Finding a good place to live in Calgary isn’t hard. But what about the best place to live? And what even makes it the best? A big part of the answer to that question is personal. Many of us want to live close to family or friends, in the same neighbourhood we grew up in or close to work, or sometimes it’s just that we love the look of a particular home on a particular street. Some of the answers have to do with intangible and subjective feelings about a place — how it feels to be there or to give it as your address rather than anything quantifiable.

But putting all that aside for a moment, this is our data-driven approach to ranking the 185 residential neighbourhoods of Calgary. What makes a neighbourhood the perfect place for you to live is a matter of personal taste. But what makes a neighbourhood a great place to live for most Calgarians? What characteristics and amenities are the most desirable to most of us? That’s the question we try to answer each year with our Best Neighbourhoods survey and rankings.

In our 10th annual survey, respondents said a great neighbourhood is one with lots of parks, good access to groceries, a high Walk Score and access to restaurants (although not too many). Good access to major roads and strong community engagement were also factors. We collected data for each neighbourhood on each of these points and worked with our survey partner Leger Opinion to calculate the results.