L1M vs L1R

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 L1M and L1R, 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	L1M	L1R	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$154,000	$135,000	$84,000	L1M is 14% higher than L1R
Median after-tax income	$127,000	$114,000	$73,000	L1M is 11% higher than L1R
Median age	38	39.2	41.6	L1M is about the same as L1R
Unemployment rate	10.5%	11.6%	10.3%	L1M is 9% lower than L1R
Low income (LIM-AT)	3.2%	4.5%	11.1%	L1M is 29% lower than L1R
Average household size	3.3	3.2	2.4	L1M is about the same as L1R

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	L1M	L1R
Population	22,542	42,221
Private dwellings	6,992	13,260
Land area	19 km²	22 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	L1M	L1R
Grocery store	1 km walk	73%	80%
Public transit	1 km walk	96%	95%
Park	1 km walk	99%	96%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	32%	71%
Child care	1.5 km walk	100%	100%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	96%	91%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	96%	94%
Library	1.5 km walk	38%	12%
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	L1M	L1R
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	L1M	L1R
Nearest AQHI station	Oshawa · 10 km	Oshawa · 6.6 km
Current reading	1.82 — Low risk	1.82 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	13	22
Reported releases to air	2,048 t	2,229 t

L1M: Measured at Oshawa, 10 km from L1M. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
L1R: Measured at Oshawa, 6.6 km from L1R. 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.

L1M in full · L1R 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.