Happiest Place to Live

Well look at that, someone has taken the time to survey people in every province and the results indicate which province is the happiest and why they are so happy. Apparently, where you live directly impacts your overall happiness. The survey included questions regarding life satisfaction, family income, unemployment risk, average life expectancy, perceived health, perceived mental health, crime rate and air quality.  

#1. Quebec is the happiest province in Canada, with a rating of 8.3/10. They scored a perfect 10 in life satisfaction and unemployment risk (lowest in Canada at 4.5%). They also had high scores in life expectancy, perceived health and mental health.  

#2. BC is the next happiest province, with a rating of 5.38/10. They have decent employment opportunities and a low unemployment rate (5.2%). They scored high regarding income with an average family income of $99,610/year. Health held them back with low scores in perceived health and mental health. 

#3. Ontario had a rating of 5.19/10, placing them third happiest. Ontario is the safest province to live in with the lowest crime rate in Canada (994/100,000 residents). They seem to have big issues with their health, Ontario scored the lowest among all provinces in both health categories and a 0/10 in perceived health. 

#4. Alberta's rating is 4.7/10. Albertans scored a 10/10 for family income. It is averaged at $106,960/year family income. They rated low at 0/10 for air quality and a low life satisfaction.

#5. Prince Edward Island is the middle of the pack and scored 4.22/10 on the happiness scale. They are happy about the air quality and rated it at a 10/10. The province's perceived health was rated at 0/10.

#6. Newfoundland and Labrador scored 4.22/10. They are pleased with their air quality placing third highest. They placed second highest on the life satisfaction score. Where they placed low was on job security and low salaries, employment risk and overall life expectancy. 

#7. New Brunswick was rated at 4.09/10. NB is described as having the second-best air quality and the lowest median family income. They also have a low perceived health and life expectancies. 

#8. Manitoba scored 4.03/10. They attribute the low score to the violence within the province (2,441 acts of violence per 100,000 residents). Manitobans have the lowest score in life expectancy. Although, it has the second-best overall unemployment rate. 

#9. Nova Scotia's happiness score is 3.52/10. They scored low in every category. 

#10. Last but not least is the unhappiest province in Canada, Saskatchewan which rated 2.27/10. They scored a zero in violent crime rate, and life satisfaction. They scored low in health, life expectancy and air quality. Their only good scoring was in the low unemployment rate. 

I must admit I was a bit surprised that only 3 provinces scored above 50%. I was astounded that the two provinces I am most familiar with scored such low overall ratings. The one encouraging thing is that both provinces have low unemployment rates. I know there are many categories that aren't listed that Saskatchewan and Manitoba would have achieved a much higher score. I think of Saskatchewan as a work hard, play hard province with overall happy friendly people. I was not surprised at the unhappiness in Manitoba regarding the violence rate, I describe it as out of control. Another perplexing fact is that Manitoba scored the lowest life expectancy in the whole of Canada. I find both of those facts disturbing.  

I am not sure who does these surveys, but I find them fascinating. I hope you have as well. Whatever province you reside in, I hope you are happy living there, despite the results that you have just read. At the very least, this post will give you some facts to ponder.