The Opportunity Equation in the Greater Toronto Area

In this report we use the latest 2016 Census data to paint a picture of the change in neighbourhood§ inequality and polarization in our region, adding to the evidence that income inequality is growing in Canada.5 Measures of income inequality and polarization describe related but different shifts in the income distribution. [...] Coefficient of Polarization Gini Coefficient 2. Income inequality and polarization in the Greater Toronto Area: The City of Toronto and the Regional Municipalities 7 of York, Peel, Halton, and Durham The diverging landscape that characterizes the four major metropolitan areas is also unfolding across the regional municipalities of the Greater Toronto Area (Map 1).*** Between 1970 and 2015, neighbo [...] The darker the colours, the higher or lower the average individual income is in the census tract relative to the CMA average.††† The collection of maps labelled Map 2 shows the growth in the number of low- and high-income neighbourhoods and the decline in middle-income neighbourhoods across the Toronto CMA over the period 1980-2010. [...] Not Available S i m c o e D u f f e r i n Census Tract Average Individual Income compared to the Toronto CMA Average of $50,479 Very High - 140% to 831% (139 CTs, 12% of the region) High - 120% to 140% (81 CTs, 7% of the region) Y o r k 2015 Middle Income - 80% to 120% (483 CTs, 42% of the region) D u r h a m P e e l Low - 60% to 80% (335 CTs, 29% of the region) Very Low - 37% to 60% (107 CTs, 9% [...] Percentage of Total Census Tracts in the Region Map 7: Average Individual Income, York Region, 1980 19 Census Tract Average Individual Income Compared to the Toronto CMA Average of $14,384.