Livability Score

85
/100
i The AreaVibes Livability Score evaluates 9 different categories and creates an overall score out of 100. The higher the score, the better the area.

amenities A+

There are lots of amenities close to this location.
Coffee (348) A+
Entertainment (134) A+
Food and Drink (1194) A+
Fitness (194) A+
Groceries (252) A+
Parks (3931) A+
Shops (1504) A+
See more Calgary amenity data

commute A+

Of all people who commute, 9.7% take public transportation in Calgary.
Public Transit Stops (1477)
Stops & Stations
A+
Workers Taking Public Transit
9.7%
B
See more Calgary commute data

cost of living B

The cost of living in Calgary is 93/100 - which is 7% lower than Alberta.
Cost of Living
Goods & Services, Housing, etc.
D
Tax Rates
Income & Sales Tax
A+
See more Calgary cost of living data

crime C+

Calgary crime rates are 4,206 per 100k, which is 34% lower than Alberta
Property Crime
3,395 crimes per 100k
D+
Violent Crime
811 crimes per 100k
B-
See more Calgary crime data

employment A-

The median income in Calgary is $97,218 - which is 3% higher than Alberta.
Med. Household Income
$97,218
B-
Unemployment Rate
6.1%
D-
See more Calgary employment data

health A+

There are many hospitals, police and fire stations.
Health & Safety (514)
Dentist, Doctor, Hospital, etc.
A+
Air Quality
Median Air Quality
C-
See more Calgary health & safety data

housing B+

Calgary home prices are $557,500 - which is 18% higher than Alberta
Home Price
$557,500
F
Home Appreciation Rate
22%
F
Home Affordability
5.7x (home price to income ratio)
A+
See more Calgary housing data

schools A+

The Calgary graduation rate is 88% - which is 4% higher than Alberta
School Test Scores
68%
B-
High School Grad. Rates
88%
B-
Elementary Schools (408) A+
High Schools (110) A+
See more Calgary education data

ratings F

Calgary has an overall rating of 29% from 35 reviews.
User Reviews (3)
From AreaVibes
F
User Surveys (32)
From AreaVibes
B
See more Calgary user rating data
Amenities Commute Cost of Living Crime Employment Health & Safety Housing Schools User Ratings
Photo of Calgary, AB
( 35 Ratings )

Living in Calgary, AB

Calgary Area Facts

Calgary Reviews

Write a review about Calgary Tell people what you like or don't like about Calgary…
Life in Calgary 4 rating By Anonymous ( Mar 17, 2024) I accidentally rated Calgary as 3.5 stars. I meant to rate it as 4 stars. My review was a lot longer than I thought but I'm happy with the answer I made. ...Read More Read Less
Thoughts on Life in Calgary 4 rating By Anonymous ( Mar 17, 2024) I accidentally put 3.5 stars on my review on Calgary I actually meant to put 4. It also turned out a lot longer than I thought but I'm happy with my answer. ...Read More Read Less
Thoughts on Life in Calgary 3.5 rating By Anonymous ( Mar 17, 2024) I noticed there were actually not really any reviews on Calgary, and all the reviews seem to be from the same person only discussing issues at their school. I thought there should at least be more reviews on other aspects of Calgary.

First, for interesting attractions and entert
...Read More ainment, there's at least a decent amount of things to do here. There are places like the Calgary Tower, Calgary Stampede (when it rolls around), Heritage Park, and Calaway Park Amusement Park. One of my favourites is going snowboarding or skiing at WinSport during winter, and going Downhill Karting in summer (also held in the same place). As for the nightlife in Calgary, I think it's alright. It's not like an extremely bustling place like Las Vegas.

For shopping and dining in Calgary, I think it's fine. There are some nice places to eat out, with some fine dining and more casual restaurants here and there. Your shopping options in Calgary are decent, with the most popular mall probably being Chinook Mall. A lot of people in Calgary like to also just go to CrossIron Mills Mall since it's just on the outskirts of Calgary.

How are the people though? I'd say Calgarians are pretty friendly overall. Crime rates aren't too bad. There are a lot of different cultures and ethnicities in Calgary, and it's common to see varying cultures in here.

Education- Elementary Schools+Junior High Schools are decent, and I feel like the quality of education will vary a bit based on what communities you're in. For a student's life, there's not an insane amount of bullying, and also the rate of how often a student would come across 'wild' kids and wild acts is affected a lot by what community a student is in. High Schools are about the same, but slightly better I'd say. For Post-Secondary education, I think it's better and the quality of education is fairly good. One of the most notable and best ones is probably University of Calgary. Just don't go there for fine arts though.

One thing I don't like as much though is the weather. The weather varies a lot, and can have peaks of -40 degrees celsius weather in winter and around mid 30 degrees celsius in summer. Day to day, the weather can vary like 20 degrees one day, 2 degrees the next, and then 14 the next day. As for wind though it's not too bad and usually only experiences mild breezes. This kind of weather probably is not all that rare in Canada though and might just be normal for a Canadian city. Read Less
This school has to change 0.5 rating By Anonymous ( Feb 22, 2023) School is ok, but school staff and teachers don't care what their students do. Their students are not safe from problems such as racism, bullying ...Read More Read Less
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Thoughts on Life in Calgary 3.5 rating By Anonymous ( Mar 17, 2024) I noticed there were actually not really any reviews on Calgary, and all the reviews seem to be from the same person only discussing issues at their school. I thought there should at least be more reviews on other aspects of Calgary.

First, for interesting attractions and entert
...Read More ainment, there's at least a decent amount of things to do here. There are places like the Calgary Tower, Calgary Stampede (when it rolls around), Heritage Park, and Calaway Park Amusement Park. One of my favourites is going snowboarding or skiing at WinSport during winter, and going Downhill Karting in summer (also held in the same place). As for the nightlife in Calgary, I think it's alright. It's not like an extremely bustling place like Las Vegas.

For shopping and dining in Calgary, I think it's fine. There are some nice places to eat out, with some fine dining and more casual restaurants here and there. Your shopping options in Calgary are decent, with the most popular mall probably being Chinook Mall. A lot of people in Calgary like to also just go to CrossIron Mills Mall since it's just on the outskirts of Calgary.

How are the people though? I'd say Calgarians are pretty friendly overall. Crime rates aren't too bad. There are a lot of different cultures and ethnicities in Calgary, and it's common to see varying cultures in here.

Education- Elementary Schools+Junior High Schools are decent, and I feel like the quality of education will vary a bit based on what communities you're in. For a student's life, there's not an insane amount of bullying, and also the rate of how often a student would come across 'wild' kids and wild acts is affected a lot by what community a student is in. High Schools are about the same, but slightly better I'd say. For Post-Secondary education, I think it's better and the quality of education is fairly good. One of the most notable and best ones is probably University of Calgary. Just don't go there for fine arts though.

One thing I don't like as much though is the weather. The weather varies a lot, and can have peaks of -40 degrees celsius weather in winter and around mid 30 degrees celsius in summer. Day to day, the weather can vary like 20 degrees one day, 2 degrees the next, and then 14 the next day. As for wind though it's not too bad and usually only experiences mild breezes. This kind of weather probably is not all that rare in Canada though and might just be normal for a Canadian city. Read Less
This school has to change 0.5 rating By Anonymous ( Feb 22, 2023) School is ok, but school staff and teachers don't care what their students do. Their students are not safe from problems such as racism, bullying ...Read More Read Less
Academics are terrible, and most teachers here can’t do their job 0.5 rating By Anonymous ( Feb 18, 2023) Before you read this, please excuse any spelling errors and incorrect grammar.

First, I will start with the positives of McKenzie Highlands
-the overall design and aesthetic of McKenzie Highlands is really nice, our school is big and has character to it

-McKenzie Highlands has
...Read More A LOT of opportunities to play sports with a team, and the gym teachers are relatively supportive. Most of the gym teachers want you to try your best and improve

-McKenzie highlands has many option classes/electives, however some option classes can be really pricey

-McKenzie Highlands also has many clubs you can join, including a GSA

-Every classroom has a working smart board

-Our library has lots of educational books

-The food here is really good! The lunch ladies are also REALLY nice!
However,
At McKenzie Highlands we have a HUGE PROBLEM with teachers using collective punishment. Teachers constantly use collective punishment, which impacts students ability’s to learn. An example of this would be: we would be doing independent work, for this example our class is copying notes off of the smart board. One student would be off task, and say something to their friend. Because this one student talked to their friend, the teacher deleted the notes from the Smart Board. Now, the entire class is being yelled at for being disrespectful and cannot complete the assignment.
Do you see the problem? This happens nearly every day, me and some of the students in my class feel like we can’t talk to a school official about this because we’re scared we might not be able to learn.

Because of the constant use of collective punishment our academics are also low, teachers need to understand that some students would like to learn. It takes months to complete one page of notes because of collective punishment.

Students also get in trouble for extremely *dumb* reasons. I know students who’ve been sent to the office for asking respectful questions concerning our assignment, questions that haven’t been explained yet, questions are aren’t disrupting the class or interrupting the class. Teachers act like you’ve committed a federal offense when you’re 30 seconds late to their class, it’s hard to get from one side of the building to the other in 2 minutes when the hallways are crowded.

We also have a problem with bullying, my friend has been called literal slurs and the teachers having done anything. Teachers frequently ignore bullying until the bullying becomes out of control. I’ve seen teachers watch as students are shoved in the shoved in the hallways, get desks shoved into their ribs, and their things thrown.

Teachers also don’t have the resources to accommodate students who have an IPP (individual program plan) some teachers also completely ignore IPP’s and claim they can’t follow it because it’s not fair for other students. I understand that IPP’s can’t always be followed, but when it impacts a students learning abilities it needs to be addressed. Read Less
Overall very bad 0.5 rating By Anonymous ( Feb 07, 2023) The only thing holding up the rating of this place is the teachers. the only good part about this school is the band program and the teacher who runs it, Miss G. other then that it is a bust. would not recomend this for anyone because it is overall old and the spanish here is min ...Read More imal. Read Less

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Compare Calgary, AB Livability

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      Calgary, AB

      The prairie town of Calgary in Alberta, cradled by the Bow and Elbow rivers, is one of the largest cities in Canada. It is a multi-ethnic, multicultural community traditionally favoured by South Asian and Chinese immigrants. The city is the employment hub of the province with booming economic opportunities in industries including energy, finance, technology and manufacturing, to name a few. This Calgary Livability guide will take you through all you need to know about the city, from the cost of living to the best entertainment and dining options to spend at.

      Residents of Calgary enjoy an excellent quality of life with high wages and low taxes and a cost of living significantly lower than other major Canadian cities. With housing prices that are considered some of the most affordable in the country, Calgary is a well-planned city that offers diverse neighbourhoods to suit any lifestyle. The downtown area, made up of five main neighbourhoods – Eau Claire, West End, Commercial Core, Chinatown and East Village is perfect for those who like living in the midst of activity, with a number of shops, restaurants and bars nearby. Nearby Beltline also houses a number of residential communities that are ideal for those who prefer a quieter residential setting that’s still close enough to the liveliness of downtown. The inner-city communities of Crescent Heights, Hillhurst and Ramsay are ideal for families with children as these areas have a number of good schools and open green spaces.

      One of Calgary’s most charming aspects is that it offers residents access to the great outdoors and is in close proximity to some of the most beautiful geographical features of the country. A 90 minute drive will take you to pristine lakes and gorgeous hiking trails at nearby Banff, the perfect destination for a weekend getaway. Within the city, residents enjoy the pleasant walking trails at Prince’s Island Park, which also hosts the Shakespeare in the Park festival and the Calgary Fold Music Festival. In addition to its beautiful outdoor spaces, Calgary also offers the best of nightlife, dining and entertainment with a huge variety of bars, cafes and restaurants. Any Calgary local will tell you the area around 17th Avenue is a favourite resident spot, with a number of dining options and pubs, generally preferred by residents for their casual atmosphere. Upscale lounges and fine-dining restaurants, as well as high-end boutiques tend to be clustered around Stephen Avenue, Calgary’s most famous street.

      A+ Amenities

      Are there many local amenities in Calgary? Yes, there are lots of amenities close to this location.

      Parks

      Devonian Gardens
      Harley Hotchkiss Gardens
      Unknown Name
      Central Memorial Park
      Unknown Name
      Haultain Park
      Century Gardens
      Unknown Name

      Entertainment

      Globe Cinema
      Broken City
      Loch Gallery
      Sub Rosa
      Greta
      Commonwealth Bar & Stage
      Calgary Tower
      Lunchbox Theatre

      Food & Drink

      Subway
      Subway
      Quesada
      Vern's
      Local Public Eatery
      Shawarma House
      KJ Wines & Spirits
      Canadian Unlimited Pizza

      A+ Commute

      Is public transit available in Calgary? Of all people who commute, 9.7% take public transportation in Calgary.
      Drive to Work
      44%

      3% higher than the CDN average

      Take Public Transit
      10%

      3% higher than the CDN average

      Walk to Work
      3%

      equal to the CDN average

      A+ Health & Safety

      Is Calgary a healthy and safe place to live? Yes, there are many hospitals, police and fire stations.

      Hospitals

      Acadia Dental
      Foothills Medical Centre EMERGENCY ENTRANCE
      Mayfair Diagnostics Crowfoot
      Heritage Smiles Dental
      Harvest Medicine Calgary & Alberta
      Alberta Children's Hospital
      Foothills Medical Centre
      Peter Lougheed Centre of the Calgary General Hospital

      Pharmacies

      London Drugs
      London Drugs
      Shoppers Drug Mart
      London Drugs
      London Drugs
      London Drugs
      Shoppers Drug Mart
      Calgary Co-op Midtown Pharmacy

      Doctors

      Tuscany Health Care Clinic
      Thorncliffe Family Clinic
      Thorncliffe Medical Centre
      Primacy Medical Clinic
      Riverbend Medical Centre
      Shawnessy Medical Clinic
      Bridlewood Medical Clinic
      Humana Medical Clinic