Even if people in Ontario have their complaints about life here, the province just dominated a new ranking of the best places to live in the entire country, with seven locales making the list.

Real estate listing site Zolo inspected not only housing prices in various cities and towns, but also things like average income level, crime and unemployment rates, walkability, average number of sunny days per year, access to medical care and other factors that make somewhere generally desirable as a home base.

Coming first in the nationwide top ten was Ottawa, Ontario, which has an average home price of $643,700, lower than the national average of $696,179. The typical resident of the city also earns a comfortable $126,700 per year to cover housing costs, while unemployment is at just 5.3 per cent — a far cry from the 7.8 per cent mark Toronto just hit.

This Ontario city is trying to lure residents from Toronto with its cheap cost of living https://t.co/AltTwZDoX3

— blogTO (@blogTO) June 7, 2024

Population growth in Ottawa is also lower than other cities on the list (8.9 per cent), making it appealing to those looking for less competition for housing and other goods and services, or who don't like the rapid change and expansion of other big cities (*cough*, Toronto again).

Next is Simcoe & District, far closer to T.O. than Ottawa at a 1.5 hour drive in low traffic. This town has an average home price of just $563,500 — less than half of the GTA's $1,162,167 — and an average household income of $110,900.

It also has a great walk score (90, versus Ottawa's 45) and fairly low unemployment rate (5.4 per cent). It's crime severity index is slightly worse than the nation's capital, though, at 58.47 compared to 52.91.

Rounding out the three "best" places to live is another Ontario city: Guelph, where a home will run you a much higher $821,200 and household income is $119,100, but the unemployment rate is only 3.1 per cent.

The crime index and population growth rate are, of course, worse than the above areas, and it has a slightly worse walk score and a couple  fewer sunny days in the standard year (299 vs. 301 or 303).

Zolo chose regions that "blend housing affordability with the factors that make a city appealing" when creating collating the ten best places to live in Canada.

Also in the top ten are Barrie, Tilsonburg and Kitchener-Waterloo, with Zolo writing that "these areas boast higher-than-average household incomes and lower-than-average unemployment rates. They are also less densely populated, perfect for those looking for more space."

"Tillsonburg has a small-town charm and is within commuting distance of the much larger city of London, Kitchener-Waterloo is known for its universities and hosts some of the world's biggest tech companies, leading to higher-than-average household incomes," the firm continues.

Here's the area of Ontario you should move to if you want cheaper real estate prices https://t.co/s6inWqC5g5

— blogTO (@blogTO) June 30, 2024

"And Ottawa is one of the most affordable cities in Ontario, has a low crime severity index and good household income."

In other similar rankings, Zolo also put Barrie, Ottawa, Simcoe, Guelph and Kitchener — as well as the GTA, Mississauga and Hamilton — among the best places for families in particular to live, while Guelph, Otttawa, and Kitchener were crowned some of the best places for young adults to live.