N4Z vs N5A

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 N4Z and N5A, 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	N4Z	N5A	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$95,000	$77,000	$84,000	N4Z is 23% higher than N5A
Median after-tax income	$82,000	$68,500	$73,000	N4Z is 20% higher than N5A
Median age	40.8	46.4	41.6	N4Z is 12% lower than N5A
Unemployment rate	6.4%	10.7%	10.3%	N4Z is 40% lower than N5A
Low income (LIM-AT)	7.3%	9.6%	11.1%	N4Z is 24% lower than N5A
Average household size	2.6	2.2	2.4	N4Z is 18% higher than N5A

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	N4Z	N5A
Population	2,362	32,898
Private dwellings	911	15,203
Land area	5.9 km²	161 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	N4Z	N5A
Grocery store	1 km walk	77%	77%
Public transit	1 km walk	0%	0%
Park	1 km walk	99%	92%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	30%	45%
Child care	1.5 km walk	99%	96%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	69%	84%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	69%	67%
Library	1.5 km walk	0%	23%
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	N4Z	N5A
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	N4Z	N5A
Nearest AQHI station	Kitchener · 42 km	Kitchener · 41 km
Current reading	1.86 — Low risk	1.86 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	15	17
Reported releases to air	159 t	168 t

N4Z: Measured at Kitchener, 42 km from N4Z. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
N5A: Measured at Kitchener, 41 km from N5A. 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.

N4Z in full · N5A 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.