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
#33
Latest · 2026 · of 42
Score 190608000
Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's
Eastern tip, signal received
St. John's in brief
St. John's crowns the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula as Newfoundland and Labrador's capital and North America's easternmost city outside Greenland. Seasonal fishers used the harbour in the early 1500s, and local lore ties the name to John Cabot's feast-day landfall.
Signal Hill later watched over the Narrows and, in 1901, caught the first transatlantic wireless signal. Walk the Battery, peek into Apothecary Hall's old drug jars, or drive to Cape Spear's wartime guns at the continent's edge, and the harbour city's job stays obvious: face the Atlantic and keep the lights on.
Drawn from Wikipedia, Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura.
Permits, tax, radon & more for St. John's
Open the live numbers for St. John's. Each link goes to the original topic page for this city.
Follow St. John's by email
When St. John's 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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#91
City Score rank
31%
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 St. John's
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
#91
Published · 2026 · of 125
Score 0.311
Only one published edition places St. John's 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
#73
Published · 2026 · of 117
Score 94.5
Only one published edition places St. John's 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.
3 editions · 2015–2018
#267
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
#13
Latest · 2025 · of 14
Score 28.2
Worth knowing in St. John's
Distinctive local notes and places, each linked to its source.
John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.
22 sq mi) and is the easternmost city in North America.
Places to see
Signal Hill
The first transatlantic wireless signal was received here in 1901 at a historic fort overlooking St. John's harbour.
Apothecary Hall
An old drug store preserved with mortars, pestles, pill-making machines, and period medicines.
Cape Spear Battery
A World War II gun battery sits at the easternmost point of mainland North America.
The Blue Whale at the Core Science Facility
A massive blue whale skeleton hangs suspended inside Memorial University's Core Science Facility.
