Vancouver and other Canadian cities fare well in Mercer survey of quality of living

Canada's biggest cities ranked ahead of most U.S. cities in Mercer's annual global quality of living survey, with the human resources company crediting high levels of personal safety that exist in Canada.

Vancouveris the highest Canadian city on Mercer's global list of 230 cities in fifth place overall the same ranking as last year.

Vienna, Zurich, Auckland and Munich were the only cities that placed aheadof Vancouver. Baghdad, rankslast.

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Other Canadian cities fared well in the Mercer survey, with Toronto (15th), Ottawa (17th), Montreal (23rd), and Calgary (32nd) all in the top 50 cities worldwide. San Francisco was the top U.S. city, in28th place.

This year's survey was the first to factor personal safety into the calculations, joining other categories like economic conditions, medical and health issues, the social and cultural environment, education, housing and recreation.

It's worth noting that the housing category evaluatesrental housing prices, as opposed to how much it costs to buy.Vancouveristhe most expensivereal estate marketin Canada.

"Quality of living continues to be high in Canada with a stable political environment and positive social benefits, offering a very desirable and safe place to live and work for residents and expatriate employees,"saidGordon Frost, leader of Mercer's talent business in Canada, in a statement.

Canadian cities 'much safer'

The survey ranks only five Canadian cities. It placesall five at 16th in the world for personal safety. No American cities place in the top 50 worldwide.

"Canada's major cities continue to be much safer than every U.S. counterpart," Frost said. "This is extremely appealing for expatriate employees looking to bring their families with them as they move abroad for work."

Mercer's survey is designed so multinational companies cancome up with appropriate compensation when placing employees on international assignments.

The companysays most multinationals provide a quality of living or "hardship" allowance for staff to compensate for a decrease in the quality of living between their home base and the new location.

Global quality of living rankings

1. Vienna.
2. Zurich.
3. Auckland.
4. Munich.
5. Vancouver.
6. Dusseldorf.
7. Frankfurt.
8. Geneva.
9. Copenhagen.
10. Sydney, Australia.

Source: Mercer