canada Protected Landscapes
Protected landscape · 30 places across 80 cities.
Weekend Escapes near Vancouver
Weekend escapes · 30 places across 17 cities.
Themed collections
Theme-first discovery collections that include Vancouver — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Canada Hiking Areas
Hiking Areas · 47 places across 71 cities.
Canada Mountain Escapes
Mountain Escapes · 17 places across 63 cities.
Canada Nature Photography Spots
Nature Photography Spots · 50 places across 71 cities.
North American Hiking Areas
Hiking Areas · 50 places across 80 cities.
North American Mountain Escapes
Mountain Escapes · 16 places across 80 cities.
North American Nature Photography Spots
Nature Photography Spots · 50 places across 80 cities.
Vancouver FAQ
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Vancouver, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Frequently asked questions about Vancouver
Is Vancouver worth visiting?
Vancouver has a very high quality-of-life estimate (84/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport, green space, cleanliness and infrastructure. Visitors can also reach nature such as Stanley Park, Mount Seymour Provincial Park and Garibaldi Provincial Park within weekend range.
What is it like to live in Vancouver?
Vancouver has a very high quality-of-life estimate (84/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, public transport, green space, cleanliness and infrastructure. It indexes 84/100 for overall quality of life.
How much does it cost to live in Vancouver?
A single resident of Vancouver spends roughly C$2,460 per month, with a one-bedroom rent near C$1,300. Overall the city is around average cost for Canada. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
What should I know about moving to Vancouver?
Plan for around-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Vancouver is high for remote workers (79/100), based on connectivity, walkability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
What is the job market like in Vancouver?
Vancouver's labour market is very strong, with opportunities concentrated in technology, tourism and hospitality and education and research. Vancouver has a large and diversified economy with strengths in energy, technology and aerospace.
Is Vancouver good for digital nomads and remote work?
Vancouver offers strong infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 82/100.
What are the education options in Vancouver?
Vancouver is a major university city with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Design, Computer Science and Business.
Is Vancouver a good place to study?
Vancouver offers a strong student environment, supported by walkable neighborhoods, strong quality of life and good connectivity.
What is healthcare like in Vancouver?
Vancouver has a major healthcare center, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 76/100. Residents have very strong access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Is Vancouver a good place to retire?
Vancouver offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 69/100. Residents benefit from parks and green space, walkable streets and broad urban amenities and day-to-day services.
What is the climate like in Vancouver?
Vancouver has an oceanic climate, averaging about 11.7°C annually with roughly 1001 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jul and the coldest Jan. The driest is typically Jun.
Is Vancouver a safe place to live?
Vancouver is estimated to be a generally safe city (77/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators, though night-time scores run lower.
How easy is it to get around Vancouver?
Vancouver indexes a walkability score of 74 and a cycling score of 61 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
What nature and outdoor places are near Vancouver?
Nature destinations within about 170 km of Vancouver include Stanley Park, Mount Seymour Provincial Park and Garibaldi Provincial Park. Each is linked with its official source on the profile.
Is Vancouver good for families?
Vancouver scores very high for family living (82/100), helped by education access, safety, parks and green space and healthcare.
What outdoor activities are there around Vancouver?
Vancouver rates 52/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 86/100 for green space. Nearby nature such as Stanley Park, Mount Seymour Provincial Park and Garibaldi Provincial Park supports day hikes, water activities and weekend trips.
Interpretation
Vancouver is most useful for users comparing outdoor amenity, clean-energy direction, and tech-sector growth against high housing pressure. Its standout dimensions are energy (90/100) and internet speed (88/100). The area most worth watching is cost of living (56/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 5 institutional references.
Country context is available on the Canada country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Vancouver appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Sources
5 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
- UN-Habitat: World Cities Report 2024
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
- World Health Organization: WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines
Used to normalize air-quality indicators toward health-protective benchmarks.
- NASA: NASA POWER
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
- IPCC: AR6 WGII Chapter 6: Cities, settlements and key infrastructure
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.
- International Energy Agency: Empowering Urban Energy Transitions
Used to ground energy-readiness scoring in international transition guidance.