A new report is shedding light on what it means to be a Londoner, and contains several surprises about the changing face of our community.
The analysis of census data by the city's planning department shows Canada's 15th largest city is changing, and getting a little grayer.
London's median age is 39 and getting older. Over the previous five years the number of Londoners under 44 has dropped, while those over 45 continued a steep climb.
But there's more, John Paul Sousa, planning research analyst for the city, adds "As Londoners, we are just as diverse as any community that is metropolitan and international in scope."
Other interesting facts include:
- the average man earns $45,000 a year while the average woman earns $33,000
- 93 per cent are Canadian citizens
- 45 per cent are married or living common law while 55 per cent are divorced, widowed or single
The definition of a family is also changing, with half of Londoners now living in two-person households, and the number of children in families keeps dropping.
How we speak at home is interesting too. While 87 per cent speak English at home, followed by French - Spanish, Arabic and Chinese are our fastest growing languages.
But the 'typical' Londoner also depends on what part of the city you live in, and researchers have broken down the figures to look at 43 different neighbourhoods.
The planning depart says neighbourhood-based data combined with city-wide statistics will help council make decisions about where best to locate services and amenities in the future.
"I think the answer to who we are as a city, is that it's our differences that unite us," Sousa says.
The information from the report will be presented to the Planning and Environment Committee on Tuesday.
