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
#34
Latest · 2026 · of 42
Score 177572000
New Brunswick
Saint John
Canada's oldest incorporated city
Saint John in brief
Saint John is a Fundy seaport and Canada's oldest incorporated city, chartered on 18 May 1785. Wolastoqiyik people called the harbour area Menahkwesk, and Passamaquoddy, Wolastoqiyik, and Mi'kmaq nations all used the coast for hunting and travel.
Loyalist refugees rebuilt the port into a shipping and industrial powerhouse. The harbour still ranks among Canada's busiest by tonnage, while Reversing Falls flip with the tide and Partridge Island remembers the quarantine years that greeted immigrant ships.
Drawn from Wikipedia, Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura.
Permits, tax, radon & more for Saint John
Open the live numbers for Saint John. Each link goes to the original topic page for this city.
Follow Saint John by email
When Saint John 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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#107
City Score rank
22%
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 Saint John
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
#107
Published · 2026 · of 125
Score 0.219
Only one published edition places Saint John 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
#50
Published · 2026 · of 117
Score 118.4
Only one published edition places Saint John 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
#381
Latest · 2018 · of 415
Housing
RBC Housing Affordability — Least Affordable Markets
RBC Economics
Ranked by RBC aggregate Housing Affordability Measure (% of median pre-tax household income for mortgage, property taxes, and utilities on a benchmark home). Rank 1 = highest ownership-cost burden (least affordable). CMA markets mapped to primary city slugs.
2 editions · 2024–2025
#10
Latest · 2025 · of 13
Score 32
Worth knowing in Saint John
Distinctive local notes and places, each linked to its source.
Saint John is a seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada.
It is Canada's oldest incorporated city, established by royal charter on 18 May 1785, during the reign of George III.
The Port of Saint John is Canada's third-largest by tonnage with a cargo base that includes dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise.
The city has a strong industrial base, including oil refining and manufacturing, as well as significant finance and tourism sectors and research institutions such as the New Brunswick Museum and the University of New Brunswick.
Places to see
Reversing Falls
These powerful falls on the Saint John River change direction with the extreme Bay of Fundy tides.
Partridge Island Quarantine Site
A complicated, largely ruined quarantine station that once received thousands of immigrants to the port of Saint John.
