L8L vs L9C

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 L8L and L9C, 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	L8L	L9C	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$65,000	$92,000	$84,000	L8L is 29% lower than L9C
Median after-tax income	$58,800	$81,000	$73,000	L8L is 27% lower than L9C
Median age	36.4	41.2	41.6	L8L is 12% lower than L9C
Unemployment rate	16.5%	13.2%	10.3%	L8L is 25% higher than L9C
Low income (LIM-AT)	18.4%	9%	11.1%	L8L is 2.0× higher than L9C
Average household size	2.4	2.7	2.4	L8L is 11% lower than L9C

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	L8L	L9C
Population	32,312	41,202
Private dwellings	14,444	15,123
Land area	13 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	L8L	L9C
Grocery store	1 km walk	98%	73%
Public transit	1 km walk	100%	100%
Park	1 km walk	99%	100%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	95%	48%
Child care	1.5 km walk	100%	100%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	98%	99%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	98%	93%
Library	1.5 km walk	57%	18%
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	L8L	L9C
Studio	$916	$1,097
1 bedroom	$1,295	$1,320
2 bedrooms	$1,460	$1,479
3+ bedrooms	$1,787	$1,647

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	L8L	L9C
Nearest AQHI station	Hamilton Downtown · 1.5 km	Hamilton · 2.7 km
Current reading	1.94 — Low risk	2.2 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	70	53
Reported releases to air	28,358 t	28,253 t

L8L: Measured at Hamilton Downtown, 1.5 km from L8L. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
L9C: Measured at Hamilton, 2.7 km from L9C. 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.

L8L in full · L9C 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.