Wards 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
Councillors on Scarborough Community Council
Demographic highlights:
The Scarborough Community Council Area occupies 188 sq km (72 sq miles) and its population reached 602,575 in 2006.
The distribution of the population across Scarborough (Map 1) closely reflects the distribution of housing types, with areas of predominantly high-rise apartments showing high concentrations of people. Overall, 39% of occupied private dwellings were in single-detached houses and 33% were in high-rise apartments in 2006, while 66% were owned and 34% rented. (See 'Note on Dwelling Structure Data,' below.)
Scarborough's population grew by 2.4% between 2001 and 2006, compared with 0.8% for the City as a whole. The map of population change (Map 2) reflects areas of new housing development, such as Morningside Heights, the City Centre and the old hydro corridor between Pharmacy and Warden. Note, however, that large areas of Scarborough are either declining in population or growing very slowly.
Scarborough's population today reflects the great wave of immigration over the past 25 years. Two thirds of the
population are visible minorities, compared with 40% for the rest of the City. There are very high levels of visible
minorities in northern Scarborough, with the lowest levels south of Kingston Rd (Map 3).
This is reflected in other ethnocultural characteristics:
- Following English (58%), the top 3 languages spoken in Scarborough Community Council area homes in 2006 were:
- Chinese (6.4%)
- Cantonese (6.3%)
- Tamil (5.9%)
In 2006, 57% of the total population were immigrants, and 12% (one in eight) of the population arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006.
The top 3 places of birth among recent immigrants were:
- Southern Asia (36.6%)
- Eastern Asia (31.7%)
- Southeast Asia (10.9%)
The median household income in Scarborough in 2005 was $53,619, which is close to the median for the whole City ($52,833). One fifth of the households had an income of over $100,000, however. Map 4 shows higher income
pockets across Scarborough, but especially south of Kingston Rd and in the east end.
About one in four of Scarborough's population (25.8%) are considered to be in low income, a similar level to the City as a whole (24.5%). Map 5 shows that concentrations of low income are scattered across Scarborough, especially in some, but not all, of the areas with concentrations of apartments and population.
In 2007, there were about 186,300 jobs in Scarborough, representing 14% of t he City's total employment.
Note on the maps: The maps are based on data for very small areas known as Dissemination Areas (DAs). One of the prime purposes for this geography is administrative rather than analytical: they are used by Statistics Canada to organize its collection of Census information. Consequently, some of these areas have 'odd' shapes and convoluted boundaries: the variations in data values they indicate may not always be as precise as the boundaries show. Nevertheless, using DAs gives a much better picture of the local variations in demographic characteristics than using the larger Census Tracts would show.
Note on Dwelling Structure data: In 2006, changes to the census enumeration process meant that many dwelling units in structures that may have been previously defined as singles or semis were classified as 'apartments in buildings with less than five storeys,' or as 'apartments or flats in a duplex.'
For further information on these demographic highlights please contact cityplanning@toronto.ca or Research and Information at 416-392-8343.
For further information about the Scarborough Community Council please contact scc@toronto.ca or 416-396-7287
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