Best small towns in Prince Edward Island

Canada’s top 100 on this list includes no place on Prince Edward Island. North Shore tops the list on Prince Edward Island, at A−. Second place goes to West River, at A−, and third to Cornwall, at B+. The A range holds 2 of the 7 on this list. Bottom of the list: Three Rivers, with C. On the national list, North Shore is #257 of 1,524.

Overall grade, the ranked towns under 10,000 How grades work

North Shore

Prince Edward Island · 2,994 people

A⁻Overall

Overall A⁻·#440 of 2,556

Strongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C⁻

West River

Prince Edward Island · 4,155 people

A⁻Overall

Overall A⁻·#500 of 2,556

Strongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: walkability C⁻

Cornwall

Prince Edward Island · 7,920 people

B⁺Overall

Overall B⁺·#652 of 2,556

Strongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C

All 7, ranked on Prince Edward Island

Best first on Prince Edward Island; beside each place, its rank on the same list for all of Canada.

Every Prince Edward Island list

#TownOverallCanada rankWhat drives it

1North Shore2,994 peopleA⁻#257 of 1,524Strongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C⁻

2West River4,155 peopleA⁻#292 of 1,524Strongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: walkability C⁻

3Cornwall7,920 peopleB⁺#376 of 1,524Strongest: jobs & income A, hazard risk A·lowest: walkability C

4East River, Part 12,657 peopleB⁺#482 of 1,524Strongest: hazard risk A, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: walkability D

5Vernon River2,779 peopleB#538 of 1,524Strongest: hazard risk A, safety A⁻·lowest: walkability C⁻

6New Glasgow5,502 peopleB⁻#853 of 1,524Strongest: hazard risk A, safety A⁻·lowest: walkability C⁻

7Three Rivers9,322 peopleC#1,129 of 1,524Strongest: hazard risk A, health B·lowest: jobs & income D

Rankings

More lists for Prince Edward Island

All lists Best places to live Best small towns Most affordable Safest Healthiest Jobs & income Most walkable Lowest hazard risk Civic life Highest incomes Fastest-growing Most historic Most bilingual Youngest Oldest Fewest frosts Driest Wettest

Province by province

Best small towns elsewhere

Canada Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan

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).