A great university town has the potential to offer students a safe and affordable place to study and live. In a recent report, the online learning provider Preply ranked the 94 best university towns in Canada. Mississauga is no. 6 out of the 94 university towns.
Preply considered 18 different variables of cities with university students across three categories: wallet friendliness, social environment, and economic opportunities.
With data points, each town has been given a total score, with the best score being 100, representing the quality of the university town for students to live and work after graduation.
Here are Canada’s10 best university towns of 2022, according to Preply:
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
- London, Ontario
- Prince George, British Columbia
- Rouyn-Noranda, Québec
- Mississauga, Ontario
- Abbotsford, British Columbia
- Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
- Laval, Quebec
- Brantford, Ontario
Mississauga is no. 6 out of the 94 university towns.
Mississauga is number 6 overall and with a total score of 67 (with 100 as the best score). The town is proudly known as the “Gateway to Canada” because the largest airport in Canada, Toronto Pearson International Airport, is located there.
A student looking to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Mississauga will pay $1,889.29. For those looking to start a career here, earning potential is good, with an average monthly salary of $4,530.59. A meal out will cost $16.00 and a fitness club at $46.04.
Mississauga scored exceptionally high in the “social environment category with 78.67 out of 100. This category looked at the area’s diversity, nightlife, cafes, shopping centers, parks, and crime rate.
The best university town overall is Regina in Saskatchewan.
The best university town overall is Regina, with a total score of 72.9. RRegina’ssecond-largest in the province is rich in culture and one of Canada’s fastest-growing major cities.
Here rent for a one-bedroom apartment will cost you $1,016.67, and you can enjoy a beer for $6.00. For those looking to start work after graduation, the employment rate is high at 66.30% and the average monthly salary at $3,734.86.
Regina scored highest in the “economic opportunity” “category with 83.3 out of 100 points. This category looked at average monthly salary, GDP, employment rate, buy apartment price, and mortgage interest rates.
The worst university town overall is Squamish in British Columbia.
Squamish came in the last spot out of 94 university towns, with a score of 32.2 out of 100. Squamish scores particularly low in all three categories, with a score of under 40 for social, affordability, and economic opportunity.
Although great for mountain biking and hiking, it isn’t the most affordable place to live and offers little opportunity. Rent is exceptionally high for a one-bedroom apartment at $1,724.88 and a beer at $7.25 ($1.25 more than Regina). Earning potential is also relatively low, with the average monthly salary after tax at $2,461.43.
Amy Pritchett, Student Success Manager of Preply, says:
“If you’re looking for the best cities to study in Canada, then the top ten schools in our ranking are a great place to start. In addition to the school tour, take a walk around the campus’s city. Sometimes students and parents become so focused on the school and its campus that they don’t take the time to explore the nearby town during a visit.
If you decide to study somewhere, you will probably spend a lot of time outside of campus – so make sure you like the place! I recommend an overnight stay with a friend or family member who can provide company and a second opinion. IIt’salso worth looking into the cost of living as our study proves that prices for rent and living costs will vary across Canada.” To view “Canada’s10 Best & Worst University Towns” visit: https://preply.com/en/blog/best-university-cities-in-canada.
For more information, please get in touch with Amy (amy.pritchett@preply.com)
About Preply
Preply is a global language learning marketplace, connecting 140,000 tutors with tens of thousands of students worldwide.
Founded in 2012 and backed by some of the world’s leading investors, Preply is on a mission to shape the future of effective learning. Fueled by a belief that live engagement with a teacher is still the most effective way to learn a new skill, Preply builds a personalized learning space that will enable individual learners to reach their goals in the fastest way possible.
More details for the top 10 towns (score of 100 = best):
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Total score: 72.9
- Social environment: 68.7
- Wallet friendliness: 66.8
- Economic opportunity: 83.3
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Total score: 68.9
- Social environment: 83.2
- Wallet friendliness: 54.2
- Economic opportunity: 69.5
- London, Ontario
- Total score: 67.2
- Social environment: 82.8
- Wallet friendliness: 56.0
- Economic opportunity: 62.8
- Prince George, British Columbia
- Total score: 67.2
- Social environment: 64.5
- Wallet friendliness: 57.3
- Economic opportunity: 79.7
- Rouyn-Noranda, Québec
- Total score: 66.7
- Social environment: 56.5
- Wallet friendliness: 87.7
- Economic opportunity: 56.0
- Mississauga, Ontario
- Total score: 66.7
- Social environment: 78.7
- Wallet friendliness: 57.3
- Economic opportunity: 64.0
- Abbotsford, British Columbia
- Total score: 64.3
- Social environment: 77.2
- Wallet friendliness: 64.5
- Economic opportunity: 51.2
- Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
- Total score: 64.3
- Social environment: 60.5
- Wallet friendliness: 81.7
- Economic opportunity: 50.7
- Laval, Quebec
- Total score: 63.2
- Social environment: 82.5
- Wallet friendliness: 70.0
- Economic opportunity: 37.2
- Brantford, Ontario
- Total score: 63.1
- Social environment: 67.2
- Wallet friendliness: 72.5
- Economic opportunity: 49.5