Construction · OpenStats
OpenStats Building Permit Value
OpenStats
Cities ranked by total Statistics Canada building permit value in the calendar year. Rank 1 is highest value.
4 editions · 2023–2026
#17
Latest · 2026 · of 42
Score 472859000
British Columbia
Kelowna
Grizzly-bear name on Okanagan Lake
Kelowna in brief
Syilx people have lived in the Okanagan Valley for millennia. The name Kelowna comes from an Okanagan word for grizzly bear. Father Pandosy founded a mission at l'Anse au Sable in 1859; fruit growing moved from household orchards in the 1870s to commercial packing by the 1890s, and the city incorporated in 1905.
It is now B.C.'s largest Interior city and third-largest metropolitan area. Ogopogo legends still swirl around Okanagan Lake, and the Myra Canyon trestles turn an old rail grade into one of the valley's favourite rides.
Drawn from Wikipedia, Atlas Obscura.
Permits, tax, radon & more for Kelowna
Open the live numbers for Kelowna. Each link goes to the original topic page for this city.
Follow Kelowna by email
When Kelowna moves in a ranking, posts new permit figures, or lands in a study, get a short note. A few sends a year, only when something changes.
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#53
City Score rank
54%
City Score
5
Owned lists in score
City Score over time
The green line averages OpenStats-owned rankings (radon, permit value, mill rates). Grey dots mark every published placement across all studies below.
Rankings for Kelowna
Each study below is its own ranking. Where a study has more than one edition for this city, the chart shows standing across those years only.
Composite · OpenStats
OpenStats City Score
OpenStats
Average standing across OpenStats-owned rankings built from public data (currently radon, building permit value, and residential mill rates). Each placement is scored from 0–1 within its edition, then averaged. External livability lists stay on hometown pages as separate published appearances.
Single edition · 2026
#53
Published · 2026 · of 125
Score 0.536
Only one published edition places Kelowna in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.
Health · OpenStats
OpenStats Highest Indoor Radon
OpenStats
Communities ranked by Health Canada survey mean indoor radon (Bq/m³). Rank 1 is the highest mean.
Single edition · 2026
#21
Published · 2026 · of 117
Score 135.3
Only one published edition places Kelowna in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.
Livability
Maclean's Best Communities
Maclean's
Successor-style municipal livability ranking published by Maclean's for 2019 and 2021 (no 2020 edition).
Single edition · 2021
#65
Published · 2021 · of 415
Only one published edition places Kelowna in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.
Livability
MoneySense Best Places to Live
MoneySense
Annual composite ranking of Canadian municipalities on economy, housing, crime, health, and weather.
4 editions · 2014–2018
#250
Latest · 2018 · of 415
Quality of life
Numbeo Quality of Life Index by City
Numbeo
Crowd-sourced composite Quality of Life Index. Historical snapshots are free on Numbeo ranking pages; OpenStats cites Canadian cities from those public pages (cite_only). Higher index scores are better; ranks are global position on the snapshot page.
2 editions · 2025–2026
#122
Latest · 2026 · of 304
Score 172.9
Worth knowing in Kelowna
Distinctive local notes and places, each linked to its source.
It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan.
The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word kiʔláwnaʔ, referring to a grizzly bear.
Okanagan Lake near Kelowna is the setting for Ogopogo, a longstanding lake-monster legend in Interior British Columbia folklore.
Places to see
Myra Canyon Trestles
A historic Kettle Valley Railway grade where cyclists and hikers cross towering wooden trestles and tunnels above a canyon near Kelowna.
