How the community scores are built
What each of the eight scores on a community profile measures, how the 223 residential communities are ranked, and where the numbers come from.
The eight scores
Each score ranks a community among the residential communities that have the number, then shows its fifth, 1 to 5.
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Safety
Violent and property crimes per 1,000 residents over the latest four quarters (disorder calls are shown on the profile, not scored). Fewer ranks higher.
A 5 means the least crime per resident. Data: Q3 2025 to Q2 2026 · Calgary Police Service, crime per resident.
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Housing market
The average assessed value of the homes in the community, from the City’s assessment roll.
A 5 means the highest assessed home values. Data: 2026 assessment roll · City of Calgary.
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Affordability
The average assessed value divided by the 2021 Census average income of people with income (a personal income, not a household one). Lower ranks higher.
A 5 means the lowest home value to income. Data: 2026 assessments, 2020 incomes · City of Calgary, 2021 Census.
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Growth
Building permits issued in the last 12 months, a count (not per resident), so large new communities rank high.
A 5 means the most building permits. Data: Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 · City of Calgary building permits.
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Schools
The average Fraser Institute rating of the rated schools located in the community.
A 5 means the highest Fraser school ratings. Data: 2025 ratings · Fraser Institute.
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Amenities
Groceries, pharmacies, restaurants, cafes and landmarks per 1,000 residents, from Google Places.
A 5 means the most shops and places per resident. Data: Mar to Nov 2026 · Google Places.
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Mobility
Calgary Transit stops per 1,000 residents.
A 5 means the most transit stops per resident. Data: Oct 31, 2026 · Calgary Transit stops.
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Environment
City-owned public trees per 1,000 residents.
A 5 means the most public trees per resident. Data: Oct 28, 2026 · City of Calgary public trees.
A community without the number (no rated school inside it, no Census population for a per-resident rate) gets no score for it and reads “no data”. Civic health (311 requests per resident) is ranked too but not shown: more requests can mean engaged neighbours or more problems, so the rank says nothing alone.
The safety score, step by step
How the safety score is worked out: violent and property incidents reported per 1,000 residents, ranked among the residential communities, shown as 1 to 5. A percentile of 75 means less crime per resident than about 75% of them; the profile shows it as 4 out of 5.
- Count violent and property crimes in each community over the latest four quarters (Q3 2025 to Q2 2026); disorder calls are shown on the profile but not scored.
- Divide by the Census 2021 population and multiply by 1,000: crimes per 1,000 residents.
- Rank the communities from most to least crime per resident; tied communities share their average rank.
- Percentile = rank ÷ number of communities ranked × 100, so the least crime scores highest.
- The score is the percentile’s fifth: 80 and up is 5, 60 to 79 is 4, 40 to 59 is 3, 20 to 39 is 2, under 20 is 1. The other seven scores use the same steps on their own number.
Rates per resident rather than counts let communities of different sizes be compared: a large community has more incidents than a small one and can still have less crime per resident.
Census crosswalk
Statistics Canada releases Census data by census tracts, which don’t follow Calgary’s community boundaries. A geographic crosswalk moves tract numbers onto communities:
- For each community boundary, find the census tracts that overlap it.
- Work out the share of each tract inside the community (for example, 60% of a tract falls within Beltline).
- Weight each tract’s Census values by that share.
- Add the weighted values to get the community’s estimate.
These are estimates, not exact counts. Communities that span several tracts or cover only part of one carry more uncertainty.
Residential communities only
Profiles and scores cover the 223 residential communities (class code 1 in the City’s community boundaries). Left out:
- Industrial areas
- Parks and recreation areas
- Residual and unassigned areas
- Non-residential subdivisions (codes like 01B and 02C)
Data sources
Each source behind the community profiles, with the period the profiles hold today.
| Data | Source | Period on the profiles |
|---|---|---|
| Crime: violent, property and disorder | Calgary Police Service | Q3 2025 to Q2 2026 |
| Population, income and who lives here | Statistics Canada, Census 2021 | 2021 Census (2020 incomes) |
| Assessed home values | City of Calgary assessment roll | 2026 roll |
| 311 service requests | City of Calgary Open Data | Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 |
| Building permits | City of Calgary Open Data | Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 |
| Business licences | City of Calgary Open Data | Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 |
| School ratings | Fraser Institute | 2025 ratings |
| Transit stops | Calgary Transit | as of Oct 31, 2026 |
| Public trees | City of Calgary Open Data | as of Oct 28, 2026 |
| Shops, restaurants and places | Google Places | Mar 30 to Nov 4, 2026 |
| Community boundaries | City of Calgary | current boundaries |
Limitations
Five known limits of the community numbers: census age, crosswalk precision, reported crime, income and growth.
- Census age: population is from 2021. Fast-growing communities (Seton, Cornerstone) likely have many more residents now, which would lower their per-resident rates.
- Crosswalk precision: census tracts don’t match community boundaries, so edge communities carry more uncertainty.
- Reported crime: crime numbers count reported incidents only.
- Income: the Census income is the average total income of people with income in 2020, a personal income; affordability compares it with home values, which households pay.
- Growth: the growth score counts permits, not permits per resident, so large communities still being built rank highest.