Renters' Toronto vs Owners' Toronto: Two Cities in One
Key takeaways
- North St. James Town is Toronto's most renter-heavy neighbourhood at 89%; Centennial Scarborough is the least at 8% (2021 Census).
- All ten of the most rental neighbourhoods sit below the citywide median household income of $84,500. Their group median is $62,950, versus $118,500 in the ten most owner-occupied.
- Transit commuting averages 37.7% across the ten most rental neighbourhoods, against 13.7% across the ten most owner-occupied, a 2.8x gap.
- Thorncliffe Park is both 86% rental and the city's most child-dense neighbourhood (24.4% under 15). Renting with kids is mainstream in Toronto, not an edge case.
In North St. James Town, 89% of households rent their home. In Centennial Scarborough, 8% do. Both are official City of Toronto neighbourhoods, both filled out the same census forms, and they describe two different cities. Across Toronto's 158 neighbourhoods, housing tenure tracks income, commuting habits and even where children live (Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, via the City of Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles). This guide maps both extremes: the ten most renter-heavy neighbourhoods, the ten most owner-occupied, and what actually separates them. If you're weighing where to settle with kids, tenure turns out to be a sharper starting filter than most people expect; our family neighbourhood guide covers the wider picture.
Which Toronto neighbourhoods have the most renters?
North St. James Town is Toronto's most renter-heavy neighbourhood: 89% of its households rent (2021 Census). Thorncliffe Park follows at 86% and South Parkdale at 85%. Seven more neighbourhoods, from North Toronto (81%) down to Oakridge (69%), round out a top ten where renting isn't the alternative. It's the default.
What unites the list is income. Median household incomes in these ten neighbourhoods run from $57,200 in South Parkdale to $80,000 in South Eglinton-Davisville. Not one reaches the citywide median of $84,500. What divides the list is everything else: child share spans 4.0% in Church-Wellesley to 24.4% in Thorncliffe Park, and growth runs from South Parkdale's -6.2% to Regent Park's +18.0% over 2016 to 2021.
| Neighbourhood | Renter share | Median household income | Transit commuters | Under-15 share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North St. James Town | 89% | $59,200 | 46% | 11.7% |
| Thorncliffe Park | 86% | $67,000 | 30% | 24.4% |
| South Parkdale | 85% | $57,200 | 42% | 9.3% |
| North Toronto | 81% | $70,000 | 43% | 8.3% |
| Church-Wellesley | 76% | $60,400 | 33% | 4.0% |
| Regent Park | 71% | $65,500 | 35% | 13.6% |
| Bay-Cloverhill | 70% | $58,400 | 24% | 4.5% |
| South Eglinton-Davisville | 70% | $80,000 | 44% | 9.6% |
| Broadview North | 69% | $68,500 | 39% | 13.4% |
| Oakridge | 69% | $60,000 | 41% | 18.7% |
Source: 2021 Census, City of Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles.
Owners' Toronto: where fewer than one in five households rent
Centennial Scarborough is the city's ownership capital: only 8% of households rent (2021 Census). Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills and Milliken sit at 12%, Highland Creek at 14%. Every neighbourhood in the ownership top ten lies in Scarborough, Etobicoke or the North York area; none is anywhere near the downtown core.
Here's the surprise in the ownership belt: it's shrinking. Milliken lost 9.8% of its population between 2016 and 2021, and Steeles lost 7.5%, the two steepest declines anywhere on either list. Meanwhile the only double-digit grower among the twenty neighbourhoods is 71%-rental Regent Park, up 18.0%. Aging households in low-rise ownership areas tend to thin out, while rental redevelopment adds people fast. We unpack that pattern in our guide to Toronto's fastest growing and shrinking neighbourhoods.
How big is the income gap between the two Torontos?
Wide. The median household income across the ten most rental neighbourhoods is $62,950, versus $118,500 across the ten most owner-occupied (2021 Census), nearly a two-to-one gap. Every renter-heavy neighbourhood in the top ten sits below the citywide median of $84,500, while eight of the ten ownership strongholds sit above it.
At the extremes, the gap stretches further. Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills reports a median household income of $222,000, almost four times South Parkdale's $57,200. Kingsway South ($184,000) and Princess-Rosethorn ($162,000) follow on the ownership side. The renters' list tops out at South Eglinton-Davisville's $80,000.
The exceptions matter, though. Steeles ($80,000) and Milliken ($81,000) both fall below the citywide median income despite 83% and 88% ownership. In Toronto's older suburban east, plenty of households are house-rich and income-modest. Tenure signals wealth held in housing, not necessarily the paycheque coming in. That's worth remembering before reading any tenure map as a simple income map.
Compare these neighbourhoods side by side in HomeTurf →
Do renters' neighbourhoods use transit more?
Yes, by a wide margin. Transit commuting averages 37.7% across the ten most rental neighbourhoods versus 13.7% across the ten most owner-occupied (2021 Census), a 2.8x gap. North St. James Town pairs 89% rental housing with 46% transit commuting; Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills pairs 12% rental with just 8% transit.
The pattern barely has exceptions. South Eglinton-Davisville (44%), North Toronto (43%) and South Parkdale (42%) all post transit shares that no ownership stronghold comes close to matching: the highest figure on the owner side is Highland Creek's 16%. Rental towers cluster where the subway and streetcar already run, while the ownership belt was built around the car. If you're trying to skip car ownership entirely, start with our guide to the best Toronto neighbourhoods for living without a car.
Is renting with kids an edge case in Toronto?
No. Thorncliffe Park is simultaneously Toronto's most child-dense neighbourhood, with 24.4% of residents under 15, and one of its most rental at 86% (2021 Census). Its 4,978 kids under 15 outnumber the child population of every single neighbourhood in the ownership top ten; Morningside Heights comes closest at 4,090.
Renters' Toronto really splits in two here. Downtown tower districts like Church-Wellesley (4.0% under 15) and Bay-Cloverhill (4.5%) are overwhelmingly adult. But the renter-heavy inner suburbs are full of families: Oakridge combines 69% rental housing with an 18.7% child share, well above the citywide median of 14.55%. Averaged across each top ten, owner areas hold a modest edge in child share, 14.5% to 11.8%, yet the single most family-dense place in the city rents.
Services haven't caught up with that reality. Thorncliffe Park has just 7.0 licensed childcare spaces per 100 kids under 15, a third of the citywide 20.8 (Ontario Licensed Child Care Database). High-rental, high-child neighbourhoods are exactly where shortages concentrate, a pattern we map in detail in our guide to Toronto's childcare deserts.
What the 2021 Census can't tell you
Tenure figures here come from the 2021 Census of Population, the most recent complete count for all 158 neighbourhoods. That's a real limitation: condo-heavy areas shift fastest, because an individually owned condo can move into or out of the rental pool with a single lease, no construction required.
Three more caveats. First, buildings completed after 2021 aren't reflected at all, and Regent Park's 18.0% five-year growth shows how quickly redevelopment can rewrite a neighbourhood's mix. Second, growth figures are unavailable for some neighbourhoods because the city redrew boundaries from 140 to 158 areas. Third, tenure counts occupied private dwellings, so it says nothing about rents, mortgages or affordability on its own. Our methodology and limitations page documents every source and known gap.
Frequently asked questions
Which Toronto neighbourhood has the most renters?
North St. James Town, where 89% of households rented in the 2021 Census. Thorncliffe Park (86%) and South Parkdale (85%) are close behind. All three combine below-median household incomes ($59,200, $67,000 and $57,200 respectively) with transit commuting rates well above the typical owner-dominated neighbourhood.
Which Toronto neighbourhood has the fewest renters?
Centennial Scarborough: just 8% of households rented in 2021, making it the city's ownership capital. Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills and Milliken follow at 12%. These areas pair high ownership with car-oriented commuting; none of the ten most owner-occupied neighbourhoods exceeds 16% transit use.
Is renting with children common in Toronto?
Yes. Thorncliffe Park is Toronto's most child-dense neighbourhood, with 24.4% of residents under 15, and it's 86% rental. Its 4,978 kids outnumber the under-15 population of every neighbourhood in the ownership top ten. Oakridge similarly combines 69% rental housing with an 18.7% child share.
Do renter-heavy neighbourhoods have lower incomes?
Generally, yes. All ten of Toronto's most rental neighbourhoods report median household incomes below the citywide $84,500, with a median of $62,950 across the group. The ten most owner-occupied neighbourhoods have a median of $118,500, led by Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills at $222,000.
How current is this tenure data?
It comes from the 2021 Census of Population, the latest complete neighbourhood-level source. Tenure can shift quickly in condo-heavy areas, since individually owned units move in and out of the rental pool, so treat percentages as a baseline rather than a real-time reading.