L1C vs L1E

Ontario

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 L1C and L1E, 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	L1C	L1E	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$109,000	$123,000	$84,000	L1C is 11% lower than L1E
Median after-tax income	$94,000	$105,000	$73,000	L1C is 10% lower than L1E
Median age	37.2	39.2	41.6	L1C is 5% lower than L1E
Unemployment rate	11.2%	11.8%	10.3%	L1C is 5% lower than L1E
Low income (LIM-AT)	5.4%	3.5%	11.1%	L1C is 54% higher than L1E
Average household size	2.8	2.9	2.4	L1C is about the same as L1E

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	L1C	L1E
Population	50,217	28,325
Private dwellings	18,207	9,806
Land area	186 km²	26 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	L1C	L1E
Grocery store	1 km walk	73%	77%
Public transit	1 km walk	49%	91%
Park	1 km walk	90%	91%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	37%	36%
Child care	1.5 km walk	95%	100%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	79%	95%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	85%	91%
Library	1.5 km walk	18%	24%
Health care	3 km drive	99%	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	L1C	L1E
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	L1C	L1E
Nearest AQHI station	Oshawa · 13 km	Oshawa · 5.0 km
Current reading	1.82 — Low risk	1.82 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	23	21
Reported releases to air	5,968 t	5,681 t

L1C: Measured at Oshawa, 13 km from L1C. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
L1E: Measured at Oshawa, 5.0 km from L1E. 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.

L1C in full · L1E 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.