6 neighborhoods to discover

Surrey

City Snapshot

Metro population

634K city · 2.6M Metro Vancouver (2023)

Average commute

32 min (2021)

Climate

Mild wet winters · Warm dry summers · ~160 rainy days/yr

Cost of living (NYC = 100)

Top industries

Health (Surrey Memorial) · Construction & trades · Logistics & distribution · Retail · Public education

Currency

CAD

Time zone

PT (UTC−8 / −7 DST)

Languages

English · ~45% speak another language at home (Punjabi · Hindi · Tagalog · Korean · Mandarin)

Best move season

Jun–Sep

Sources

StatCan 2021 Census + 2023 estimates — Surrey is Metro Vancouver's second-largest city and BC's fastest-growing
CMHC Rental Market Survey 2025 — Vancouver CMA / Surrey survey zone average rents
Zumper Surrey rent report Apr 2026 (median all-bed $1,950 · 1BR ~$1,750 · 2BR ~$2,100) + liv.rent neighbourhood data
Numbeo Cost of Living index, Q1 2026 (Surrey runs below the City of Vancouver)
Environment Canada climate normals 1991–2020 (White Rock / Surrey)
Fraser Institute 2024 elementary & secondary report cards — Surrey School District (SD36)

Pacific Relocation's take

Metro Vancouver's growth engine — more home per dollar.

Surrey is where Vancouver budgets go further without leaving SkyTrain range. City Centre is densifying fast around the expanding line; South Surrey reads like a different (and pricier) city with top schools near the border; Fleetwood and Cloverdale are the family value core. We place a lot of first-time Canadian arrivals here — the trade is commute time for square footage, and it usually wins.