Please complete your profile to unlock commenting and other important features.

Please select your date of birth for special perks on your birthday. Your username will be your unique profile link and will be publicly used in comments.
Narcity Pro

This is a Pro feature.

Time to level up your local game with Narcity Pro.

Pro

$5/month

$40/year

  • Everything in the Free plan
  • Ad-free reading and browsing
  • Unlimited access to all content including AI summaries
  • Directly support our local and national reporting and become a Patron
  • Cancel anytime.
For Pro members only Pro
Summary

Ottawa Ranks As One Of The Best Cities For Work-Life Balance In The World & Here's Why

Ottawa's outdoor spaces tops the list.🌳

Ottawa's Byward Market.

Ottawa's Byward Market.

Contributing Writer

If you're living in Ottawa, you may have some of the best work-life balance there is! According to new data, Ottawa ranks seventh for its work-life balance in 2022, beating out places like Vancouver and Sydney, Australia.

According to data from business and security system developer Kisi, Ottawa scored a total of 95.51 out of 100 on its work-life balance scale. Here's why.

It may be no surprise, but Ottawa was considered one of the best cities in terms of its great outdoors.

Out of 100 cities, Ottawa ranked fourth with a score of 97 for its beautiful green spaces. Yes, Ottawa even beat out Vancouver on this ranking, which scored 85.6. There are always outdoor activities to do.

Ottawa, and a few other Canadian cities, also had some of the fewest people who said they were overworked.

At just 10%, Ottawa also ranked fifth in its overworked population. That is people who reported working 48 hours or more each week. Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary followed immediately behind with the same figures. In contrast, 23% of people in Dubai, UAE reported being overworked.

Of Canadian cities included in the data, Toronto may be the happiest. Toronto ranked 12th for happiness, culture, and leisure, with a score of 90.1. But Ottawa trailed behind at 55, with a score of 81.4.

Ottawa drops down just one place for its overall work-life satisfaction from 2021 to 2022. In 2021, Ottawa ranked sixth on Kisi's work-life balance index.

Not bad!

The Kisi data was pulled from international organizations, NGO reports, open-access datasets, surveys and crowdsourcing. Kisi assessed 130 factors contributing to work-life balance based on a city's work intensity, society and institutions.

Explore this list   👀

    • Contributing Writer Sarah Crookall (she/her) is a multimedia news reporter and contributing writer with Narcity Ottawa whose investigative work has been featured in the Toronto Star and Metroland Media. Growing up in the Toronto area, Sarah obtained an advanced diploma in journalism at Durham College, later working as news editor at the Fulcrum newspaper while she completed a psychology degree with honours at the University of Ottawa. Sarah has covered a broad range of topics from crises in youth mental health to the suspicious death of a Bengal tiger along the outskirts of Algonquin Park.

    2 Canadian cities ranked among the world's best for nature — but Vancouver isn't one of them

    There's more to Canada's nature scene than just the West Coast! 🌲

    The best university towns in the world were just ranked and Canadian cities dropped spots

    Affordability is a factor in this best student cities ranking! 👀

    Statistics Canada is hiring for census jobs that pay up to $131,000 but you need to apply soon

    Application deadlines are approaching for some 2026 census jobs.

    This enchanting small town set on a BC island was named among North America's 'most peaceful'

    Sandy beaches, ancient forests and a cozy town — anyone?. 🌲

    This Ontario gem with waterfront towns and beaches is one of Canada's 'best' spots to live

    It has "large" homes "priced much lower" than major Canadian cities.