Toronto at a Glance

Indicators (2018) City of Toronto Toronto Region
Land Area (km2) 630 5,903
Population (July 2018) 2,956,024 6,341,935
Unemployment Rate (Population 15+) 6.4% 6.0%
Gross Domestic Product (in 2007 $ billion, 2017) $158.7 $336.7
Average (Mean) Household Income (2015) $98,174 $104,378

For the most recent monthly indicators, see the Toronto Economic Bulletin.

Indicators (2018) City of Toronto Toronto Region *
Labour Force (Pop 15+) 1,636,167 3,568,700
Average Income (Pop 15+, 2015) $47,617 $46,082
Office Space Inventory (ft2) * 122,789,917 176,971,072
Industrial Space Inventory (ft2) * 231,645,110 782,414,875
Retail Space Inventory (ft2) * 48,972,434 138,007,518
Average Price All Home Types * $835,422 $787,300
Housing Starts (units) 22,761 41,107
Total Annual Building Permits ($000s) $10,436,155 $18,885,619
Residential Building Permits ($000s) $6,180,986 $11,875,016
Commercial Building Permits ($000s) $2,771,987 $4,663,934
Industrial Building Permits ($000s) $524,260 $1,105,276
Institutional Building Permits ($000s) $958,923 $1,241,394
Residential Tax Rate 0.6355054% N/A
Multi Residential Tax Rate 1.3147559% N/A
Commercial Tax Rate 2.4038506% N/A
Industrial Tax Rate 2.4470392% N/A
Retail Sales ($billion) N/A $92.2
Number of Businesses (active locations with employees) 93,581 215,336
Number of Visitors (million, 2017) N/A 43.7

Toronto region is defined as Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) unless denoted with an asterisk (*), which indicates Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or other regional geography. Number of businesses in the city of Toronto and Toronto CMA comprise of businesses with and without physical locations; see Statistics Canada’s Business Register for more information on the number of registered businesses.

Indicators (2016 Census) City of Toronto Toronto Region (CMA)
Low Income (LIM-AT) 20.2% 15.6%
Average (Median) Household Income (2015) $65,829 $78,373
Visible Minority (percent of population) 51.5% 51.4%
Immigrants (born outside of Canada) 51.2% 46.1%
One-person Households 359,960 519,790
Couples with Children 316,075 823,805
Tenants Spending 30%+ of Income on Shelter Costs 46.8% 46.9%
Lone-Parent Families 152,595 292,145
Cannot Speak English or French 132,765 258,925
Non-Permanent Residents 93,575 136,895
Aboriginal Identity 23,065 46,320

Toronto region is defined as the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).

Toronto – the name derived from the Huron word for “fishing weir” – is on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario at Latitude 43 39 N, Longitude 79 23 W.

Located on a broad sloping plateau cut by numerous river valleys, Toronto covers 641 sq.km. and stretches 43 km from east to west and 21 km from north to south at its longest points. The perimeter is approximately 180 km.

More statistics:

  • Waterfront is 76.5 meters above sea level; shoreline stretches 43 km or 138 km when including in the bays and islands
  • The intersection of Steeles Avenue West and Keele Street is the highest point at 209 meters
    307 km of rivers and creeks run through the city
  • All rivers and creeks flow into Lake Ontario and are part of the Atlantic Ocean Drainage Basin
  • Most northerly point is the intersection of Steeles Ave E. and Pickering Town Line
  • Most southerly point is Lake Ontario’s shoreline at the border between Toronto and Mississauga
  • Most easterly point is the meeting of the Rouge River and shoreline of Lake Ontario
  • Most westerly point is the intersection of Steeles Ave W. and Albion Road
  • Toronto is in plant hardiness zone 6 and on the eastern edge of the Carolinian Forest zone
  • There are over 1,600 named parks comprised of over 8,000 hectares of land (ravines, valleys, woodlots, parks, beaches, golf courses, destination parks, parkettes) and over 200 km of trails, many of which are suitable for biking and walking.
  • Toronto has a total of about 10 million trees, approximately 4 million of which are publicly-owned trees. These include approximately 600,000 street trees (e.g. located on public right of ways on boulevards and commercial trees in sidewalks, etc) and 3.5 million trees in parks, ravines, and other natural areas.

Statistics source: Geospatial Competency Centre, Parks, Forestry & Recreation, Natural Resources Canada.

93,404: Number of units under administration by the City’s Social Housing Unit as of April 1, 2015, includes 2,648 rent supplements with private landlords

3,788: Housing allowances provided by the City directly to households

69,081: Number of rent-geared-to-income units where rents are set at 30% of the household’s income

$18,130: Average annual household income of social housing residents

34: Percentage of households on the active social housing waiting list on OW and ODSP

$710: Maximum monthly shelter allowance provided to a family of four through Ontario Works (October 2014)

$1,264: Average market rent in Toronto for a two-bedroom apartment (Fall 2014); $1,823 downtown

14.4: Number of eight-hour days required at $11 per hour minimum wage to pay the average market rent for a two-bedroom apartment – before taxes

$1,818: Average market rent in Toronto for a two-bedroom rental condo apartment in the secondary rental market (Fall 2014)

78,248: Number of households active on the social housing waiting list (December 31, 2014)

244: Number of community-based non-profit and co-op housing organizations providing social housing in Toronto

1: Number of municipal non-profit housing corporations in Toronto. Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) is owned by the City

63: Percentage of total social housing stock owned and operated by TCHC

287: Number of private market projects where the City has rent supplements

72: Percentage of Shelter, Support and Housing Administration 2015 budget that goes to social housing, remainder is for housing stability and homelessness services

49: Percentage of social housing spending in 2015 that comes from the City, including funds from reserves; compares to 41% in 2014 and 31% in 2013. The City is the largest funding source and its share is growing as that of other orders of government shrinks. City share in 2016 will be 57.3%

0: The federal government’s contribution to social housing by 2031. Ottawa’s share shrank by $4.7 million in 2014 and is expected to fall by another $9 million next year…until it reaches zero by 2031.

476,966: Number of Toronto households that rent

46: As a percentage of all households

43.5: Percentage of renters paying more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent

1.6%: Toronto CMA vacancy rate (2014)

$1,264: Average market rent in Toronto for a two-bedroom apartment (Fall 2014)

$1,173: Monthly amount of Ontario Works (October 2014), two parents, two children ($710 of which is maximum shelter allowance)

City of Toronto, 2011 National Household Survey Backgrounder, September 2013
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Report, Greater Toronto Area, Fall 2014

On April 26, 2018 the City conducted its fourth Street Needs Assessment. The 2018 Street Needs Assessment (SNA) is a needs assessment survey and point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness in Toronto.

Based on the survey, the top three causes of homelessness were identified as migration, an inability to pay the cost of housing and eviction.

Key finding from the SNA include:

  • The most important supports to help people experiencing homelessness to find housing are those that increase income and housing affordability.
  • The total estimated homeless population in Toronto on April 26, 2018 is 8,715.
  • 82 per cent of people experiencing homelessness were staying in City-administered sites.
  • 94 per cent of people experiencing homelessness were staying indoors; the number of people staying outdoors is estimated to be 533, or six percent of the total homeless population in Toronto.
  • 38 per cent of the respondents experiencing homelessness identified as Indigenous.
  • 11 per cent of respondents identified as LGBTQ2S – this was significantly higher among youth respondents (24 per cent).
  • 13 per cent of respondents experiencing outdoor homelessness were veterans.
  • 10 per cent of respondents were seniors (60 and over), and 10 per cent were youth (16 to 24).

$962: Average private market rent for a bachelor apartment in Toronto (Fall 2016).

$1,137: Average private market rent for a two bedroom apartment in Toronto (Fall 2016).

1.3: Overall vacancy rate for private market rentals in Toronto (Fall 2016)

$706: Ontario Works total monthly allowance for a single adult (Fall 2016).

$1,205: Ontario Works total monthly allowance for a two-adult family with two children (Fall 2016).

46: Percentage of Toronto renter households paying more than 30 per cent of pre-tax income on rent. Almost half of Toronto households rent.

94,000: Number of social housing units in Toronto (As of 2017, all programs are under administration by the City of Toronto).

69,000: Approximate number of rent-geared-to-income units where rents are set at 30 per cent of household income.

90,141: Number of people on the centralized waiting list for rent-geared-to-income (RGI) units as of September 30, 2017

8.5: Average number of years an applicant on the chronological list waits to be housed in a two bedroom apartment*

$2,250: Monthly cost of a single shelter bed and services in Toronto.

$305.92: Monthly cost of subsidizing each unit of Toronto’s social housing.

Sources: City of Toronto 2017 budget analyst notes for Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, Ministry of Community and Social Services, 2013 Street Needs Assessment results, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Access to Housing (formerly Housing Connections).