VIDEO: Kelowna scores below average on Economic Scorecard

Kelowna is a great place to live and work, but apparently not the greatest.

An exhaustive report is out that grades the city of Kelowna compared to similar cities across the country, North America and the world. The results may disappoint you. Kelowna ranked 6th out of 17 cities in the Economic category, but in the Social category, it ranked 14th of 17. Overall that puts Kelowna 10th among the 17. If there had been an overall letter grade assigned, it would have been a "C". City of Kelowna Business and Entrepreneurial Development Director Robert Fine spoke with KelownaNow to help us put it into perspective.

The Economic Scorecard took a team of 25 organizations and individuals 18 months to compile. They looked at 24 critical indicators. The results show that before Kelowna can realize its vision as "the best mid-sized city in North America", there's work to do. "This was really meant to be a reality check," said Heather Banham. She is the former Dean of the Okanagan School of Business and an early driving force in the study. "We're very proud to live in this city and we like it," said Banham, "but we shouldn't be smug about it. There are things we can do better and this gives us a start."

One of the most notable surprises in the report was a failing grade on the amount of activity in the tech sector.

The results were unveiled at the Monday Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. The chamber was a partner in the project. "Knowing where we stand on these 24 critical indicators," added Chamber President Carmen Sparg, "and where we need to adjust our policies for improvement and growth will only help us get to the future we envision in a more effective way."

Seven Canadian cities were included in the study including Victoria which ranked 3rd overall. Fredericton, Red Deer, Saskatoon and Waterloo rounded out the Canadian content. Five U.S. cities were also compared, including Boulder, Colorado which ranked first overall.

The Scorecard is modelled after one that's conducted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade every two years. There are plans to compile a second Kelowna Economic Scorecard for release in 2022.

To view the full report, click here.