Fort St. John ranks high in housing affordability

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fort St. John is not only one of the most affordable places to live in the north but is also being labelled as a possible “best-kept secret” in British Columbia.

A real estate blog, Zolo, recently ranked Fort St. John as the most affordable city in the province, while the BC Northern Real Estate Board (BCNREB) says it has been one of the best in the north for the last six years, according to its annual Housing Affordability Indicators report.

The BCNREB report compares the median household income in communities across northern B.C. against “the major costs associated with homeownership for homes purchased in a particular year.” The higher proportion of median income required to pay those costs, the less affordable home ownership is in a given community.

According to the report, Fort St. John received a Housing Affordability Indicator of 24.4 per cent, the second most affordable in the region, close behind Kitimat’s rating of 22.8 per cent.

That continues a trend that began several years ago. The report also shows that housing is slightly more affordable in Fort St. John now compared to 2022.

Northern B.C. as a whole earned a rating of 32.9 per cent, which the organization says is much better than other areas in the province, like Vancouver.

“The affordability of home ownership in northern BC is exceptionally favourable when compared with the Vancouver Area, which experienced another year of significantly worsening affordability, clocking in at 137.0 per cent for 2023,” the report reads.

Meanwhile, Zolo also praised Fort St. John in a recent article, where it ranked as the most affordable city in B.C. out of 26 communities sampled by the real estate market.

The average household income in Fort St. John, according to Zolo, is $119,700. 

The average home price in the city is $418,535, meaning the city has a “home price-to-income ratio” of 4.98 percent, placing it at the top of Zolo’s list. 

The blog went on to call Fort St. John the top small city in the province and say it “might be British Columbia’s best-kept secret.”

Terrace and Prince Rupert also made Zolo’s list of the top small cities in B.C., while Dawson Creek was on the top 10 overall list of most affordable cities.

To view the BCNREB’s full Housing Affordability Indicator report, look below.