A1A vs A1W

Newfoundland and Labrador

This page does not pick a winner. Every row shows two measurements and the gap between them. There is no score, no tally of which area “wins” more categories, and no overall result — those would be a rating of two places and the people who live in them, assembled by the layout.

Both areas are forward sortation areas, and every figure describes the whole of one. Crime is not shown here: it is reported at the metropolitan level, so for two areas in the same city it is usually the same number twice. It is on each area’s own page, with the geography it describes.

Selected 2021 Census figures for A1A and A1W, with the national figure for scale. The last column states the gap between the two areas as a direction and a size, never as a preference.
Measure	A1A	A1W	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$88,000	$100,000	$84,000	A1A is 12% lower than A1W
Median after-tax income	$74,500	$84,000	$73,000	A1A is 11% lower than A1W
Median age	45.2	44.4	41.6	A1A is about the same as A1W
Unemployment rate	10.7%	11.2%	10.3%	A1A is about the same as A1W
Low income (LIM-AT)	10.6%	7%	11.1%	A1A is 51% higher than A1W
Average household size	2.3	2.5	2.4	A1A is 8% lower than A1W

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	A1A	A1W
Population	30,086	11,179
Private dwellings	13,520	4,668
Land area	42 km²	23 km²

Share of each area’s residents with an amenity within reach, weighted by where people live. A blank is a coverage fact, not a zero.
Amenity	Within	A1A	A1W
Grocery store	1 km walk	65%	56%
Public transit	1 km walk	97%	0%
Park	1 km walk	79%	9%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	37%	14%
Child care	1.5 km walk	97%	94%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	49%	35%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	27%	0%
Library	1.5 km walk	17%	18%
Health care	3 km drive	100%	100%
Employment	10 km drive	100%	100%

These measure how close an amenity is, never its quality. A school 500 m away is a school 500 m away — nothing here says anything about the school itself.
The proximity index is scaled against all of Canada, where 1 is the single most well-served block in the country and the national average is close to zero. It is useful for comparing places and misleading as a score.

What tenants pay, from CMHC’s survey of purpose-built rental buildings. The two areas may sit in different survey zones, or one may not be surveyed at all — that is a coverage fact and is stated rather than left blank.
Unit	A1A	A1W
studio	not surveyed	not surveyed
1	not surveyed	not surveyed
2	not surveyed	not surveyed
3plus	not surveyed	not surveyed

The air quality index is a reading at the nearest station, which may be far away — the distance is shown because it decides whether the reading describes the area at all. Facility counts are reported releases within 10 km.
Measure	A1A	A1W
Nearest AQHI station	St. John's · 3.8 km	St. John's · 17 km
Current reading	1.48 — Low risk	1.48 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	12	1
Reported releases to air	2,124 t	23 t

A1A: Measured at St. John's, 3.8 km from A1A. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
A1W: Measured at St. John's, 17 km from A1W. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.

This page carries the figures the two areas can be set against each other on. Each area’s own page has the rest — including crime, the boundary map, and every source note and caveat in full.

A1A in full · A1W in full

Source: Census Profile, 2021 Census (98-401-X). Data current as of 2026-08-12. Statistics Canada Open Licence. Each figure describes a whole forward sortation area. Amenity, rent and air figures carry their own sources and vintages on the area pages.