Moneysense magazine still not convinced things are turning around for Prince Rupert

The summer edition of
Moneysense magazine features
their annual community rankings

Prince Rupert's standing with the financial publication Moneysense has dropped from last year, with the North Coast manned at 197 out of the 209 communities surveyed, a decline of two spots from last year when the city was notched at number 195.

The placement finds Prince Rupert as the second lowest ranked location in the province, with only Port Alberni keeping us from the BC cellar.  

Part of the shift can be attributed to the inclusion of eight  new communities to the annual rankings, their success has it appears resulted in the further decline from previous years.

Though many of the areas of concern from previous years for Moneysense evaluators continue to place Prince Rupert high on their negatives list.

Among some of the data items that provided the Moneysense reviewers with their placement points were a declining population, high unemployment rate and weather, with our rainfall amounts once again marking on the negatives (Perhaps this May's streak of sunshine will change that dynamic for next year) 

However, while the rain is considered a negative, our days above zero helps to balance off the check list when it comes to the the weather listings.

As for the positives, the compact nature of the city and the ease to get around on foot, bike or transit was considered a plus, as was the level of taxes in the community, something that might surprise many residents who are used to yearly tax increases each April. 

When compared to other communities in the survey, Prince Rupert still fares well when it comes to the property tax burden.

As well, the price of real estate still considered affordable compared to other communities was of some assistance towards the positives, placing Prince Rupert towards the middle of the listings for affordability.

Below are the data findings for Prince Rupert, which highlight the range of factors used by Moneysense to determine their rankings from year to year.

Indicators from the Moneysesnse Review for 2015
places Prince Rupert at 197 out of 209 communities

You can review the methodology that Moneysense uses to calculate its rankings here, it makes for an interesting mix of economic and social factors, with a weight given to a range of areas from weather, to housing to vehicles to name just a few.

The snapshot of the annual edition can be examined here, providing a short overview of some of the highlights from the statistical collection and what it delivered in the way of rankings.

Terrace was the only other community from the Northwest to be ranked by Moneysense it received a placement of 122 on the list of 209, down from 2014 when it was rated at 110.

The positive items from the survey for Terrace highlighted a low unemployment rate with Terrace's rate among the most impressive of all of the 209 communities surveyed.  

Low taxes and ease of getting around the community by walking, biking or use of transit were also key factors for the survey when it came to Terrace's ranking. 

And while the Northwest considers the Terrace region to be a fairly heated housing market, the affordability issue again was key to their ranking, with Moneysense still finding good value in the Terrace real estate market, compared to other locations in the survey.

Moneysense placed Terrace in the 122nd
spot in their annual ranking of 209 communities

The full list of communities from 1 to 297 can be found here.

You can compare this years findings with those of past years below.

2014
2013
2012

Cross posted from the North Coast Review