What Are the Best Places to Live in Ontario?

What is the best area to live in Ontario?

The best area to live in Ontario is the one that fits your recurring costs and work pattern, not simply the one with the strongest reputation. Start with three filters: what you can spend on housing, where your likely work is located, and how much time and money your routine will require for transportation.

Look beyond rent or a purchase price. The Ontario Living Wage Network’s 2025 calculation includes housing, food, childcare, transportation, and other essential expenses. Its 2025 living-wage rates range from $21.05 per hour in London–Elgin–Oxford to $27.20 in the Greater Toronto Area. That gap is a reminder that a lower housing bill does not automatically mean a lower total cost of living.

Transportation can change the comparison. The Network estimates 2025 annual car ownership and operating costs at $7,241 in urban areas and $7,609 in rural areas. Its 2025 childcare-fee sample averaged $21.20 per day, above the $10-a-day average target expected by September 2025. These are reference figures, not a quote for a particular household or provider; use them to identify costs to check locally.

For a first screen, compare places with published rental-market data. According to CMHC’s rental market statistics, average primary-market apartment rent was $1,445 in St. Catharines–Niagara, $1,551 in London, $1,519 in Collingwood, $1,697 in Barrie, $1,713 in Kingston, and $1,743 in Ottawa. These CMHC figures are reported averages for the established rental market, not current asking rents for every available unit. Vacancy rates in the same data range from 2.4% in Kingston to 4.5% in Collingwood, so availability is another factor to verify before moving.

Which city in Ontario is considered the best to live in?

No Ontario city is best for every mover; the strongest choice depends on the job market and daily life you need. Ottawa is a candidate for people seeking a larger regional employment centre, while London, Kingston, and Barrie offer other combinations of regional work and rental-market options.

Ontario’s 2025 Fall Statement reports 2024 employment of 836,000 in the Ottawa economic region, 416,000 in London, 236,000 in Kingston–Pembroke, and 882,000 in Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie. These are broad regional estimates, not city job counts or a prediction of your prospects. They help indicate the scale of the surrounding employment market; a practical next step is to look for openings in your occupation and check their location and work arrangement.

Daily commute patterns also matter. Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census Profile for the London Census Metropolitan Area reports that 74.0% of employed residents with a usual workplace commuted within their census subdivision of residence. For workers with a usual or no fixed workplace address, 87.9% reported a car, truck, or van as their main commute mode, compared with 4.9% using public transit. Those figures describe 2021 patterns, not today’s service or a forecast, but they show why a city’s employment base alone cannot answer whether it will work for a transit-dependent household.

For housing comparisons, make the numbers do useful work: line up your expected rent or mortgage, transport, and childcare for each finalist. Statistics Canada’s core-housing-need measure considers affordability, adequacy, suitability, and whether an acceptable local alternative would require spending at least 30% of before-tax income. In its 2021 figures, renter households in core housing need accounted for 20.3% in Ottawa–Gatineau and 19.9% in Kingston, compared with 3.8% and 3.6% of owner households, respectively. The figures are a signal to examine housing fit and affordability by tenure, not a verdict on every neighbourhood or household.

What are the nicest towns to live in Ontario?

The nicest towns to live in Ontario are the ones whose pace, housing options, and access to work suit your household. Collingwood, Halton Hills, and Aurora can make a shortlist for people considering smaller-community living or Toronto-area access, while Peterborough and St. Catharines offer alternatives to the largest urban centres.

“Nice” is a personal filter; make it measurable. Write down the features that affect an ordinary week: access to work, childcare, transit or driving needs, and the activities and services you want nearby. Then compare those requirements with the actual neighbourhood and housing options available rather than treating a town’s name as a guarantee of fit.

Collingwood has a reported average primary-market apartment rent of $1,519 and vacancy rate of 4.5% in CMHC’s supplied rental-market figures. That can help frame a rental search, but it does not establish the cost of commuting or the availability of a suitable unit. The supplied employment table does not provide separate town-level employment figures for Collingwood, Halton Hills, Aurora, Peterborough, St. Catharines, or Burlington, so compare job access using current openings and the location of the work itself.

For a Toronto commute, confirm the end-to-end route before choosing a town. GO Transit provides date- and time-specific trip planning; its network includes the Barrie corridor and routes serving locations such as Burlington. Service mode, station access, transfers, and schedule frequency vary. Use the GO Transit trip planner for your intended departure times and destination. The agency notes that rail and bus schedules can change frequently, so a generic drive-time estimate is not a substitute for a current itinerary.

What are the best places to live in Ontario?

The best places to live in Ontario are the finalists that pass three checks: the household budget works, suitable work is reachable, and the daily routine feels practical. Use this numbered shortlist as a way to organize research, not as a universal ranking.

1. Ottawa: Consider it if a broad regional employment market is useful to your search. The 2024 employment estimate for the Ottawa region was 836,000 in Ontario’s 2025 Fall Statement tables; CMHC reports average primary-market apartment rent of $1,743 and a 2.9% vacancy rate. Treat the rent as a market comparison, then check present listings and your work location.
2. Kingston: Compare it if you want to assess a smaller regional employment market and established rental data. The Kingston–Pembroke region had 236,000 employed people in 2024, according to the Ontario government; CMHC reports average rent of $1,713 and a 2.4% vacancy rate. The low vacancy figure makes it especially important to check what is actually available.
3. London: Put it on the list if local work and housing costs are central to the decision. The London region recorded 416,000 employed people in 2024, and CMHC reports average rent of $1,551 with a 3.8% vacancy rate. London’s 2025 living-wage rate, $21.05 per hour for London–Elgin–Oxford, is the lowest end of the range in the Network’s supplied regional figures; it is a broader expense measure, not a guarantee that an individual budget will work.
4. Barrie: Assess it for work and commute access in the wider Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, which reported 882,000 employed people in 2024. CMHC reports average rent of $1,697 and a 4.2% vacancy rate. If Toronto is the destination, check the specific GO itinerary and the connection between home, station, and workplace.
5. St. Catharines: Compare it if rental-market costs are a priority. CMHC reports average rent of $1,445 in St. Catharines–Niagara, the lowest figure among the six listed markets in this article, with a 3.8% vacancy rate. A lower reported average alone cannot tell you whether the available units, job access, or transport fit your needs.
6. Collingwood: Consider it if its community setting appeals and you can confirm local work or a workable travel plan. The supplied CMHC figures report average rent of $1,519 and a 4.5% vacancy rate. The provided sources do not give town-level employment counts, so check relevant job listings directly.
7. Burlington: Include it in a Toronto-area commute shortlist if a GO route appears to match your destination and schedule. GO serves locations such as Burlington, but route, mode, transfers, and station access vary. Test the trip at the times you would actually travel.
8. Aurora: Evaluate it through the same commute-first test: neighbourhood-to-station access, departure times, connections, and the final leg to work. The supplied research does not provide a town-specific rent or employment figure for Aurora, so build the comparison from current housing listings and jobs.
9. Halton Hills: Make it a candidate if the available housing and travel arrangements suit your work pattern. Check the exact route and driving or transit needs for the neighbourhood under consideration; the supplied sources do not provide a specific Halton Hills rent or job-market estimate.
10. Peterborough: Compare its available housing and local job opportunities with your household’s needs. The supplied figures do not include a city-specific rent or employment count for Peterborough, so use current listings and openings rather than assuming a cost or job advantage.

Turn the shortlist into a decision, not an endless search. First, choose three communities. Second, check current housing costs and job access, including childcare and transport. Third, visit each during a typical weekday and a weekend. A weekday shows how work and errands fit together; a weekend shows whether the area works when commuting is not the main event. For a useful comparison with a different region, see Best Places to Live in Southern California: How to Choose?