Squamish did it for 2019 and has done it again for 2020.
The town has been ranked as the best city for work in B.C. for the second year in a row by
Similar to last year, Squamish has also beat out Whistler, which is again ranked second.
"In the case of Squamish, a hot residential construction market punctuates its first-place standing, with housing starts seeing nearly 50% more activity than in the next leading city on the list," says BCBusiness.
UBC professor Tsur Somerville told the magazine that there are a lot of multiplier effects out of construction.
"It has a pretty high local factor—a lot of labour and a lot of the materials are local," he said in the article.
New homes spur local spending on household goods, too, Somerville added.
SFU professor Peter Hall, told BCBusiness that a relatively weak Canadian dollar has helped tourism in the Sea to Sky Corridor. However, the upgraded highway may be the bigger factor in the area's continued economic success.
Third and fourth place have switched positions. The Township of Langley has claimed third place, up from fourth — the District of North Vancouver's new rank.
"Driven by high household incomes, double-digit population growth and lofty spending on recreational opportunities, these top three cities have remained economically resilient despite their relatively high costs of living," reads the BCBusiness story.
Vancouver, however, fell from its ranking in 2019 at 31 to 37 for 2020.
Ranked last of the 46 for 2020 is Williams Lake, dropping from position 33 in 2019.
BCBusiness says that to make the call, it examined 10 economic indicators with weightings ranging from 5 to 15%.
These are the same indicators that were used last year, including income growth and housing starts.
Each of the 46 cities received a score out of a total of 100 points and was ranked based on that.
Here are the top 10:
1. Squamish
2. Whistler
3. Township of Langley
4. District of North Vancouver
5. Kelowna
6. Fort St. John
7. Salmon Arm
8. Nanaimo
9. Prince Rupert
10. Courtenay
Squamish, By BCBusiness' Numbers
***The weighted value it has in determining the town's rank is displayed in (parentheses)
- Average Household Income (10% weight) — $120,897
- Average Household Income Under 35 (10%) — $109,554
- Five-Year Average Household Income Growth (15%) — 26.7%
- Average Household Spending on Recreation (10%) — $6,066
- Average Shelter Spending (10%) — $26,950
- Average Value of Primary Real Estate (5%) — $881,949
- Average Commute Time in Minutes (10%) — 28.1
- Five-Year Population Growth (10%) — 14.3%
- Housing Starts Per 10,000 Residents (10%) — 249
- Unemployment Rate (10%) — 4.9%
With additional reporting by Lindsay William-Ross/Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»
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