N2L vs N3C

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 N2L and N3C, 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	N2L	N3C	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$69,500	$114,000	$84,000	N2L is 39% lower than N3C
Median after-tax income	$62,800	$98,000	$73,000	N2L is 36% lower than N3C
Median age	29.8	38.8	41.6	N2L is 23% lower than N3C
Unemployment rate	13.3%	10.4%	10.3%	N2L is 28% higher than N3C
Low income (LIM-AT)	19.7%	4.8%	11.1%	N2L is 4.1× higher than N3C
Average household size	2.2	2.9	2.4	N2L is 24% lower than N3C

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	N2L	N3C
Population	37,953	27,518
Private dwellings	19,681	9,657
Land area	16 km²	57 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	N2L	N3C
Grocery store	1 km walk	79%	39%
Public transit	1 km walk	100%	95%
Park	1 km walk	91%	98%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	60%	16%
Child care	1.5 km walk	100%	99%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	95%	78%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	81%	78%
Library	1.5 km walk	68%	27%
Health care	3 km drive	100%	99%
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	N2L	N3C
Studio	$1,375	not published
1 bedroom	$1,771	$1,701
2 bedrooms	$1,917	$1,978
3+ bedrooms	$1,991	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	N2L	N3C
Nearest AQHI station	Kitchener · 8.1 km	Guelph · 13 km
Current reading	1.86 — Low risk	2.02 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	35	109
Reported releases to air	1,380 t	3,000 t

N2L: Measured at Kitchener, 8.1 km from N2L. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
N3C: Measured at Guelph, 13 km from N3C. 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.

N2L in full · N3C 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.