Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo metro area · ON
Kitchener–Waterloo
Overall rank
#18
of 29, with default weights
Overall score
57
out of 100
Category scores
0 = worst and 100 = best among the 29 cities.
Safety
#21 of 29
Jobs & economy
#12 of 29
Housing cost
#12 of 29
Climate
#20 of 29
Air quality
#8 of 29
Traffic
#22 of 29
Amenities
#14 of 29
Right now
Observed 2026-11-13 04:45 local timeTemperature
-0.3 °C
Partly cloudy
Humidity
81%
Wind
9.4 km/h
Air quality (US AQI)
27
Good
7-day forecast
| Day | Conditions | High °C | Low °C | Precip. mm | Chance % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 13 Nov | Snow | 2 | -1 | 1.8 | 8 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Overcast | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Overcast | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 7 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Overcast | 9 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Tue 17 Nov | Overcast | 10 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Wed 18 Nov | Overcast | 12 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Thu 19 Nov | Overcast | 13 | 4 | 0.0 | 3 |
Rank over time
Climate: past 12 months
2025-11-13 to 2026-11-12 · daily values from the Open-Meteo archive
Daily high and low temperature
Daily rain
Daily snowfall
Show monthly table
| Month | Avg high °C | Avg low °C | Rain mm | Snow cm | Sunshine h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11 | 4.7 | -1.3 | 12 | 16 | 90 |
| 2025-12 | -1.7 | -10.2 | 48 | 40 | 84 |
| 2026-01 | -5.0 | -11.6 | 15 | 51 | 110 |
| 2026-02 | -2.9 | -11.3 | 16 | 14 | 152 |
| 2026-03 | 5.9 | -4.6 | 91 | 13 | 167 |
| 2026-04 | 12.8 | 2.2 | 89 | 1 | 239 |
| 2026-05 | 16.7 | 6.3 | 60 | 1 | 345 |
| 2026-06 | 24.0 | 13.2 | 90 | 0 | 391 |
| 2026-07 | 27.5 | 16.6 | 59 | 0 | 409 |
| 2026-08 | 24.5 | 14.7 | 111 | 0 | 332 |
| 2026-09 | 21.8 | 11.9 | 22 | 0 | 283 |
| 2026-10 | 16.2 | 5.8 | 44 | 0 | 260 |
| 2026-11 | 13.2 | 5.5 | 14 | 0 | 57 |
Rush-hour congestion
How much slower traffic moves than on empty roads, measured by TomTom on weekdays during the morning (07–10) and evening (16–19) rush, local time. Every reading is kept, so this history keeps growing. Data since 2026-10-26 (12 days). The ranking itself uses the last 30 days.
Every sampled day
Average by weekday
Show weekday averages
| Weekday | Morning rush | Evening rush | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | — | 21.3% | 16 |
| Tuesday | 19.6% | 23.3% | 24 |
| Wednesday | 10.4% | 24.2% | 24 |
| Thursday | 16.5% | 27.2% | 16 |
| Friday | — | 28.8% | 16 |
Show every day (12)
| Day | Date | Morning rush | Evening rush | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 2026-11-12 | 16.5% | — | 8 |
| Wednesday | 2026-11-11 | — | 20.0% | 8 |
| Tuesday | 2026-11-10 | 26.9% | — | 8 |
| Monday | 2026-11-09 | — | 22.2% | 8 |
| Friday | 2026-11-06 | — | 28.8% | 8 |
| Wednesday | 2026-11-04 | — | 28.4% | 8 |
| Tuesday | 2026-11-03 | — | 23.3% | 8 |
| Friday | 2026-10-30 | — | 28.8% | 8 |
| Thursday | 2026-10-29 | — | 27.2% | 8 |
| Wednesday | 2026-10-28 | 10.4% | — | 8 |
| Tuesday | 2026-10-27 | 12.4% | — | 8 |
| Monday | 2026-10-26 | — | 20.4% | 8 |
All metrics
| Metric | Value | Unit | Score | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | |||||
| Crime Severity Index (lower is better) | 66.8 | index | 56 | 2025 | Statistics Canada – Crime Severity Index (35-10-0026-01, 35-10-0188-01) |
| Violent Crime Severity Index (lower is better) | 85.1 | index | 59 | 2025 | Statistics Canada – Crime Severity Index (35-10-0026-01, 35-10-0188-01) |
| Jobs & economy | |||||
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 7.1 | % | 46 | 2026-10 | Statistics Canada – Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459-01) |
| Employment rate (higher is better) | 65.2 | % | 88 | 2026-10 | Statistics Canada – Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459-01) |
| Population growth (higher is better) | 0.31 | % / yr | 38 | 2024–2025 | Statistics Canada – Population estimates (17-10-0148-01, 17-10-0155-01) |
| Housing cost | |||||
| Average 2-bedroom rent (lower is better) | 1,816 | CAD/month | 42 | 2025 | CMHC average rents via Statistics Canada (34-10-0133-01) |
| Rent change (lower is better) | 4.0 | % / yr | 81 | 2024–2025 | CMHC average rents via Statistics Canada (34-10-0133-01) |
| Climate | |||||
| Extreme cold days (lower is better) | 8 | days | 83 | 2025-11-13 to 2026-11-12 | Open-Meteo Historical Weather API |
| Hot days (lower is better) | 7 | days | 82 | 2025-11-13 to 2026-11-12 | Open-Meteo Historical Weather API |
| Snowfall (lower is better) | 135 | cm / yr | 21 | 2025-11-13 to 2026-11-12 | Open-Meteo Historical Weather API |
| Wet days (lower is better) | 145 | days | 32 | 2025-11-13 to 2026-11-12 | Open-Meteo Historical Weather API |
| Sunshine (higher is better) | 2,918 | hours / yr | 19 | 2025-11-13 to 2026-11-12 | Open-Meteo Historical Weather API |
| Air quality | |||||
| PM2.5 (90-day mean) (lower is better) | 5.2 | µg/m³ | 95 | 2026-08-15 to 2026-11-13 | Open-Meteo Air Quality API |
| Traffic | |||||
| Rush-hour congestion (lower is better) | 22.1 | % | 39 | 2026-10-26 to 2026-11-12 | TomTom Traffic Flow API |
| Amenities | |||||
| Parks (higher is better) | 581 | count | 45 | 2026-11-11 | OpenStreetMap via Overpass API |
| Hospitals & clinics (higher is better) | 83 | count | 21 | 2026-11-11 | OpenStreetMap via Overpass API |
| Schools (higher is better) | 131 | count | 20 | 2026-11-11 | OpenStreetMap via Overpass API |
| Transit stops (higher is better) | 1,507 | count | 23 | 2026-11-11 | OpenStreetMap via Overpass API |
| Other information (not scored) | |||||
| Population | 701,568 | people | — | 2025 | Statistics Canada – Population estimates (17-10-0148-01, 17-10-0155-01) |
| Average temperature | 7.7 | °C | — | 2025-11-13 to 2026-11-12 | Open-Meteo Historical Weather API |
| Air Quality Index now | 27 | US AQI | — | 2026-11-13T04:00 | Open-Meteo Air Quality API |
| Traffic samples (30 days) | 96 | samples | — | 2026-10-26 to 2026-11-12 | TomTom Traffic Flow API |