Surrey, B.C., sits at 146th in livability among 179 Canadian communities ranked by a Canadian financial magazine. (surrey.com)

The city of Surrey is not happy with its placement in a recently published magazine survey of the best Canadian cities in which to live.

Moneysense magazine, which based its rankings on factors like prosperity, affordability and crime rates, places Surrey 146th out of 179 communities across the country.

Acting Mayor Judy Villeneuve disputes the low ranking.

"I don't think they have an accurate understanding of the city of Surrey, whatsoever," Villeneuve said.

'We looked at factors that get right at the heart of livability.'—Moneysense editor Duncan Hood

She pointed to Surrey's growing population as evidence that many people believe the city of about 475,000 people, just south of Vancouver, is a great place to be.

The magazine did not find much to like about many places in the province.

Only Victoria figured into the top 10, while six B.C. communities languished in the bottom 10.

Williams Lake came in at No. 178, Quesnel at 176, Port Alberni at 175. Prince Rupert, Campbell River and Terrace also ranked at or below 170.

Editor defends rankings

The editor of Moneysense said the magazine was not picking on British Columbia.

"We really didn't look at things like how friendly people are, or how beautiful the downtown is," said Duncan Hood. "We looked at factors that get right at the heart of livability."

In larger cities, livability often comes down to the affordability of housing.

Vancouver came in at No. 29, behind places like Winnipeg, Peterborough, Ont., and Regina, because the West Coast city is seen as unaffordable.

Surrey's low ranking was due both to affordability and crime, said Hood.

The best place to live, according to the Moneysense list, is Ottawa-Gatineau.

Land is cheap, crime is low, and with so many government employees, it hardly noticed the recession, said Hood.

With files from the CBC's Ben Hadaway