#1North Shore
2,994 peopleScore 62.9·#440 of 2,556 Canadian towns
Strongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C−
North Shore, #1 on this list · Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis (CC BY-SA 2.0)Prince Edward Island · 2026
Best places to live on Prince Edward Island
The scores on the list span 62.9 at the top to 40.7 at the bottom. Top place among the 10 towns ranked on Prince Edward Island goes to North Shore, which stands #440 of 2,556 across the country. In second place stands West River, graded A−. 2 towns on the list grade A− or better.
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−
#2West River
4,155 peopleScore 61.7·#500 of 2,556 Canadian towns
Strongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A−·lowest: walkability C−
#3Cornwall
7,920 peopleScore 59.4·#652 of 2,556 Canadian towns
Strongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C
All 10 towns, ranked
By overall score against Canadian towns; ranks are within the province, and each national rank links to the national list.
#TownScoreGrade · national rankWhat drives it
1North Shore2,994 people62.9top 20.7%A−#440 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C−
2West River4,155 people61.7top 22.8%A−#500 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A−·lowest: walkability C−
3Cornwall7,920 people59.4top 28.3%B+#652 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C
4Stratford13,152 people59.3top 28.4%B+#654 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A+, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C
5East River, Part 12,657 people56.7top 34.5%B+#845 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A−·lowest: walkability D
6Vernon River2,779 people55.2top 38.5%B#957 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, safety A−·lowest: walkability C−
7New Glasgow5,502 people48.5bottom 45.1%B−#1,498 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, safety A−·lowest: walkability C−
8Charlottetown48,118 people45.5bottom 36.9%C+#1,723 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk A·lowest: cost of living D
9Three Rivers9,322 people42.1bottom 27.5%C#1,965 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, health B·lowest: jobs & income D
10Summerside19,006 people40.7bottom 23.4%C−#2,063 of 2,556 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A−, walkability B+·lowest: safety C−
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 on Prince Edward Island, 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 Prince Edward Island page.
Province by province
Best places to live, province by province
Photos: North Shore, Dennis G. Jarvis (CC BY-SA 2.0) · West River, William Matheson from Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Cornwall, Quintin Soloviev (CC BY 4.0), 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. 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).