L3B vs L3C

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 L3B and L3C, 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	L3B	L3C	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$66,500	$78,500	$84,000	L3B is 15% lower than L3C
Median after-tax income	$60,400	$70,000	$73,000	L3B is 14% lower than L3C
Median age	43.2	45.6	41.6	L3B is 5% lower than L3C
Unemployment rate	15.6%	14.4%	10.3%	L3B is 8% higher than L3C
Low income (LIM-AT)	14.6%	9.7%	11.1%	L3B is 51% higher than L3C
Average household size	2.3	2.4	2.4	L3B is about the same as L3C

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	L3B	L3C
Population	25,869	33,462
Private dwellings	11,617	14,273
Land area	125 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	L3B	L3C
Grocery store	1 km walk	67%	72%
Public transit	1 km walk	74%	94%
Park	1 km walk	80%	97%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	42%	44%
Child care	1.5 km walk	78%	95%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	63%	71%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	68%	80%
Library	1.5 km walk	36%	21%
Health care	3 km drive	95%	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	L3B	L3C
Studio	$1,165	$1,212
1 bedroom	$1,177	$1,190
2 bedrooms	$1,462	$1,493
3+ bedrooms	$1,472	not published

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	L3B	L3C
Nearest AQHI station	St. Catharines · 20 km	St. Catharines · 18 km
Current reading	2.33 — Low risk	2.33 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	38	25
Reported releases to air	2,116 t	1,441 t

L3B: Measured at St. Catharines, 20 km from L3B. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
L3C: Measured at St. Catharines, 18 km from L3C. 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.

L3B in full · L3C 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.