Laurentian HillsKitchener
10,026 residents make their home in this neighbourhood in Kitchener. It is one of the 37 neighbourhoods that make up Kitchener.
Is Laurentian Hills a good place to live?
Strong in places, weak in others. Buying in is costly (D−). With a B− overall, Laurentian Hills sits #539 of 858 in Ontario. Nationally, it does better than 48% of Canadian towns. Where it does best is health (A). It also does well on walkability (A−). Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for safety and B for schools.
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. 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 Laurentian Hills grades
Each subject compares Laurentian Hills 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 Laurentian Hills stand out
The 3 things Laurentian Hills does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Laurentian Hills.
Renting in Laurentian Hills eats 27% of household income, more than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns
Owners put the median home at $600,000, below Ontario’s towns ($695,000) but above Canadian towns ($406,000). 22% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, near Ontario’s towns (22%) and higher than Canadian towns (18%). Figures for rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom are published for the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metro area as a whole, not for Laurentian Hills alone.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 27% | 22% | 20% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $600,000 | $695,000 | $406,000 |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 22% | 22% | 18% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · These are 2021 census values, as owners judged them, set against household income in 2020.
Laurentian Hills’s grade for health: an A
Measured from where Laurentian Hills’ residents live, the nearest hospital is 2.1 km away, under the typical 3.7 km. At 9%, the share of adults who smoke sits under the 11% for Ontario. Arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure affect 16% of the region’s adults on average, below Ontario’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (17%) alike. Across the region, 53% of adults say their health is very good or excellent; Ontario as a whole manages 51%. Laurentian Hills doesn’t get its own health survey and life expectancy figures; the ones here come from the Waterloo Health Unit.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Smokers | 9% | 10% | 12% |
| Very good or excellent health | 53% | 51% | 52% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 82.8 | 82.8 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Laurentian Hills is on Canada’s flood inventory: 1 listed, led by Grand River Conservation Authority
NRCan expects $0.022 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Laurentian Hills, near the typical $0.030. In Health Canada’s survey, just 4% of homes tested in the area exceeded 200 Bq/m³ (6.6% typical).
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 4% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.022 | $0.043 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Data for earthquake risk covers the city of Kitchener
Commuters in Laurentian Hills have a short way to work, 23 min on average, less than in Ontario’s towns and Canadian towns
89% of commuters drove, near both Ontario’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 23 min | 29 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 89% | 88% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · These are May 2021 figures, gathered while COVID-19 kept many people home or out of work.
3 boards run the schools in and around Laurentian Hills
St Mary's High School is the biggest, at 2,240 students. The 35 with results split, 7 in the upper two fifths in Ontario and 16 in the lower. Schooling in French is on offer at one of the 40; in Ontario, one in ten schools teach in it. Taken together, Laurentian Hills and its 3 km edge hold 35 elementary schools and 5 secondary schools for 22,270 students.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janet Metcalfe Public School Middle fifth in OntarioLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | Elementary · Grades JK–8 | 720 | English public |
| St Mary's High School CatholicLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Secondary · Grades 9–12 | 2,240 | English Catholic |
| ÉÉC Cardinal-Léger FrenchTeaches in FrenchElementary · Grades JK–6 | Elementary · Grades JK–6 | 250 | French Catholic |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Nearest secondary school | 2.1 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25
Laurentian Hills’s grade for safety: a C+
Shared with the rest of the Waterloo Region (Kitchener) service area: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000
Violent incidents in its police area came to 14.2 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Ontario’s towns (10.5) and Canadian towns (12). The index for the force that serves it came to 72, above both Ontario’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67).
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 14.2 | 10.5 | 12 |
| Crime Severity Index | 72 | 56 | 67 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
January nights in Laurentian Hills drop to −10.3°C (Ontario towns −9.1°C, Canadian towns −13.5°C)
The most precipitation falls in July: 96 mm in a normal year. The frost-free season runs from 8 May to 5 October, 149 days. Snowfall adds up to 115 cm a year, lower than both Ontario’s towns (146 cm) and Canadian towns (141 cm). Snow peaks in January: 32 cm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowfall a year | 115 cm | 146 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −10.3°C | −9.1°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 26.6°C | 26.7°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 156 | 139 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Kitchener/Waterloo)
A town of families: 19% of people in Laurentian Hills are under 15, more than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns
People 65 and over make up 13% of the town. Visible minorities make up 34% of the population, above both Ontario’s towns (26%) and Canadian towns (15%).
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 50.5% of Laurentian Hills
In 2021 there were 5,060 women to 4,955 men; Canada as a whole is 50.9% women.
| Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 68% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 13% | 19% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 22% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 46% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
In Laurentian Hills, November normally means 7°C afternoons and −2°C nights
In November, the normal is 75 mm of rain and snow. Snowfall in a normal November: 9 cm. A normal December brings highs of 1°C, lows of −6°C. Also worth knowing: at the extremes, July afternoons reach 27°C and January nights −10°C.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −1°C | −9°C | 167 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | 0°C | 218 mm |
| Summer | 25°C | 13°C | 244 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 4°C | 221 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Kitchener/Waterloo); the forecast is on the Weather page
Kitchener has one council seat for every 29,450 residents, more than 98% of municipalities in Ontario
The riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP) covering Laurentian Hills is Kitchener South—Hespeler, and Matt Strauss (Conservative Party of Canada) represents it in the House of Commons.
| Turnout | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal election, 2022 | 20% | 31% | 31% |
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library stands in Laurentian Hills: the closest, Forest Heights Community Library, is 2.1 km away
Laurentian Hills is served by Kitchener public library, the library of all of Kitchener, so the figures here are the city’s, for 292,240 people.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Within 10 km of Laurentian Hills: 20 public protected areas
National parks are all over 100 km off. For a provincial park, Trillium Woods Provincial Park lies 45 km off. The largest named area nearby is Huron Natural Area, 96 ha, 1.0 km away.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Laurentian Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 20 | 4 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Laurentian Hills
Splash Pad and 16 more in and around Laurentian Hills
A first look at Laurentian Hills’s museums, historic sites and days out, and a few just outside town.
MuseumDoon Heritage Village3.9 km outside town, to the east · 80K visitors a year
MuseumTHEMUSEUM2.7 km outside town, to the north
MuseumJoseph Schneider Haus2.1 km outside town, to the north
MuseumWoodside4.3 km outside town, to the northArt galleryArt galleryInterarts Matrix1.7 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- Doon Heritage Village: Pcorb, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- THEMUSEUM: Illustratedjc, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Schneider Haus: Yoho2001, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Woodside: Carole Moran from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
About Laurentian Hills
Neighbourhood in Kitchener
Where Laurentian Hills begins and ends inside Kitchener is TownRatings’s line, traced along census dissemination areas and named after the city’s map or OpenStreetMap.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 10,026 (people, 2021 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Ontario
- City
- Kitchener
- Census subdivision
- 3530013
Laurentian Hills’ neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurentian Hills | 10,026 | — | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside | 5,007 | 1.5 | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Forest Hill | 5,760 | 1.5 | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Country Hills West | 5,936 | 1.6 | B+ | D | C+ | A |
| Alpine | 3,055 | 1.6 | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Southdale | 5,277 | 1.8 | C+ | D− | C+ | A |
| Laurentian West | 16,857 | 2.1 | B | C− | C+ | A |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Laurentian Hills
How old are the people of Laurentian Hills?
Its median age is 35.8, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2. Under-15s are 19% of residents; over-65s, 13%.
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).