These cities have the highest number of renters in Ontario

As the price of homes becomes increasingly unaffordable, many people are forced to rent rather than buy a house or condo in Ontario.

Home prices have increased as much as $394,900 in 10 years in the London and St. Thomas area of Ontario in the last 10 years. One study found it would take more than 10 years for a couple to buy a starter home in Mississauga.

So, it’s no surprise more people are renting rather than buying a home.

A new report from online real estate site Point2Homes looks at which cities have the highest percentage of renters and what age groups are renting.

There are nearly one million more renter households compared to a decade ago, according to the report.

“Whether it’s about having the flexibility to move whenever, pinching pennies or just freedom from fixing leaky faucets, one thing’s for sure: Canada has reached unprecedented levels of renters,” the report notes.

The percentage of renters has increased across Canada with as many as 28 in 50 major cities having tenant shares higher than the 33 per cent national average, according to the report.

Looking at 50 major cities across the country, Montréal has the highest share of renters, with more than 63 per cent of households occupied by renters, the report found.

In Ontario, perhaps unsurprisingly, Toronto has the highest percentage of renters of the cities the report studied.

The report found 551,290 renters in Toronto representing 47.9 per cent of the households in the city.

Next was Kingston with 25,295 renters at 44 per cent of households. Kingston has the highest share of young renters in Ontario with a whopping 92.9 per cent of its residents under 24 renting, according to the report.

The third highest percentage of renters in Ontario is in London with 72,305 renters and 41.7 per cent of households.

Of GTA area cities, Oshawa was next highest with 23,725 renters, 35.8 per cent, followed by St. Catharines at 20,795, 35.5 per cent, then Hamilton with 75,490 renters, 34.1 per cent, Mississauga 71,295, 29.3 per cent, Oakville 16,265, 22.2 per cent and Brampton 39,685, 21.8 per cent.

The numbers are gathered from 2021 Statistics Canada data.

Most renters are younger people, with more than 81 per cent of under-24-year-olds and more than half of 25-to-34-year-olds renting. And, although Gen Z and young Millennials lead the surge in renting, there’s also an uptick in baby boomer renters.

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As expected, the largest share of renters is represented by young millennials but senior renters over 65 are the next highest number of renters.

See the full report from Point2Homes here.

Lead photo: City of Kingston