L4M vs L9S

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 L4M and L9S, 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	L4M	L9S	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$87,000	$100,000	$84,000	L4M is 13% lower than L9S
Median after-tax income	$76,500	$87,000	$73,000	L4M is 12% lower than L9S
Median age	38	42	41.6	L4M is 10% lower than L9S
Unemployment rate	12.6%	11.7%	10.3%	L4M is 8% higher than L9S
Low income (LIM-AT)	10%	6.9%	11.1%	L4M is 45% higher than L9S
Average household size	2.5	2.8	2.4	L4M is 11% lower than L9S

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	L4M	L9S
Population	46,902	33,434
Private dwellings	19,372	13,557
Land area	78 km²	119 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	L4M	L9S
Grocery store	1 km walk	91%	56%
Public transit	1 km walk	96%	7%
Park	1 km walk	93%	57%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	58%	28%
Child care	1.5 km walk	96%	92%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	84%	59%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	88%	63%
Library	1.5 km walk	15%	22%
Health care	3 km drive	100%	98%
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	L4M	L9S
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	L4M	L9S
Nearest AQHI station	Barrie · 3.7 km	Barrie · 11 km
Current reading	1.33 — Low risk	1.33 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	11	10
Reported releases to air	488 t	551 t

L4M: Measured at Barrie, 3.7 km from L4M. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
L9S: Measured at Barrie, 11 km from L9S. 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.

L4M in full · L9S 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.