City of Vaughan logo

City of Vaughan

2021 Census Insights and Findings – Housing and Dwellings

Key Highlights

  • Apartment buildings with more than five storeys in Vaughan increased by 40 per cent, rising from 9,805 to 13,750 dwellings between 2016 and 2021 – outpacing increases seen regionally, provincially, and nationally
  • Apartment buildings with more than five storeys account for 13 per cent of Vaughan’s total dwellings
  • Toronto, Vaughan, and Markham recorded the highest proportion of new condominium developments in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) since 2016
  • Single-detached homes continue to dominate the local and national housing stock – 63 per cent of Vaughan’s dwellings were single-detached homes
  • Shares of single-detached homes in the Toronto CMA were highest in the communities of Mono, Uxbridge, Georgina, Halton Hills, and Bradford West Gwillimbury
  • New Tecumseth and Bradford West Gwillimbury held the highest shares of property owners under 35 in the Toronto CMA

INSIGHTS and Findings

The following insights and findings on Canadian housing include only counts and types of occupied dwellings. Information about household expenditure, average dwelling cost, and shelter costs will be shared after Statistics Canada’s next census release on July 13.

Canada and Ontario

Single-detached homes continue to dominate housing stock in major cities across the country. Shares of single-detached homes were highest in the communities of Mono, Uxbridge, Georgina, Halton Hills, and Bradford West Gwillimbury within the Toronto CMA. Young homebuyers, specifically those under 35 years of age were more likely to purchase homes in communities outside of larger urban centers such as Toronto from 2018 to 2020. New Tecumseth and Bradford West Gwillimbury held the highest shares of property owners under 35 within Ontario.

Although single-detached homes are still a dominant dwelling type within the country, between 2016 and 2020 focus has shifted toward the development of condominium apartments. Within the Toronto CMA, the cities of Toronto, Vaughan, and Markham recorded a high proportion of new condominium apartment building activity.

York Region

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of occupied dwellings in York Region increased 10 per cent from 357,085 to 391,035. The increase in dwellings was primarily attributed to a 30 per cent increase in occupied dwellings in apartment buildings with five or more storeys. In the cities of Markham and Richmond Hill, apartments over five storeys increased 28 per cent in Markham and 23 per cent in Richmond Hill between 2016 and 2021. Apartments over five storeys account for 16 per cent of total dwellings within Markham and 19 per cent within Richmond Hill.

By household size, there was a 22 per cent increase in one-person households in York Region between 2016 and 2021. An increase of 16 per cent was observed for two-person households which now total 108,895 households.

Vaughan

Vaughan is a city on the rise – apartment buildings with five or more storeys accounted for 13 per cent of total occupied dwellings within the city, totalling 13,750 dwellings. The number of dwellings in apartment buildings with five or more storeys increased by 40 per cent, adding 3,945 dwellings. The average household size for this category was fewer than two people. The increase in apartment building activity was significantly higher than the growth seen nationally (11 per cent) and provincially (15 per cent) over the same period.

Single-detached homes within Vaughan increased 6 per cent from 2016 to a total of 64,995 in 2021. Single-detached dwellings in Vaughan accounted for 64 per cent of all dwellings in the City, and 27 per cent of York Region’s total single detached dwellings.

2021 Census Release Schedule

Statistics Canada will release 2021 Census topics throughout 2022. Economic Development will continue to monitor and provide Council with information on Vaughan’s growing demographics and economy.

  • July 13, 2022 – Families, households, and marital status; Canadian military experience; income profiles
  • August 17, 2022 – Language
  • September 21, 2022 – Indigenous peoples, and housing
  • October 26, 2022 – Immigration, place of birth, and citizenship; ethnocultural and religious diversity; mobility and migration
  • November 30, 2022 – Education, labour, the language of work, commuting, and instruction in the official minority language