Climate
Montréal logs 136 frost days a year to New York City's 53 — New York City wins by 83. Montréal also leads on hot days by 10.
Montréal
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
New York City
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Montréal is $3330/mo cheaperMontréal runs about $2,085/mo for a balanced lifestyle against New York City's $5,415/mo — Montréal comes in $3,330 cheaper each month, roughly 160% less.
Montréal
$2,085monthly · balanced
New York City
$5,415monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, New York City scores 3.6 vs Montréal's 3.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on flight connectivity. Montréal still holds an edge on car efficiency.
Culture
New York City's culture score of 4.8 sits well above Montréal's 4.2, with the biggest gap on arts & culture.
Nature & Outdoors
Montréal and New York City score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (4.0 vs 4.0, 0–5 scale).
Safety
Montréal's safety score is ~1.4× New York City's — in the middle of the scale, while New York City lands below average, with the biggest gap on road safety. New York City still holds an edge on wildfire safety.
Career
New York City's career score of 5.0 sits well above Montréal's 4.1, with the biggest gap on economic scale.
Social & Community
New York City's social & community score of 4.3 sits well above Montréal's 3.8, with the biggest gap on street atmosphere. Montréal still holds an edge on government immigration friendliness.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, New York City scores 5.0 vs Montréal's 3.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on vegan & vegetarian options.
Family
On family, New York City scores 4.3 vs Montréal's 3.7 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on yoga studios. Montréal still holds an edge on playgrounds.
Healthcare
On healthcare, New York City scores 3.5 vs Montréal's 2.0 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality. Montréal still holds an edge on public healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Montréal averages 8.3 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus New York City's 8.6 µg/m³ (good) — Montréal breathes ~3% cleaner air (0.3 µg/m³ lower).
Montréal
New York City
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Montréal (3.2M) and New York City (14.2M) are 4.4x in population — New York City is the larger metro, Montréal the smaller; on land area New York City spans roughly 3.0x more ground.
New York City is roughly 3.6x the scale of Montréal
Combined population & area comparison
New York City
MontréalCity Scale Rankings
New York City14.2M4.4xMontréal3.2M1xNew York City3,031 km²3.0xMontréal1,020 km²1xMontréal
New York City
Who Thrives Here
Montréal favours the safety seeker, while New York City suits the ocean lover. Both cities work well for the nightlife & social.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Montréal vs New York City
▶Which is cheaper, Montréal or New York City?
▶How does the climate compare between Montréal and New York City?
▶Is Montréal or New York City safer?
▶Should I move to Montréal or New York City?
The best city depends on what matters to you
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