VacationSelector
The Calgary Tower above Olympic Plaza, Calgary
CalgaryThe Calgary Tower above Olympic Plaza
Camelback Mountain above the city, Scottsdale
ScottsdaleCamelback Mountain above the city

Photos: Calgary by abdallahh, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Scottsdale by Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Calgary or Scottsdale?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Calgary for

  • getting around
  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Calgary’s own page.

Choose Scottsdale for

  • wellness
  • shopping
  • nightlife

What lies behind each score is written up on Scottsdale’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Calgary and Scottsdale are level on 8.
Food & drink. Calgary 45, Scottsdale 46: Scottsdale leads by 1 points.
Culture & sights. Calgary 35, Scottsdale 38: Scottsdale leads by 3 points.
Nightlife. Calgary 40, Scottsdale 52: Scottsdale leads by 12 points.
Nature & outdoors. Calgary 88, Scottsdale 68: Calgary leads by 20 points.
Day trips. Calgary 55, Scottsdale 50: Calgary leads by 5 points.
Good for families. Calgary 68, Scottsdale 60: Calgary leads by 8 points.
Getting around. Calgary 42, Scottsdale 20: Calgary leads by 22 points.
Shopping & style. Calgary 42, Scottsdale 60: Scottsdale leads by 18 points.
Affordability. Calgary 42, Scottsdale 32: Calgary leads by 10 points.
Live music & performing arts. Calgary 46, Scottsdale 40: Calgary leads by 6 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Calgary 42, Scottsdale 72: Scottsdale leads by 30 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Calgary and Scottsdale.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Too close to call, level with your weighting

Calgary
46match

Wins on getting around and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Scottsdale
46match

Wins on wellness and shopping with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Calgary in July

25 °Cdaytime high
11 °Cnight-time low
44 mmrain in the month
16 hdaylight a day

Scottsdale in July

41 °Cdaytime high
29 °Cnight-time low
23 mmrain in the month
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-10°0°10°20°30°40°50°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
CalgaryScottsdale

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Calgary: 1991-2020 normals, Calgary Int'l CS (8.2 km from centre). Scottsdale: 1991-2020 normals, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (13.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureCalgaryScottsdale
Official languageFrench, English-
CurrencyCanadian Dollar (CAD)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsAB120 V, 60 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC-7, UTC-6 in summerUTC-7
Emergency number911911
Elevation1,045 m380 m
Main airportCalgary International Airport (YYC)9 km from centre103 non-stop destinationsPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)10 km from centre148 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year13 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureCalgaryScottsdale
City population1,306,784241,361
People per km²1,583-
Museums within 10 km1310
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Calgary or Scottsdale somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.