L2M vs L2N

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 L2M and L2N, 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	L2M	L2N	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$72,000	$78,500	$84,000	L2M is 8% lower than L2N
Median after-tax income	$65,000	$69,500	$73,000	L2M is 6% lower than L2N
Median age	46	52	41.6	L2M is 12% lower than L2N
Unemployment rate	16.1%	13.7%	10.3%	L2M is 18% higher than L2N
Low income (LIM-AT)	12%	9.5%	11.1%	L2M is 26% higher than L2N
Average household size	2.3	2.2	2.4	L2M is about the same as L2N

How each area sits against the city or province around it — a different geography on each side, named in every cell. Read down a column, not across: the two columns are measured against different places and a bigger gap in one says nothing about the other.
Measure	L2M	L2N
Median household income	6% lower than St. Catharines - Niagara	about the same as St. Catharines - Niagara
Median after-tax income	6% lower than St. Catharines - Niagara	about the same as St. Catharines - Niagara
Median age	about the same as St. Catharines - Niagara	13% higher than St. Catharines - Niagara
Unemployment rate	about the same as St. Catharines - Niagara	15% lower than St. Catharines - Niagara
Low income (LIM-AT)	9% higher than St. Catharines - Niagara	14% lower than St. Catharines - Niagara
Average household size	about the same as St. Catharines - Niagara	8% lower than St. Catharines - Niagara

L2M is measured against St. Catharines - Niagara, the metropolitan area holding 100% of its residents.
L2N is measured against St. Catharines - Niagara, the metropolitan area holding 100% of its residents.

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	L2M	L2N
Province	Ontario	Ontario
Population	33,704	30,719
Private dwellings	14,869	13,827
Land area	16 km²	13 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	L2M	L2N
Grocery store	1 km walk	81%	84%
Public transit	1 km walk	97%	99%
Park	1 km walk	95%	91%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	50%	67%
Child care	1.5 km walk	100%	97%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	98%	87%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	98%	91%
Library	1.5 km walk	20%	9%
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	L2M	L2N
Studio	$1,139	$1,139
1 bedroom	$1,403	$1,403
2 bedrooms	$1,576	$1,576
3+ bedrooms	$1,775	$1,775

Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation of this product.

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	L2M	L2N
Nearest AQHI station	St. Catharines · 4.2 km	St. Catharines · 3.0 km
Current reading	1.45 — Low risk	1.45 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	16	16
Reported releases to air	1,182 t	1,182 t

L2M: Measured at St. Catharines, 4.2 km from L2M. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
L2N: Measured at St. Catharines, 3.0 km from L2N. 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.

L2M in full · L2N 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.