---
title: "Should I move to Prince George? | PG Pulse"
description: "It depends: lower housing costs and strong jobs in health, education and trades, against long cold winters, mill smell and higher crime."
url: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/should-i-move/
markdown: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/should-i-move.md
site: PG Pulse (https://princegeorgepulse.ca), The pulse of Prince George, British Columbia
generated: 2026-10-16T16:07:34.583Z
---

[Moving and settling in](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/#moving)

# Should I move to Prince George?

It depends on what you want: lower housing costs than the south coast, a strong job market in health, education, forestry and trades, and big outdoors, against long cold winters, a pulp-mill smell on some days and a higher crime rate than the BC average.

Checked October 1, 2026. Numbers update on their own.

Look at the numbers before the opinions. Rents run about $1,422 a month for a two-bedroom (CMHC average), the regional unemployment rate is 6.2%, and January averages −7.8 °C. Prince George is the service hub for northern BC, with the region’s main hospital, UNBC and CNC, so health care, education, government, forestry, trades and transportation jobs are steady.

The trade-offs people mention most are winter, the smell from the pulp mills on still days, and property crime; the crime severity index is 193.8 against 92.4 for BC. Our moving guide puts all of it on one page with sources.

## By the numbers, live

- Population (latest estimate)
  85,944
  July 1, 2025. Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile and table 17-10-0155 population estimates. [More on population (latest estimate)](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/people/)
- Average rent, two bedrooms
  $1,422 a month
  October 2025. CMHC, BC Northern Real Estate Board, BC Assessment, Statistics Canada. [More on average rent, two bedrooms](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/housing/)
- Unemployment rate (economic region)
  6.2%
  September 2026. Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey. [More on unemployment rate (economic region)](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/economy/)
- January average temperature
  −7.8 °C
  normals 1991–2020. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010). [More on january average temperature](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/)
- Crime severity index
  193.8
  2025. Statistics Canada, table 35-10-0063, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in British Columbia. [More on crime severity index](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/safety/)
- Crime severity index, BC
  92.4
  2025. Statistics Canada, table 35-10-0063, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in British Columbia. [More on crime severity index, bc](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/safety/)

Still have a question? The assistant answers from all of our live data.

[Ask the assistant](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/ask/?q=Should%20I%20move%20to%20Prince%20George%3F)

## On PG Pulse

- [Moving to Prince George: the numbers](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/move/)
- [Neighbourhoods compared](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/neighbourhoods/)
- [Housing dashboard](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/housing/)
- [Climate](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/)

## Official sources

- [Statistics Canada: population estimates](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710015501) Link checked October 14, 2026
- [CMHC Rental Market Survey (via Statistics Canada)](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3410013301) Link checked October 14, 2026

## Related questions

- [I just moved here. What do I need to do first?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/newcomer-essentials/)
- [Which neighbourhood should I live in, and which areas are safe?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/which-neighbourhood/)
- [How do I find a rental in Prince George?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/finding-a-rental/)
- [Where can I find a pet-friendly rental?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/pet-friendly-rentals/)
- [My landlord is giving me trouble. What are my rights?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/tenant-rights/)

[All answers](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/) · [Report a problem](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/feedback/)

## More in Living here

[See all in Living here](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/browse/#living)

- [Moving here Costs, jobs, taxes, services](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/move/)
- [Jobs Local openings, searchable](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/jobs/)
- [Household costs Rent, power, gas, utilities, fuel](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/tools/household-costs/)
- [Housing Rents, prices, new builds](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/housing/)
- [Neighbourhoods 31 areas, mapped](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/neighbourhoods/)
- [Schools Every K-12 school, college and university](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/schools/)

## Data

Machine-readable data behind this page, from the free PG Pulse API (https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/).

### Answer

Source: [Answers compiled from our own pages and the official sources linked in each answer; live values from our public API](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/). Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); each answer links its official sources. Updated 2026-10-14T12:40:01.822Z.
JSON: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/answers/should-i-move

- **id**: should-i-move
- **theme**: 1
- **topic**: moving
- **topicLabel**: Moving and settling in
- **question**: Should I move to Prince George?
- **also**: Is Prince George a good place to live?, Do people regret moving to PG?, Pros and cons of Prince George
- **short**: It depends on what you want: lower housing costs than the south coast, a strong job market in health, education, forestry and trades, and big outdoors, against long cold winters, a pulp-mill smell on some days and a higher crime rate than the BC average.
- **answer**: Look at the numbers before the opinions. Rents run about $1,422 a month for a two-bedroom (CMHC average), the regional unemployment rate is 6.2%, and January averages −7.8 °C. Prince George is the service hub for northern BC, with the region’s main hospital, UNBC and CNC, so health care, education, government, forestry, trades and transportation jobs are steady. The trade-offs people mention most are winter, the smell from the pulp mills on still days, and property crime; the crime severity index is 193.8 against 92.4 for BC. Our moving guide puts all of it on one page with sources.
- **checked**: 2026-10-01
- **page**: <https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/should-i-move/>

#### facts

| key | label | api | value | asOf | source | sourceUrl | href |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| population | Population (latest estimate) | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/people | 85,944 | July 1, 2025 | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile and table 17-10-0155 population estimates | https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710015501 | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/people/ |
| rent2br | Average rent, two bedrooms | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/housing | $1,422 a month | October 2025 | CMHC, BC Northern Real Estate Board, BC Assessment, Statistics Canada | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/housing/ | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/housing/ |
| unemployment | Unemployment rate (economic region) | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/jobs/market | 6.2% | September 2026 | Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey | https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410046401 | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/economy/ |
| janMean | January average temperature | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/climate/normals | −7.8 °C | normals 1991–2020 | Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010) | https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/ | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/ |
| csi | Crime severity index | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/crime/severity | 193.8 | 2025 | Statistics Canada, table 35-10-0063, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in British Columbia | https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510006301 | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/safety/ |
| csiBc | Crime severity index, BC | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/crime/severity | 92.4 | 2025 | Statistics Canada, table 35-10-0063, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in British Columbia | https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510006301 | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/safety/ |


#### links

| label | url |
| --- | --- |
| Moving to Prince George: the numbers | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/move/ |
| Neighbourhoods compared | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/neighbourhoods/ |
| Housing dashboard | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/housing/ |
| Climate | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/ |


#### official

| label | url | linkOk | linkCheckedAt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Statistics Canada: population estimates | https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710015501 | true | 2026-10-14T12:40:01.822Z |
| CMHC Rental Market Survey (via Statistics Canada) | https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3410013301 | true | 2026-10-14T12:40:01.822Z |

---

Markdown version of https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/should-i-move/. Guide for AI agents: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/llms.txt. Free API: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/