Halifax Partnership Releases Halifax Index 2024

Halifax, NS – June 6, 2024 – Halifax Partnership has released the Halifax Index 2024 presented by TD Bank Group, a comprehensive annual report on Halifax’s progress across a range of economic and social indicators.

This year’s Halifax Index reports on Halifax’s vital signs across seven major themes: people, labour, economy, real estate, communities, affordability, and living in Halifax and compares Halifax’s annual performance to nine other benchmark cities across Canada - St. John’s, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. The Index also tracks and reports on the progress of People. Planet. Prosperity. Halifax’s Inclusive Economic Strategy for 2022-2027.

“As of July 1, 2023, Halifax’s estimated population was 492,199 - an increase of 19,237 (4.1 per cent) over 2022. This is the largest annual increase on record and good news in the context of the goal to address long-term demographic challenges,” said Ian Munro, Chief Economist, Halifax Partnership. “However, it also meant continued and serious pressures on our housing, transportation, and health care systems.”

Record population increases are supporting a strong labour market in Halifax. Furthermore, many sectors of Halifax’s economy showed strong growth in 2023 including manufacturing, tourism, air and sea cargo and passengers, driving increases in the overall size of the economy. Businesses continue to give top rankings to Halifax’s universities and colleges, quality of life for residents, and Halifax Gateway connections.

GDP and household incomes did grow in 2023 but were outpaced by the increase in the cost of living. Fortunately, the inflation rate in 2023 was down from 2022 and it appears that the decline will continue towards a more manageable level through 2024.

That said, the Index shows that residents are also feeling the impacts of Canada-wide inflation, housing, and health care pressures. Halifax Partnership’s annual City Matters Survey, carried out by MQO Research in February and March 2024, reports that while a majority (58.3%) of survey respondents again rated their satisfaction with life as “high” or “very high” in 2024, the mean score for life satisfaction declined 7.6% in 2023 to 6.5% in 2024.

“This decline is not surprising given the combination of a rising cost of living and a loss of purchasing power; stress over basic needs like housing and health care; concern over international tensions and horrific events in various parts of the world, and three natural disasters that hit Halifax last year which impacted many residents in our city,” said Munro. “As inflation subsides, housing starts increase, and new health care resources become available, Halifax should be poised to see well-being rebound.”

See a Fact Sheet below and explore the complete Halifax Index 2024 at www.halifaxindex.com.

Media Contact

Alison Gillan, APR

Vice President, Marketing, PR & Communications

Halifax Partnership

[email protected]

FACT SHEET: HALIFAX INDEX 2024 KEY FINDINGS

PEOPLE

• Halifax’s population grew by 19,237 people in 2023, smashing the previous record of 16,463 set in 2022. At 4.1% annual growth, Halifax was fourth among its benchmark cities.
• Population growth in 2023 essentially was split 80/20 between newcomers from outside Canada and newcomers from other Canadian provinces. International newcomers hit a new record high in 2023 with 15,776 new residents.

LABOUR

• Halifax added 11,200 jobs in 2023, just below 2021’s record addition of 12,300. The labour force grew by 13,300.
• The number of job vacancies in Halifax declined from more than 12,000 at the end of 2022 to just over 7,700 in the last quarter of 2023, while the job vacancy rate fell from 5.2% to 3.3%.

ECONOMY

• Halifax’s GDP grew by 1.4% in 2023. In the face of stubbornly high inflation and interest rates, however, GDP growth for 2024 is forecasted at only 0.8%.
• This slowing of growth is reflected in another drop in this year’s Business Confidence Index. Consumer confidence recovered in 2023 but is still near the record low set last year.

COMMUNITIES

• Average home prices ranged from a high of more than $708,000 in the Waverly/Fall River/Oakfield area to a low of $311,000 in Lawrencetown/Lake Echo/Porters Lake. Virtually all of greater Halifax remained a seller’s market in 2023 as measured by the sales-to-new-listings ratio.
• The average rent across Halifax was $1,538, but there were significant variances from a low of $1,246 in Dartmouth North to a high of $1,922 in the more rural parts of Halifax.

AFFORDABILITY

• Inflation declines from a peak of 7.3% in 2022 to a more moderate 4.3% in 2023.
• As inflation outstripped income growth, average purchasing power in Halifax declined by 1.7% in 2023.

WELL-BEING

• Following an improvement from 2022 to 2023, the numbers tipped the other way in 2024 as the share of respondents citing a low life satisfaction jumped to 22.1%.
• Again in 2024, however, a majority (58.3%) of survey respondents rated their satisfaction with life in Halifax as being “high” or “very high.” As inflation subsides, housing starts increase, and new health care resources become available, Halifax should be poised to see well-being rebound.

REAL ESTATE

• The average home price in Halifax jumped from $535,441 in 2022 to $550,605 in 2023. The average rent for an apartment rose to $1,538 per month as the vacancy rate remained at a record-low 1.0% for the third consecutive year.
• Office vacancy in downtown Halifax was at 18.3% in 2023, down 1.1 percentage points from 2022. The industrial vacancy rate for Halifax was at 2.2%, just above its lowest recorded level last year.