Victoria HillsKitchener
It is one of 37 neighbourhoods of Kitchener. Some 10,760 people live in this neighbourhood, in Kitchener.
Is Victoria Hills a good place to live?
Prices are high against local incomes (D−). On health it is strong (A). All told, that adds up to a B− overall, better than 47% of Canadian towns. Its place in the ranking is #549 of 858 in Ontario. The local economy is weaker than most (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. 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 Victoria Hills grades
Each subject compares Victoria 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 Victoria Hills stand out
The 3 things Victoria Hills does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Victoria Hills.
Renting in Victoria Hills eats 32% of household income, more than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns
Owners put the median home at $500,000, between Ontario’s towns ($695,000) and Canadian towns ($406,000). Shelter took 30% or more of income for 25% of households, higher than both Ontario’s towns (22%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Victoria Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 32% | 22% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 25% | 22% | 18% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $500,000 | $695,000 | $406,000 |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · The 2021 census asked owners what their home was worth; those values, and 2020 incomes, are what this compares. · Rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom: one figure for all of the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metro area
A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Victoria Hills than in 89% of Canadian towns
The commute to work averages 28 min. The car took 86% of commuters, in line with Ontario’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Victoria Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 28 min | 29 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 86% | 88% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
Health in Victoria Hills beats 92% of Canadian towns
Smoking takes in 9% of adults, age-standardised, below Ontario’s towns (10%) and Canadian towns (12%) alike, while in the health survey, 53% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, more than Ontario’s 51%. Lives in the region last 82.8 years on average (2022/2024): 84.9 for women, 80.7 for men. What sets Victoria Hills apart within its region is a short trip to hospital, 1.7 km for the average resident (3.7 km typical).
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Victoria 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 · Health survey and life expectancy: the Waterloo Health Unit
A flood study covers Victoria Hills: 1 on the national inventory, the newest from Grand River Conservation Authority
Radon is lower than usual: 4% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Seismic risk in Victoria Hills sits near the middle: $0.022 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Victoria Hills doesn’t get its own earthquake risk figures; the ones here come from the city of Kitchener.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Victoria 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
3 school boards share Victoria Hills
The 32 with results split, 8 in the upper two fifths in Ontario and 14 in the lower. Resurrection Catholic Secondary School is the biggest, at 1,920 students. Schooling in French is on offer at one of the 39; in Ontario, one in ten schools teach in it. 21,155 students attend the 35 elementary schools and 4 secondary schools in or within 3 km of Victoria Hills.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| W.T. Townshend Public School Middle fifth in OntarioLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades JK–6 | Elementary · Grades JK–6 | 625 | English public |
| Resurrection Catholic Secondary School CatholicLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Secondary · Grades 9–12 | 1,920 | English Catholic |
| École élémentaire L'Harmonie FrenchTeaches in FrenchElementary · Grades JK–8 | Elementary · Grades JK–8 | 290 | French public |
| Mary Johnston Public School Top fifth in OntarioResults in the top fifth in OntarioElementary · Grades JK–6 | Elementary · Grades JK–6 | 375 | English public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Victoria Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25
Victoria Hills earns a C+ for safety
Violence across its police area runs at 14.2 per 1,000 residents a year. 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). Behind Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 sits data gathered across the Waterloo Region (Kitchener) service area, with Victoria Hills one part of it.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Victoria 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 Victoria Hills drop to −10.3°C (Ontario towns −9.1°C, Canadian towns −13.5°C)
Snow peaks in January: 32 cm in a normal year. Frost usually lifts by 8 May and returns around 5 October: 149 days without it. A normal winter brings 115 cm of snow, below both Ontario’s towns (146 cm) and Canadian towns (141 cm). For the wettest month, look to July: 96 mm on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Victoria 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)
Children make up 22% of Victoria Hills, above Ontario’s towns and Canadian towns
12% of residents are 65 or over, below Ontario’s towns (19%) and Canadian towns (19%) alike. Visible minorities make up 49% of the population, above Ontario’s towns (26%) and Canadian towns (15%) alike.
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 51.1% of Victoria Hills
The 2021 census counted 5,495 women and 5,255 men here, where women make up 50.9% of Canada.
| Victoria Hills | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 15% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 66% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 12% | 19% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 26% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 43% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Victoria Hills in November: highs near 7°C, lows near −2°C
About 9 cm of snow falls in a normal November. Rain and snow over a typical November come to 75 mm. Normal highs peak at 27°C in July; nights bottom out at −10°C in January. Hour-by-hour figures come from ECCC’s Cambridge forecast, on the Weather page.
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
Victoria Hills has no public library of its own; the nearest is Kitchener Public Library - Forest Heights, 1.6 km away
The library figures on this page are Kitchener’s: Kitchener public library serves all 292,240 people of the city, Victoria Hills among them.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
20 public protected areas lie within 10 km of Victoria Hills
The nearest national park is more than 100 km away. The closest provincial park is Trillium Woods Provincial Park, 47 km from the edge of town. The largest is Huron Natural Area: 96 ha, 4.4 km from the edge of town.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Victoria Hills | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 20 | 4 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 1.6% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Victoria Hills
THEMUSEUM and 18 more in and around Victoria Hills
A first look at Victoria Hills’s museums, historic sites and days out, and a few just outside town.
MuseumTHEMUSEUM2 km outside town, to the northeast
Art galleryCanadian Clay and Glass Gallery2.1 km outside town, to the north
MuseumJoseph Schneider Haus1.4 km outside town, to the east
MuseumWoodside3.3 km outside town, to the northeastGardenGardenWaterloo Park2.6 km outside town, to the northwestArt galleryArt galleryYoni Mudra Art Gallery1.7 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- THEMUSEUM: Illustratedjc, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery: JFVoll, 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 Victoria Hills
Neighbourhood in Kitchener
Victoria Hills is one of Kitchener’s neighbourhoods, which TownRatings draws from census dissemination areas and names from the city’s own map or OpenStreetMap.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 10,760 (people, 2021 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Ontario
- City
- Kitchener
- Census subdivision
- 3530013
Victoria Hills’ neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Hills | 10,760 | — | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Westmount | 5,048 | 0.7 | B+ | D− | C+ | A |
| Cherry Hill | 6,304 | 1.5 | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Forest Hill | 5,760 | 1.7 | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside | 5,007 | 1.8 | B− | D− | C+ | A |
| Highland West | 12,476 | 1.9 | B+ | C− | C+ | A |
| Victoria Park | 3,574 | 2 | B− | D− | C+ | A |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
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).