N1H vs N1L

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 N1H and N1L, 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	N1H	N1L	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$77,000	$114,000	$84,000	N1H is 32% lower than N1L
Median after-tax income	$68,500	$98,000	$73,000	N1H is 30% lower than N1L
Median age	41.2	34.8	41.6	N1H is 18% higher than N1L
Unemployment rate	11.3%	10.5%	10.3%	N1H is 8% higher than N1L
Low income (LIM-AT)	11%	6.8%	11.1%	N1H is 62% higher than N1L
Average household size	2.3	2.8	2.4	N1H is 18% lower than N1L

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	N1H	N1L
Median household income	21% lower than Guelph	18% higher than Guelph
Median after-tax income	18% lower than Guelph	17% higher than Guelph
Median age	about the same as Guelph	12% lower than Guelph
Unemployment rate	8% higher than Guelph	about the same as Guelph
Low income (LIM-AT)	43% higher than Guelph	12% lower than Guelph
Average household size	12% lower than Guelph	8% higher than Guelph

N1H is measured against Guelph, the metropolitan area holding 100% of its residents.
N1L is measured against Guelph, the metropolitan area holding 100% of its residents.

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	N1H	N1L
Province	Ontario	Ontario
Population	42,178	17,474
Private dwellings	18,802	6,722
Land area	132 km²	12 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	N1H	N1L
Grocery store	1 km walk	87%	82%
Public transit	1 km walk	92%	100%
Park	1 km walk	89%	96%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	43%	48%
Child care	1.5 km walk	95%	100%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	92%	89%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	87%	98%
Library	1.5 km walk	35%	54%
Health care	3 km drive	99%	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.

CMHC does not survey a rental zone covering either N1H or N1L. The survey covers centres of 10,000 people and up, so there is nothing published for either area.

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	N1H	N1L
Nearest AQHI station	Guelph · 3.5 km	Guelph · 4.5 km
Current reading	1.14 — Low risk	1.14 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	104	65
Reported releases to air	2,676 t	1,039 t

N1H: Measured at Guelph, 3.5 km from N1H. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
N1L: Measured at Guelph, 4.5 km from N1L. 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.

N1H in full · N1L 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.