N7M vs N8A

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 N7M and N8A, 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	N7M	N8A	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$71,000	$64,500	$84,000	N7M is 10% higher than N8A
Median after-tax income	$64,000	$59,600	$73,000	N7M is 7% higher than N8A
Median age	44	48	41.6	N7M is 8% lower than N8A
Unemployment rate	12.1%	11.1%	10.3%	N7M is 9% higher than N8A
Low income (LIM-AT)	13.2%	15.2%	11.1%	N7M is 13% lower than N8A
Average household size	2.3	2.3	2.4	N7M is about the same as N8A

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	N7M	N8A
Population	25,579	12,624
Private dwellings	11,361	5,765
Land area	326 km²	359 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	N7M	N8A
Grocery store	1 km walk	62%	57%
Public transit	1 km walk	76%	58%
Park	1 km walk	73%	81%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	22%	9%
Child care	1.5 km walk	81%	81%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	72%	79%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	72%	79%
Library	1.5 km walk	22%	46%
Health care	3 km drive	92%	90%
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	N7M	N8A
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	N7M	N8A
Nearest AQHI station	Chatham · 5.8 km	Chatham · 28 km
Current reading	3.29 — Moderate risk	3.29 — Moderate risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	17	7
Reported releases to air	1,308 t	2,643 t

N7M: Measured at Chatham, 5.8 km from N7M. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
N8A: Measured at Chatham, 28 km from N8A. 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.

N7M in full · N8A 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.