An annual report comparing major Canadian cities is out and offers a glimpse into how London measures up.

The Municipal Benchmarking Network of Canada puts out the report every year. It looks at everything from libraries to parks, roads to solid waste management in municipalities.

The report is a way for municipalities to identify where they're doing well and where they can improve.

The report shows every Londoner pays $303 for police services, for example, with only those in Halifax paying less among similar cities (they pay $290 per capita there). Policing costs $457 per capita in Windsor and $313 in Hamilton.

But our police officers looked at more non-traffic criminal code incidents than most others (42 here in London compared to 31 per police officer in Hamilton and 34 in Windsor)

Here are five other highlights from the report, which compared numbers from 2017:

We have a higher than average child poverty rate

One in five London children live in poverty according to a new report that ranks the performance of Canada's big cities. (CBC)

One in five, London children live in poverty, according to the report.

It lists only two cities with higher rates including, Hamilton, where 24 per cent of children live in poverty and Toronto where 28 per cent of children live in poverty.

At 15 per cent of all childcare spaces receiving subsidies, London has a slightly higher than average number of spaces that receive support, but they're still relatively expensive.

The report said in 2017 the average annual cost of a subsidized childcare space was $6,378 even with city hall chipping in $845 per space that same year.

A parking spot in this city earns $1,320 per year on average

Each day, a sea of gleaming cars surges into the parking lot at Huron Flats at Western University where students who don't have passes can expect to pay up to $12 a day. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

It's amazing if you think about it, but nothing more than a piece of asphalt with some painted lines on it can earn $1,320 per year on average in this city.

That's much more than the average parking spot in Thunder Bay, which earns that city just $620 per year, but much less than Toronto, where a spot brings in a whopping $6,304.

Not surprising for Londoners who have driven around the block a few times trying to find a free spot, but London has among the lowest number of paid parking spots per 100,000 people.

We have 847 spots per 100,000 people, a far cry from the relative parking paradise of Thunder Bay, which boasts 3,193 spots per 100,000 residents.

Still though, London outshines Regina where there are just 571 parking spots for every 100,000 people.

Only Toronto has more shelter beds than we do

Emergency shelter. (Robin De Angelis/CBC)

Poverty and homelessness is a problem in London and the lack of affordable housing was a major campaign issue during the recent municipal election.

The report states that while Toronto has by far the most shelter beds per 100,000 people, coming in at 177, London is the second-highest, with 82 beds per 100,000 people.

Halton Region has among the lowest number of emergency beds per 100,00 people with 12, in part because two new housing agencies that deliver community supports to clients, rather than admitting them to an emergency shelter.

Windsor has even less, with only nine shelter beds per 100,000 people.

London's emergency shelter operating costs are almost $1.5 million per 100,000 people, while Toronto's are almost $4.7 million.

We operate at 96 per cent capacity on an average night, and Toronto at 94 per cent capacity. Windsor operates at a staggering 135 per cent capacity on an average night.

Our library system is among the cheapest to run

(Jessica Ruscello/Unsplash)

Where can you get thousands of books, magazines, DVDs, electronic records, music and friendly, knowledgeable staff for less than a toonie? The library, of course.

Each use at the London Public Library costs $1.85. That's among the lowest in the country.

Get out of town, did you say? If you did that you'd only end up paying more, like in Windsor, where the total cost per library use is $2.25, or Waterloo where the cost is $3.57.

We also have among the highest electronic library use per capita and the highest non-electronic library uses per capita. (You can look it up)

Only Winnipeg and Durham pays less than we do to take out the trash

Garbage bags.

Your mother likely told you, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

It might explain why you rarely have anything to say about London's six-day waste collection schedule, especially in July when the fish you threw out five days ago has to stay in your garage for a long weekend before it finally gets picked up when everyone gets back to work.

While a six-day schedule might literally stink, at times, at least it's cheap.

London pays $96 per tonne to collect garbage (all kinds, including residential, industrial, commercial and institutional).

Only two cities have a better deal, Winnipeg where garbage disposal costs $95 per tonne and Durham Region, where residents get a steal of a deal, paying $86 per tonne.

Next time you get waft of the aroma from the catch of a few days ago, think about the money we're saving.

Especially compared to Hamilton, which pays $154 per tonne or, what may well be the fish's hometown of Halifax, where it costs $159.