Find your town in the Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories has grown 11.3% since the 2021 census. By the latest estimate, 36,400 people live in the places of the Northwest Territories that have a page. Its largest place is Yellowknife, home to 63% of its people. Every place, Yellowknife among them, is a single page: none is a city of 250,000. No First Nations reserve here has 1,000 residents, the size for a page. The strongest overall grade belongs to Yellowknife, #1,243 of 2,556 nationally.
What The Northwest Territories is like
Too few towns in The Northwest Territories have an overall grade for a ranking, so this reads all 7 that have subject grades (1,000 residents or more). Against towns across Canada, their middle town is strongest on jobs & income and walkability, weakest on safety.
0 of 3 (0%) grade A− or better, against 22% of Canadian towns.
Every town ranked by scoreThe full list for the Northwest Territories, with what drives each gradeProvince report cardHow the Northwest Territories compares with Canada’s other provinces and territories, subject by subjectCompare two townsSide by side, subject by subjectFind a town that’s…
Each town’s place in the country is beside it.
3 towns · in national order
Towns without an overall grade
Each has its page and the subject grades it has; the reason it has no overall grade is beside it.
Provinces and territories next to the Northwest Territories
The provinces and territories that share a border with it: each one’s places, and how many of its towns have an overall grade.
Questions about The Northwest Territories
How do the biggest towns in the Northwest Territories grade?
Inuvik grades C+ overall, with its best grade in jobs & income. Next in size, Hay River grades B−, best in jobs & income.
How does the Northwest Territories compare with the other provinces and territories?
On its report card, which sets figures for the whole province beside how its towns grade, the Northwest Territories comes 6th of 13 overall (B). It does best on cost of living and worst on health.
Is every town in the Northwest Territories on TownRatings?
Yes: every one has its page, listed here from the biggest town to the smallest place; size decides only how many grades a page carries.
Why isn’t my town ranked?
A province ranks its towns once five or more have an overall grade; The Northwest Territories has fewer, so its towns stand in national order. Fort Smith, Behchokò, Fort Simpson and Tuktoyaktuk have no overall grade; their pages show the grades they have, and why.
Photos: Yellowknife, TravelingOtter from Houston, Texas, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Hay River, Ymblanter (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Inuvik, Daniel Case (CC BY-SA 3.0), 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 · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population and population estimates. 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).