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Victoria, British Columbia
Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia

British Columbia

Victoria

Island capital from a Hudson's Bay fort

Victoria in brief

Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) peoples lived around the southern tip of Vancouver Island long before Spanish and British explorers arrived in the late 1700s. James Douglas founded a Hudson's Bay trading post here in the 1840s; the settlement grew into British Columbia's capital.

Greater Victoria now holds nearly 400,000 people at Canada's Pacific edge. Fan Tan Alley squeezes through Chinatown, Fisgard Lighthouse still marks the harbour approach, and the Moss Lady sculpture waits under the trees for anyone who likes a quiet grin.

Drawn from Wikipedia, Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura.

Permits, tax, radon & more for Victoria

Open the live numbers for Victoria. Each link goes to the original topic page for this city.

PermitsBuilding permits for VictoriaTaxBrowseProperty tax overviewInternetInternet for VictoriaRadonRadon for VictoriaHazardsHazards for VictoriaWaterWater quality for Victoria

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#30
City Score rank
74%
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.

0%25%50%75%100%201420152017201820212023202420252026
OpenStats City ScoreIndividual published rankings

Rankings for Victoria

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

#30
Published · 2026 · of 125
Score 0.74

Only one published edition places Victoria in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

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

#107
Published · 2026 · of 117
Score 40.5

Only one published edition places Victoria in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Housing

CMHC Average 2-Bedroom Rent — Lowest Rent

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Average rent for purpose-built 2-bedroom apartments (all tenants) from CMHC Rental Market Survey. Rank 1 = lowest average rent among covered CMAs.

Single edition · 2025

#17
Published · 2025 · of 18
Score 2120

Only one published edition places Victoria in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Livability

Globe and Mail Most Livable Cities

The Globe and Mail

2023 data partnership with Environics Analytics ranking 439 Canadian communities on ten livability categories.

Single edition · 2023

#1
Published · 2023 · of 439

Only one published edition places Victoria in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

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

#59
Published · 2021 · of 415

Only one published edition places Victoria in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Worth knowing in Victoria

Distinctive local notes and places, each linked to its source.

  • Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast.

    Wikipedia

  • The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237.

    Wikipedia

  • The city of Victoria is the seventh most densely populated city in Canada with 4,406 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,410/sq mi).

    Wikipedia

  • Hatley Castle near Victoria was considered as a possible wartime residence for the British royal family and later appeared in X-Men films.

    Atlas Obscura

Places to see

Moss Lady

A moss-cloaked sculpture in a Victoria garden inspired by the Mud Maid of Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Fan Tan Alley

Often called Canada's narrowest street, this Chinatown passage once hosted gambling dens and today holds shops in historic brick.

Fisgard Lighthouse

An operating lighthouse from the 1860s at the entrance to Esquimalt Harbour, among the oldest on Canada's west coast.

Mile 0

A monument marking one end of the Trans-Canada Highway at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria.

Related guides

Indoor radonBuilding permitsMill ratesNatural hazardsBroadbandWater hardnessConstruction PulseStudies

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