#1Labrador City
7,965 peopleScore 75.7·#44 of 2,556 Canadian towns
Strongest: jobs & income A+, cost of living A+·lowest: hazard risk D−
Labrador City, #1 on this list · Photo: Quintin Soloviev (CC BY 4.0)Newfoundland and Labrador · 2026
Best places to live in Newfoundland and Labrador
First of the 32 ranked towns in Newfoundland and Labrador is Labrador City, #44 of 2,556 nationally. The list’s runner-up is Paradise, at B+. The A range holds one town on this list. Scores on the list run from 75.7 down to 27.1.
The overall score, sorted within the province; the letter compares each town with every town in Canada of 2,500+, and its national rank sits beside it. How grades work
#1A+
#2Paradise
26,155 peopleScore 60.3·#591 of 2,556 Canadian towns
Strongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: safety C
#3Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove
2,601 peopleScore 59.7·#627 of 2,556 Canadian towns
Strongest: jobs & income A+, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C−
All 32 towns, ranked
By overall score against Canadian towns; ranks are within the province, and each national rank links to the national list.
32 towns
#TownScoreGrade · national rankWhat drives it
1Labrador City7,965 people75.7top 2.2%A+#44 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A+, cost of living A+·lowest: hazard risk D−
2Paradise26,155 people60.3top 26.1%B+#591 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: safety C
3Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove2,601 people59.7top 27.5%B+#627 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A+, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C−
4Portugal Cove-St. Philip's9,167 people57.1top 34.1%B+#820 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A·lowest: walkability C
5Torbay8,297 people56.1top 35.6%B#883 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A−·lowest: walkability C
6Channel-Port aux Basques3,379 people55.0top 39.2%B#977 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A−·lowest: health C
7Happy Valley-Goose Bay8,197 people53.9top 41.7%B#1,062 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A+, jobs & income A·lowest: safety D−
8Springdale2,893 people51.4top 47.5%B−#1,254 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A+, safety B+·lowest: jobs & income C−
9Gander12,707 people49.4bottom 47.4%B−#1,432 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living B+·lowest: safety C−
10Clarenville7,441 people48.8bottom 45.8%B−#1,486 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A+, cost of living B·lowest: health D
11Conception Bay South29,725 people48.7bottom 45.6%B−#1,491 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income B+·lowest: safety C
12Mount Pearl24,266 people47.4bottom 42.2%C+#1,575 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income B+·lowest: cost of living C
13St. John's128,693 people45.4bottom 36.7%C+#1,726 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, walkability A·lowest: cost of living C−
14Corner Brook20,549 people45.1bottom 35.2%C+#1,757 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A−, walkability B+·lowest: health C
15Placentia3,374 people43.4bottom 30.8%C#1,880 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living A·lowest: health D
16Lewisporte3,405 people43.0bottom 29.7%C#1,911 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living B·lowest: health D
17Pasadena3,930 people42.3bottom 28.2%C#1,947 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A−, cost of living A−·lowest: health D
18Botwood2,884 people41.9bottom 26.5%C#1,984 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, walkability B+·lowest: jobs & income D
19Bonavista3,293 people41.9bottom 26.3%C#1,987 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A+, walkability B+·lowest: health C−
20Division No. 7, Subdivision E2,632 people41.8bottom 26.1%C#1,992 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living A·lowest: health D−
21Grand Falls-Windsor14,510 people38.6bottom 18.4%C−#2,219 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: walkability B, cost of living B·lowest: hazard risk D
22Bay Roberts6,407 people37.7bottom 16.7%C−#2,270 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living B·lowest: health D−
23Division No. 8, Subdivision L2,724 people37.2bottom 16.0%C−#2,291 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living A−·lowest: jobs & income D−
24Marystown5,196 people34.6bottom 10.9%D#2,402 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living B·lowest: health D−
25Deer Lake5,319 people34.4bottom 10.7%D#2,407 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: walkability A−, hazard risk A−·lowest: health D
26Bishop's Falls3,162 people31.6bottom 7.4%D#2,468 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: cost of living B, walkability C+·lowest: hazard risk D
27Spaniard's Bay2,664 people31.2bottom 6.9%D#2,474 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living B−·lowest: jobs & income D−
28Carbonear5,041 people30.2bottom 5.5%D#2,492 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, walkability B·lowest: jobs & income D
29Harbour Grace2,872 people29.7bottom 4.9%D−#2,498 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living B·lowest: jobs & income D
30Stephenville6,840 people28.8bottom 4.1%D−#2,508 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: walkability A−, hazard risk B+·lowest: safety D
31Division No. 1, Subdivision E2,978 people27.7bottom 2.2%D−#2,530 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living C+·lowest: jobs & income D−
32Holyrood2,749 people27.1bottom 1.9%D−#2,534 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, cost of living C+·lowest: health D−
Quick answers
Questions people ask
How are these towns ranked?
By the overall grade, which blends seven graded subjects (safety, cost of living, schools, health, jobs & income, walkability and hazard risk) from public data, each comparing a town with every town in Canada of 1,000 or more. The rank is among the towns of 2,500 or more in Newfoundland and Labrador, where five or more have an overall grade.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers places of 2,500 or more with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their grades on their own pages; every town is listed on the Newfoundland and Labrador page.
Province by province
Best places to live, province by province
Photos: Labrador City, Quintin Soloviev (CC BY 4.0) · Paradise, Tango7174 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, Claxton Ray (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking Canadian towns against each other only, run #73 of 10 November 2026. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).