Laurentian WestKitchener

For health, Laurentian West gets an A

Area-wide: health survey and life expectancy, counted over the Waterloo Health Unit

The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of Laurentian West live 3.5 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km. Smoking is rarer than in the province: 9% of adults, against 11% for Ontario. By contrast, the survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 53%, ahead of the 51% for Ontario. The three chronic conditions the survey tracks average 16% of adults, below both Ontario’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (17%).

Flood mapping exists for Laurentian West: 1 on record, latest by Grand River Conservation Authority

Seismic risk in Laurentian West sits near the middle: $0.022 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. In Health Canada’s survey, just 4% of homes tested in the area exceeded 200 Bq/m³ (6.6% typical).

Measured against local pay, Laurentian West costs more to live in than 82% of Canadian towns

Source area for rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom: the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metro area

Rent took nearly a fifth of household income, below both Ontario’s towns (22%) and Canadian towns (20%). The owner-occupied share of households is 77%.

The schools around Laurentian West answer to 3 boards

18,910 students attend the 32 elementary schools and 3 secondary schools in or within 3 km of Laurentian West. St Mary's High School is the biggest, at 2,240 students. The 31 with results split, 6 in the upper two fifths in Ontario and 13 in the lower. Also worth knowing: of the 35, one teaches in French (10% of schools in Ontario).

For safety, Laurentian West gets a C+

Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 for the Waterloo Region (Kitchener) service area

Its police area recorded 14.2 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, above Ontario’s towns (10.5) and Canadian towns (12) alike. Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 72 over 2023–25, higher than both Ontario’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67).

January nights in Laurentian West drop to −10.3°C (Ontario towns −9.1°C, Canadian towns −13.5°C)

July afternoons reach 26.6°C on average, close to Ontario’s towns (26.7°C) and above Canadian towns (25.5°C). Between the last spring frost, 8 May, and the first in autumn, 5 October, lie 149 days. Snow peaks in January: 32 cm in a normal year. For the wettest month, look to July: 96 mm on average.

Visible minorities make up more of Laurentian West than of Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 48%

0.9% of residents have an Indigenous identity, lower than both Ontario’s towns (1.6%) and Canadian towns (2.8%).

Expect November days around 7°C in Laurentian West, nights around −2°C

By December, a normal day reaches 1°C and a night falls to −6°C. A typical November adds 9 cm of snow. In November, the normal is 75 mm of rain and snow. Across the year, normals run from −10°C nights in January to 27°C afternoons in July.

29,450 residents per council seat in Kitchener, a higher ratio than 98% of Ontario municipalities

As a neighbourhood of Kitchener, Laurentian West shares the council elected in October 2022, with Berry Vrbanovic as mayor.

Laurentian West has no public library of its own; the nearest is Southwest Community Library, 1.6 km away

The library figures on this page are Kitchener’s: Kitchener public library serves all 292,240 people of the city, Laurentian West among them.

Households in Laurentian West earn more than those in 95% of Canadian towns

93% of commuters drove to work at the census. Workers spend 26 min getting to work, on average.

Within 10 km of Laurentian West: 20 public protected areas

0.4 km out lies the largest, Huron Natural Area, at 96 ha. The nearest provincial park, Trillium Woods Provincial Park, is 43 km away. There is no national park within 100 km of the town.