Guelph Excels in Various Quality of Life Aspects

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023 - 2:00 pm
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According to a recent report from Statistics Canada, Guelph excels in various quality of life aspects, surpassing both provincial and national averages. The municipal quality of life dashboard indicates that Guelph boasts a lower poverty rate, a more educated populace, and a lesser demand for affordable housing.

For instance, only seven per cent of Guelph’s residents are classified as living in poverty. This figure is notably lower than the provincial average of 8.3 per cent and the national average of 8.1 per cent. In contrast, nearby Waterloo has 11.9 per cent of its population living in poverty, while Kitchener sits at 8.1 per cent.

Looking at the younger demographic aged 18 to 24 in Guelph, 18.4 per cent are living in poverty. This figure stands much higher in Waterloo at 35.5 per cent, while Kitchener reports a lower rate of 12.9 per cent.

The report further examines the category of ‘core need,’ denoting those falling short of housing adequacy, affordability, or suitability standards. Here, ‘adequate’ housing requires no significant repairs, ‘suitable’ housing has sufficient bedrooms, and ‘affordable’ housing costs less than 30 per cent of the resident’s pre-tax total income.

Based on these criteria, only 10.8 per cent of households in Guelph are in ‘core need,’ equating to 5,960 individuals. This is lower than the provincial average of 12.1 per cent. In comparison, Waterloo and Kitchener show 8 and 10.2 per cent of their residents, respectively, as being in ‘core need.’

In the grand scheme, 69.7 per cent of Guelph’s residents have housing that is adequate, suitable, and affordable. This exceeds Ontario’s average of 67.2 per cent but falls slightly short of the national average of 70.8 per cent.

As for those who rent, the situation is almost evenly divided, with 48.2 per cent living in housing deemed unacceptable, while the remaining 51.8 per cent do not. This distribution is better than the provincial average but lags behind the national one.

Over half of Guelph’s residents, 58.7 per cent, possess some form of post-secondary education, which is at least one per cent higher than both the provincial and national averages. In comparison, Kitchener reports a lower figure at 55.6 per cent, while Waterloo surpasses Guelph with 64.6 per cent.

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