A new report shows several southwestern Ontario cities have ranked as some of the unhappiest places to live in across Canada.
Data from a study by Point2Homes.com, a real estate research portal that analyzes trends, news and tips, ranked the happiness levels in Canada's 100 largest cities.
To rank each city in the nation, researchers measured four "happiness-relevant dimensions" including: economy and real estate, location and demographics, health and wellbeing, and community and environment.
"Data shows that, just like in real life, there is no absolute happiness, as none of the largest cities in Canada ranked high in each and every happiness metric that would get them a 'maximum happiness' index of 100," read the report.
The report noted the "happiest" city on the list, Caledon, Ontario, only has a happy index of just 67 out of a maximum of 100.
While several Ontario cities made it into the top 10 happiest cities on the list, none of them were in the southwestern region.
As it turns out, municipalities that fall under the 519 area code ranked fairly far down the list with Chatham-Kent coming in at 63, Sarnia at 95, Windsor at 98, and London, at the very bottom of the nation's list, at 100.
"Nearly half of Canada's largest 100 cities are in Ontario, and much of what makes them happy is linked to Economy & Real Estate," the report continued.
Ontario cities that ranked high on the scale due to their median after-tax incomes of more than $107,000, well above the national median of just over $68,000 Additionally, over 85 per cent of homes on the list, which reside in the Greater Toronto Area, are owned households.
While southwestern Ontario cities ranked low on the list overall, the report added that Ontario cities still post some of the highest indexes in what's regarded as one of the happiest countries in the world. The World Happiness Report 2023 ranked Canada as the 13th happiest country to live in out of 137 countries included in the study.
"While numbers can tip the happiness scale toward certain cities, that’s not to say residents there have already found the Holy Grail of happiness, leaving the rest of us walking hopelessly through life," the study concluded. "Sure, happiness means something different to everybody, and it’s up to each and every one of us to discover its meaning. But the socio-economic landscape can often provide a favorable setup to pursue it."