SpenceWinnipeg
A neighbourhood in Winnipeg, home to 4,378 people. It is one of 128 neighbourhoods of Winnipeg.
Is Spence a good place to live?
Jobs and pay trail most towns (D−). Spence grades D overall, better than 9% of Canadian towns, and ranks #175 of 181 in Manitoba. It lags on cost of living as well (D). Fewer journeys need a car (A+). Safety is weaker too (D).
Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in it. Safety less sure: this is the whole city's figure, because the city doesn't publish open neighbourhood crime rates. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Spence grades
Each subject compares Spence with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Spence stand out
The 3 things Spence does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Spence.
Trips to work from Spence take longer than from Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 28 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 28 min | 24 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
Rent takes more of local pay in Spence than in Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 50% of household income
The rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom numbers here cover the Winnipeg metro area
Shelter took 30% or more of income for just over a third of households, above Manitoba’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike. Owners put the median home at $214,000, below Manitoba’s towns ($300,000) and Canadian towns ($406,000) alike.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 50% | 20% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 35% | 15% | 18% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $214,000 | $300,000 | $406,000 |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020.
Spence gets a D for safety
The index for the force that serves it came to 129, close to Manitoba’s towns (129) and above Canadian towns (67). Across its police area, there are 58.8 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 18 violent incidents are reported each year. For Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000, the only official count covers all of the Winnipeg service area, Spence included.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 198 | 198 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 129 | 129 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 58.8 | 58.8 | 31.2 |
| Violent crime | 18 | 18 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Spence’s region trails the typical Canadian town by 1.5 years: life expectancy 80.0
Area-wide: health survey and life expectancy, counted over the Winnipeg-Churchill Health Region
In the health survey, 52% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, close to Manitoba’s 51%. Smoking is rarer than in the province: one in ten adults, against 12% for Manitoba. Closer to home, a hospital is just 0.9 km from the average resident of Spence, nearer than the usual 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 80.0 | 80.0 | 81.5 |
| Smokers | 10% | 10% | 12% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Hazards in Spence: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 12% of tested homes
Measured across the city of Winnipeg: earthquake risk
Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.006 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Flood mapping: none on the national inventory for Spence.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 12% | 12% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.006 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Area behind the radon tests figures: the Winnipeg health region
Winter nights in Spence are colder than in 95% of Canadian towns
Most of the snow comes in December, about 27 cm. The frost-free season runs from 23 May to 22 September, 122 days. Frost comes on 193 days a year, close to Manitoba’s towns (193) and above Canadian towns (159). The most precipitation falls in July: 77 mm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −21.2°C | −21.2°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 519 mm | 519 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 193 | 193 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Winnipeg Richardson (Airport))
More of Spence’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 29%
Children under 15 make up 18%, near Manitoba’s towns (17%) and higher than Canadian towns (16%). 8.6% of residents are 65 or over.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 46.4% of Spence
Women numbered 2,030 and men 2,345 in 2021, next to a 50.9% share of women for Canada.
| Spence | Manitoba | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 73% | 64% | 64% |
| 65+ | 8.6% | 17% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 29% | 16% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 38% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Manitoba and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
A normal November in Spence runs from −9°C to freezing
Snowfall in a normal November: 21 cm. A normal December brings highs of −8°C, lows of −17°C. November normally sees 25 mm of precipitation. July brings the warmest days, 26°C; January the coldest nights, −21°C.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −9°C | −19°C | 51 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −3°C | 128 mm |
| Summer | 25°C | 12°C | 225 mm |
| Autumn | 10°C | −1°C | 116 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Winnipeg Richardson (Airport)); the forecast is on the Weather page
Spence sends Leah Gazan (New Democratic Party) to the Commons from Winnipeg Centre
Winnipeg’s council runs Spence, one of the city’s neighbourhoods.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Spence has no public library of its own; the nearest is Legislative Library of Manitoba, 0.8 km away
After it comes Millennium Library (South Portage), 1 km away.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Within 10 km of Spence: 21 public protected areas
The largest named area nearby is Assiniboine Forest, 286 ha, 6.2 km away. For a provincial park, Birds Hill Provincial Park lies 19 km off. Within 100 km there is no national park. Walkers have 4 mapped routes close by, starting with the Portage Skywalk and Graham Skywalk.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 21 | 12 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 1.6% | 1.1% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
The schools around Spence answer to 10 boards
4 of the 77 teach in French, against 3% of schools in Manitoba. Its 3 km reach takes in 47 elementary schools, 22 secondary schools and 8 schools for every grade, all of Spence’s schooling.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sister Macnamara SchoolNearest elementary school, 0.1 kmElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Univ. of Winnipeg Coll. Summer SchoolIn SpenceSecondary | Secondary | – | English public |
| École Taché FrenchTeaches in FrenchElementary | Elementary | – | French public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 10 | 6 | 3 |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · Ungraded on schools in Manitoba, because the province publishes no results school by school.
Spence keeps its older homes: 54% from before 1961
| Heritage | Spence | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 54% | 23% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Spence
Gallery 1C03 and 60 more in and around Spence
What there is to see in Spence and within a short drive, starting with the places most people have heard of.
MuseumCanadian Museum for Human Rights1.4 km outside town, to the east
Art galleryWinnipeg Art Gallery200 m outside town, to the southeast
CathedralSaint Boniface Cathedral2.1 km outside town, to the east
CathedralSt. Mary's Cathedral, Winnipeg500 m outside town, to the southeast
MuseumUkrainian Cultural and Educational Centre1.2 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (5)
- Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Ethan Sahagun, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Winnipeg Art Gallery: Cayla at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Saint Boniface Cathedral: Dondon83~commonswiki, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- St. Mary's Cathedral, Winnipeg: NellieBly, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre: Ccyyrree, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
About Spence
Neighbourhood in Winnipeg
The edges of Spence follow census dissemination areas, which TownRatings groups into Winnipeg’s neighbourhoods; the name comes from the city’s map or OpenStreetMap.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 4,378 (people, 2021 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Manitoba
- City
- Winnipeg
- Census subdivision
- 4611040
Spence’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spence | 4,378 | — | D | D | D | B+ |
| Central Park | 4,328 | 0.4 | D | D− | D | B+ |
| West Alexander | 5,161 | 0.7 | D | C− | D | B+ |
| St. Matthews | 5,699 | 0.8 | C− | C− | D | B+ |
| South Portage | 3,037 | 1 | — | — | D | B+ |
| Daniel McIntyre | 9,584 | 1 | C− | C | D | B+ |
| Centennial | 4,483 | 1.1 | D | D | D | B+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Spence
How old are the people of Spence?
Its median age is 33.1, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).