West RougeToronto
20,915 residents make their home in this neighbourhood in Toronto. Of Toronto’s 158 neighbourhoods, this is one.
Is West Rouge a good place to live?
Strong in places, weak in others. Walkability is its strong suit (A+). With a B overall, West Rouge is better than 63% of Canadian towns. That places it #324 of 858 in Ontario. Add health to its strengths (A−). Prices are high against local incomes (D).
Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in it. Safety uses the city's Crime Severity Index, scaled by this neighbourhood's own violent and property 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 West Rouge grades
Each subject compares West Rouge 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 West Rouge stand out
The 3 things West Rouge does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in West Rouge.
Measured against local pay, West Rouge costs more to live in than 92% of Canadian towns
Area-wide: rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom, counted over the Toronto metro area
80% of households are owner-occupiers. Shelter took 30% or more of income for 20% of households, between Ontario’s towns (22%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 80% | 76% | 74% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 20% | 22% | 18% |
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.
Lives run long around West Rouge: 84.7 years, 3.2 more than the typical Canadian town’s region
The three chronic conditions the survey tracks average 16% of adults, close to both Ontario’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (17%). Smoking is rarer than in the province: 9.2% of adults, against 11% for Ontario. In the health survey, half of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, close to Ontario’s 51%. The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of West Rouge live 4.8 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 84.7 | 82.8 | 81.5 |
| Smokers | 9.2% | 10% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 50% | 51% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Health survey and life expectancy: one figure for all of the City of Toronto Health Unit
West Rouge is on Canada’s flood inventory: 1 listed, led by Toronto Regional Conservation Authority
For earthquakes West Rouge is middling, $0.043 a year per $1,000 against $0.030 for the typical town. Radon is lower than usual: 2.7% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 2.7% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.043 | $0.043 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Earthquake risk: the city of Toronto
West Rouge earns an A− for safety
Source area for Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000: the Toronto service area
The violent index for its police area came to 93, higher than both Ontario’s towns (76) and Canadian towns (86). Property crime in its police area ran at 34.4 per 1,000 residents a year, above Ontario’s towns (30.5) and Canadian towns (31.2) alike.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 93 | 76 | 86 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 34.4 | 30.5 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Commuters in West Rouge travel further than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns, 37 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 37 min | 29 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.
West Rouge has warmer summer afternoons than 91% of Canadian towns
A normal January brings 40 cm of snow, the most of any month. The coldest nights come in January, when West Rouge averages a low of −10.1°C. Gardeners get 161 frost-free days, from 3 May to 13 October. Rain and snow peak in June, at 87 mm.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 27.3°C | 26.7°C | 25.5°C |
| January night low | −10.1°C | −9.1°C | −13.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 145 | 139 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Toronto Buttonville (Airport))
5 boards run the schools in and around West Rouge
The 3 km around West Rouge counts 46 elementary schools and 6 secondary schools, 21,720 students between them. The largest is Dunbarton High School, with 1,630 students. Of its 49 tested schools, 15 sit in the top two fifths in Ontario and 18 in the bottom two. Schooling in French is on offer at one of the 52; in Ontario, one in ten schools teach in it.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highbush Public School Middle fifth in OntarioLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | Elementary · Grades JK–8 | 810 | English public |
| Dunbarton High School Second fifth in OntarioLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Secondary · Grades 9–12 | 1,630 | English public |
| ÉÉC Saint-Michel FrenchTeaches in FrenchElementary · Grades JK–6 | Elementary · Grades JK–6 | 220 | French Catholic |
| William G Davis Junior Public School Top fifth in OntarioResults in the top fifth in OntarioElementary · Grades JK–6 | Elementary · Grades JK–6 | 250 | English public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Nearest secondary school | 2.4 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25
Visible minorities make up more of West Rouge than of Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 67%
Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Ontario’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (16%). Retirement age and beyond: just over a fifth of residents are 65 or older.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
52.1% of West Rouge’s residents are women
Women numbered 10,885 and men 10,005 in 2021, next to a 50.9% share of women for Canada.
| West Rouge | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 64% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 22% | 19% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 63% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Expect November days around 7°C in West Rouge, nights around −1°C
July brings the warmest days, 27°C; January the coldest nights, −10°C. Expect around 12 cm of snow in November. December follows at 2°C by day and −6°C by night. In November, the normal is 77 mm of rain and snow.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 0°C | −9°C | 177 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | 1°C | 211 mm |
| Summer | 26°C | 14°C | 244 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 5°C | 230 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Toronto Buttonville (Airport)); the forecast is on the Weather page
The nearest public library to West Rouge is Toronto Public Library - Highland Creek, 2.1 km away
West Rouge is served by Toronto public library, the library of all of Toronto, so the figures here are the city’s, for 3,110,984 people.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Rouge National Urban Park is 0.1 km from West Rouge
Within 5 km are 10 beaches; Frenchman's Bay West beach is the nearest. A provincial park, Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park, lies 26 km away. 14 areas within 10 km are protected for nature.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | West Rouge | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 3 | 4 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about West Rouge
Toronto Zoo and 9 more in and around West Rouge
Sights in West Rouge and close by, ordered by how widely each is known.
ZooToronto Zoo1.6 km outside town, to the northwest
Theme parkSplash Island1.8 km outside town, to the northwest
Art galleryDoris McCarthy Gallery1.6 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionCamel Ride1.7 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumCanadian Multicultural Inventors Museum4.1 km outside town, to the southwestTheme parkTheme parkDiscovery Zone1.7 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (3)
- Toronto Zoo: Maelwys at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Splash Island: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Doris McCarthy Gallery: Silver Dovelet, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
About West Rouge
Neighbourhood in Toronto
No official boundary marks West Rouge off from the rest of Toronto: TownRatings draws it from the census’s dissemination areas and takes its name from the city’s map or OpenStreetMap.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 20,915 (people, 2021 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Ontario
- City
- Toronto
- Census subdivision
- 3520005
West Rouge’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Rouge | 20,915 | — | B | D | A− | A− |
| Centennial Scarborough | 13,453 | 1.7 | A− | C− | A | A− |
| Highland Creek | 12,678 | 2.2 | B | D | B+ | A |
| West Hill | 28,414 | 4.3 | C− | D− | C | A |
| Morningside | 17,708 | 4.9 | B− | D− | B+ | A |
| Morningside Heights | 24,972 | 5.2 | B | D | B | A |
| Malvern East | 26,113 | 5.3 | B− | D− | A− | A |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about West Rouge
Is West Rouge a young town or an old one?
Its median age is 44.4, 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).