Economic Highlights

 Nationally Recognized…

• "One of the Top 7 Intelligent Communities in the World" (Intelligent Community Forum)
• "One of the Smart 21 Communities in the World" (Intelligent Community Forum)
• "One of the North American Cities of the Future" for 2007 (Financial Times of London)
• Canada's Best Places to Live" (MoneySense)
•  'Fred-eZone', Fredericton's Free Wi-Fi network, won the 2004 Canadian Information Productivity (CIPA) Judge's Innovation Award
• "One of the Top Five New Technology Boomtowns" (Globe & Mail Report on Business Magazine)
• "One of the Best Cities for Export" (Globe & Mail Report on Business Magazine)
• "Best City for Business" (Canadian Business)

• Best Value - "Best City for Business" (Canadian Business): The Boyd Study ranked Fredericton as the top city offering best value among nine major Canadian cities and Baltimore, Maryland (low cost American city) comparing 500 person businesses occupying 125,000sq.ft. of Class A office space.
• More Businesses Per Capita in Canada - One business for every fourteen people in the Fredericton region (KPMG's Competitive Alternatives Study).
•  Family Income -  Estimated at $78,851 in 2008.
•  Retail Sales - Estimated at $1,413,340,000 for 2008 - 23% above the national average.
• Affordable Housing - The cost of housing is well below the national average. 
• Value of Construction - A record-breaking $119.5 million in 2007.
• Lowest Property Tax Rates - Compared to all New Brunswick cities.

 A Smart City … 

• Canada's 1st Free Wireless City - With Fred-eZone, the municipally-owned Wi-Fi Network, and winner of a 2004 Canadian Information Productivity Award.
•  A Hot-bed of Activity - It's no surprise that Fredericton is the driving force behind New Brunswick's knowledge-based economy with over 70% of the industry located in the city, as well as   Canada's largest per capita engineering cluster.  The City offers a synergistic environment for industry with its state-of-the-art facilities like Knowledge Park. 
• A Rich and Diverse Research Centre - With impressive expertise in the fields of technology, forestry, and agriculture, local businesses have access to more than 50 research affiliations including the National Research Council (NRC) Institute for Information Technology (IIT)'s E-Business Research Centre.  Recognized globally for research and innovation, NRC is a leader in the development of an innovative, knowledge-based economy for Canada through science and technology.  UNB is one of the Top 25 Research Universities in Canada, by Re$earch Infosource, a national consulting firm.
• A Centre for Higher Education - Fredericton is home to two acclaimed universities plus a variety of training colleges and institutes.  Fredericton also has the 3rd highest university-educated population in the entire country at 30.5%. 

Quality of Life … 

• A Short Commute - The City Centre is minutes away, whether you reside in the downtown core within a five-minute walk to work, or in the country within a ten-minute drive; and traffic jams are non-existent!
•  Centrally Located - Within an hour's drive to the U.S. Interstate 95 -- the major American north-south corridor; within a day's drive of Halifax, Toronto and New York; less than an hour away from Saint John - the region's busiest seaport; and just a fifteen-minute drive from the Fredericton Airport.
•  Safe Place to Live & Work - With a low rate of crime.
• Booming Tourism - With a record-breaking $208.6 million injected into the local economy during 2007; up 3.4% from the previous year.  Source:  Fredericton Tourism
• Clean, Safe Drinking Water - The City is proud of its excellent water quality  - delivered by a well maintained distribution system.  

And there is more...!

• Economic Drivers - CFB Gagetown, one of the largest military training bases in the commonwealth, infuses over $500 million dollars annually into the New Brunswick economy.  The base employs over 3,800 military personnel and 1,000 civilian staff. Source CFB
•  Population - Fredericton's CA (census agglomeration area) has a population of 85,688 with a Greater Fredericton regional population of 124,172. 
• Young, Skilled, Bilingual Work Force - The City's population is younger than both the provincial and national averages.  22% have knowledge of both French and English (Source: Statistics Canada)  Graduates of two universities continue to grow the City's skilled workforce - particularly with respect to knowledge-based, research & development and customer contact centre employees. 

 Fredericton is a fantastic place to live, work and play!