all southwestern ontario municipalities ranked

Census & National Household Survey 2011: Strathroy-Caradoc

Introduction Most of these graphs and tables have been sitting on

my computer for a while and would have just stayed

there but for two things. First, I saw a report for a

local area that covered some of the same ground,

which told me I wasn’t the only person interested in

this stuff. There were also some inaccurate figures in

the report (one very significant) and I realized there

aren’t many of us going over these numbers who can

help spot each other’s mistakes … and mistakes will

happen. There may be some here.

Second, SWEA recently started distributing reports

about Southwestern Ontario that are also based on

Statistics Canada data, although ones updated much

more frequently. Information from the Census and

National Household Survey is a good complement to

those reports.

It’s mostly a personal interest or hobby, partly

fuelled by my experience in helping create the

startup community in Waterloo and—after moving

to Strathroy in 2010—analyzing differences between

communities as I looked at how to adapt the success

we had in Waterloo and the lessons learned there to

help boost entrepreneurship-based economic

development in other parts of Southwestern

Ontario. For the last year, I’ve been doing this as a

roving executive-in-residence at Communitech,

covering the region.

It’s written from a Strathroy-Caradoc perspective,

but includes a lot of data about all of Southwestern

Ontario.

Apologies for some of the text sizes. Reading glasses

… or a zoom … may be required!

Gary Will

[email protected]

www.garywill.com

January 2014

Contents Introduction .............................................................. 1

Population ................................................................. 2

Median age ............................................................... 5

Occupations .............................................................. 7

“Creative” occupations ........................................... 10

Population density .................................................. 11

University degree .................................................... 12

Any university or college degree, diploma,

certificate ................................................................ 13

Employment in manufacturing ............................... 15

Employment in agriculture ..................................... 16

Relative strengths in employment .......................... 17

Median family income ............................................ 18

Median dwelling value ............................................ 19

Immigrants .............................................................. 20

Visible minorities .................................................... 21

Family doctors......................................................... 22

Almost all of the data used in these pages came from

the 2011 Census and National Household Survey, the

final batch of which were released by Statistics

Canada in 2013. There’s also data from the 2006

Census used for period-over-period comparisons.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.garywill.com/

Gary Will · www.garywill.com · [email protected] · Twitter: garywill ·

Population In the five-year period from 2006 to 2011, the population

of Strathroy-Caradoc grew by 5.1%—the second-highest

among municipalities in both Middlesex County and the

London metropolitan area, trailing only Middlesex Centre.

It also had the 11th highest population growth rate in

Southwestern Ontario among 97 lowest-tier municipalities

and the 6th highest outside of Waterloo Region (which had,

by far, the highest population growth among Southwestern

Ontario regions).

That growth came mostly from older residents. In the 20 to

44 age range, the population of Strathroy-Caradoc shrank

6.1% from 2006 to 2011. Because of aging baby boomers,

this age range that showed declines across the province

(although the average was only -0.3% thanks to some gains

in the GTA and Ottawa). Across Southwestern Ontario, the

Strathroy-Caradoc decline in the 20 to 44 range was

middle-of-the-pack, with the steepest losses found in the

Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions.

Over the 10-year period from 2001 to 2011 (see next page),

Strathroy-Caradoc’s population growth of 9.5% was again

behind only Middlesex Centre among municipalities in

Middlesex County. It was well above the 10-year growth rate

for Middlesex County (6.2%) and also higher than the average

growth rate for the London metro area (9.0%).

Among the regions of Southwestern Ontario, the highest 10-

year population growth rate was in Waterloo Region (15.6%)

and the lowest was Chatham-Kent (-3.4%) followed by Huron

County (-1.0%), the only regions in Southwestern Ontario to

record population declines in the 10-year period.




Median age At the time of the 2006 Census, the median age in Strathroy-Caradoc

was only slightly higher than the provincial average (39.2 years versus

39.0 years). With the growth in the older population, the gap has

widened and the median age in Strathroy-Caradoc is now two years

higher than the Ontario median (42.2 years versus 40.4 years).

Among Southwestern Ontario municipalities, Strathroy-Caradoc is

middle-of-the-pack for median age, which is also where it ranks

within Middlesex County (which ranges from Lucan Biddulph at 38.9

years to Southwest Middlesex at 45.3).

Regionally, London-Middlesex had the third-lowest median age in

Southwestern Ontario at 39.8, up from 38.5 in 2006. At 37.7,

Waterloo Region had the lowest median age among all regions in

Southwestern Ontario and the second-lowest in the province.

For percentage of residents in the 20 to 44 age range (see next page),

Strathroy-Caradoc ranked above the median In Southwestern

Ontario with 28.6% of the population in that range. That was also

above the Middlesex County average of 27.5%. The larger urban

areas dominate the top of the list. Outside of the cities, Lucan

Biddulph had the highest concentration of 20 to 44-year-olds in

Southwestern Ontario at 32.2%.

As the age distribution line on the next page illustrates, Strathroy-

Caradoc scores slightly higher than the provincial average for percent

of residents aged 0 to 19. Then, as with most communities without a

university or college campus, it drops well below the provincial

average at age 20 and remains there for ages 20 to 35, when it starts




to get closer to the average. At around age 60, it climbs above the

provincial average and remains there for all ages 60 and older (the much

flatter line for London-Middlesex is also shown for comparison).




Occupations

Retail positions account for four of the top 10: Overall, the most common occupation among residents of

Strathroy-Caradoc was retail salesperson, the occupation of 4.2% of the working population. Retail sales was the

second most common occupation of residents in both the 15 to 24 age range (behind food counter

attendants/kitchen helpers) and the 45 to 64 age range (behind truck drivers). It was not one of the top jobs in

the 25 to 44 age group, but retail management was. Overall, retail management was the fifth most common

occupation, with food counter attendant/kitchen help sixth and cashier seventh.




Motor vehicle assembly/inspection/testing was the second most common occupation overall and the most

common job among residents aged 25 to 44.

Truck driving was the third most common job across all ages, in addition to being the most common occupation

of residents aged 45 to 64.

Construction/labourers was the second most common occupation in the 25 to 44 age range and eighth overall.

Registered nurse was the fourth most common occupation in the municipality and was third in both the 25 to 44

and the 45 to 64 age ranges.

Farming was the top occupation in the 65+ age category and ninth overall. Farm worker was the most common

non-retail job in the 15 to 24 age range.




“Creative” occupations Using definitions from Toronto’s Martin

Prosperity Institute, Strathroy-Caradoc had a

low score for its concentration of “creative

class” workers—defined as “high autonomy

jobs where workers are paid to think.”

Among the working residents of Strathroy-

Caradoc, 19.4% worked in occupations

classified as creative. That fell below the

average for Southwestern Ontario (27.6%),

London-Middlesex (31.5%) and Middlesex

County (22.9%). Creative class occupations

are typically more concentrated in larger

urban areas. Within Middlesex County,

Strathroy-Caradoc ranked behind Middlesex

Centre and Thames Centre but ahead of the

other municipalities. The most common

occupation in Strathroy-Caradoc classified as

creative was registered nurse.

Across the regions of Southwestern Ontario,

Waterloo Region had the highest

concentration of “creative class” workers

(32.2%) with London-Middlesex second, slightly ahead of Guelph-Wellington. Huron County had the lowest

concentration (19.9%) followed by Haldimand County and Oxford County.

Strathroy-Caradoc led the county and was well-

above average for Southwestern Ontario in

“working class” occupations (30.7%)—

“occupations that depend on physical skills and

repetitive tasks.” It was about average for

“service class” occupations—ones that “perform

routine work directly for, or on behalf of, clients.”

This is the largest of the classes. In the final class,

farming, Strathroy-Caradoc (4.5%) had the

lowest concentration in Middlesex County but

was still above average for Southwestern Ontario

due to the small numbers from the larger urban

centres, which drag the average down.




Population density Population density mostly separates rural and urban communities,

although there are some very small rural communities (such as

Newbury) that also have higher densities.

Southwestern Ontario has a mix of urban, small urban, and rural

communities, and that is reflected in the population density rankings.

Most municipalities are small urban or rural, and outside of the cities

and larger towns, Strathroy-Caradoc had one of the higher population

densities across the region.

Because the City of London has a lot of land area, its population

density ranked below St. Thomas among the municipalities in the

London metro area and Strathroy-Caradoc ranks third.

Other than Newbury, Strathroy-Caradoc had the highest population

density in Middlesex County, well ahead of the next-highest in Thames

Centre (with Middlesex Centre close behind).

Across Southwestern Ontario, Waterloo Region, with its three cities,

had by far the highest population density among the regions. London-

Middlesex was third.




University degree Only 12.5% of Strathroy-Caradoc residents aged 25 to 64 have a

university degree, which places it well below the average for

Southwestern Ontario (20.9%) which itself is well below the

provincial average (28.9%). Strathroy-Caradoc was also below the

average across the five-county SCOR region (13.7%).

Within Middlesex County, Middlesex Centre had the highest

percentage at 26.6%—only slightly behind London’s 27.9%.

Across Southwestern Ontario, the City of Waterloo’s score fell

just below Richmond Hill’s for the highest in all of Ontario.

Despite that, among the regions, Waterloo Region (26.1%) placed

just behind Guelph-Wellington (27.4%) for top spot

Southwestern Ontario for concentration of university graduates

among its residents. London-Middlesex was third (26.1%)

St. Thomas-Elgin had the lowest score among the Southwestern

Ontario regions at 11.9%, followed closely by Chatham-Kent

(12.0%).

All regions of Southwestern Ontario fell below the provincial

average (28.9%) as only five regions in province had above

average scores—Ottawa and four in the GTA.




Any university or college degree, diploma, certificate Broadening the filter from university degrees to any degree,

diploma or certificate from a university or college, Strathroy-

Caradoc remained in about the same spot relative to other

Southwestern Ontario municipalities and still below the median.

In this case, though, London-Middlesex had the highest score

among all Southwestern Ontario regions, driven by strong

numbers for Middlesex Centre, London, Lucan Biddulph and

Thames Centre, all of which had more than half their population

aged 25 to 64 with some form of university or college

certification. The average across London-Middlesex was 56.7%.

Strathroy-Caradoc was at 42.3%.

London-Middlesex fell just below the provincial average of 57.0%

and, as with university degrees, it was Ottawa and the GTA that

pushed the average up across the province. Outside of the GTA,

only Ottawa and Kingston-Frontenac placed higher than London-

Middlesex.

Among the Southwestern Ontario regions, Guelph-Wellington

was second behind London-Middlesex and Waterloo Region was

third. Stratford-St. Marys-Perth County had the lowest score at

41.6%, followed by Huron County.




When you break down the degrees, diplomas and certificates by major field of study (and this table also includes

trades certificates and diplomas), it’s not surprising, given the previous numbers, that Strathroy-Caradoc places in

the bottom half among the 97 lowest-tier municipalities in Southwestern Ontario for nearly all fields.

The one exception is health and related fields, where Strathroy-Caradoc places in the top quartile among

Southwestern Ontario municipalities and just out of the top quartile provincially.

Postsecondary Studies Ontario Rank (of 340) SWO Rank (of 97)

Health and related fields 89 21

Agriculture, natural resources and conservation 119 55

Mathematics, computer and information sciences 176 54

Humanities 177 59

Visual and performing arts, and communications tech 178 53

Physical and life sciences and technologies 184 58

Personal, protective and transportation services 206 57

Social and behavioural sciences and law 232 65

Business, management and public administration 233 66

Architecture, engineering, and related technologies 251 65

And, while Strathroy-Caradoc doesn’t rank as highly in the other fields, it’s only slightly below the median for

mathematics and computer science and fore visual and performing arts, so there is at least a base of residents

with degrees and diplomas in those fields. Strathroy-Caradoc does not score well for graduates in business or

architecture and engineering.




Employment in manufacturing Although Southwestern Ontario is known as the manufacturing

heartland of the province, the concentration of manufacturing

jobs in the London metro area has long been the lowest among the

region’s CMAs. Across Southwestern Ontario, Strathroy-Caradoc

ranked middle-of-the-pack for the percentage of working

residents employed in manufacturing, at 15.3% (down from 20.3%

at the time of the 2006 Census). Other than Newbury, that was still

the highest percentage in Middlesex County, where the average

was 12.5%.

While high for Middlesex County, the level of manufacturing

employment in Strathroy-Caradoc fell below the average for

Southwestern Ontario (15.4%) and for the five-county SCOR region

(16.8%) but well ahead of the provincial average (10.2%).

London-Middlesex had the second-lowest concentration of

manufacturing employment among all Southwestern Ontario

regions at 10.5%, ahead of only Bruce County (7.3%). The highest

was Oxford County at 20.7%, followed by essentially a three-way

tie between Guelph-Wellington, Waterloo Region and Windsor-

Essex.

The top nine manufacturing regions in the province by percentage

of total employment were all in Southwestern Ontario. London-

Middlesex ranked 22nd.




Employment in agriculture Statistics Canada includes farming in the “agriculture, forestry, fishing

and hunting” category, which—for Southwestern Ontario—will

largely be farming.

Like manufacturing, this is another sector that Southwestern Ontario

is particularly known for, and at 4.6% Strathroy-Caradoc fell below the

median for Southwestern Ontario municipalities in its percent of

working residents employed in farming, although it was ahead of the

3.9% average for Southwestern Ontario (the average is lowered by the

cities which have high populations and low employment in farming).

Strathroy-Caradoc was also well below the 8.1% average for the SCOR

region, which was also the average for Middlesex County—which is

pushed up by Adelaide-Metcalfe, which had one of the highest

concentrations of agriculture employment in Ontario.

Outside of the cities, the entire region placed above the provincial

average of 1.5% (which is for the entire agriculture-forestry-fishing-

hunting category).

The London-Middlesex region had the second-lowest concentration

of agriculture employment in Southwestern Ontario at 1.7%, ahead of

only Waterloo Region. The highest was Huron County at 13.4%.




Relative strengths in employment Compared to all of Ontario, Strathroy-Caradoc has well-above-average concentration of residents working in

manufacturing, finance and insurance, and health care and social assistance. But the first two are strengths of

Southwestern Ontario in general, and within the region, Strathroy-Caradoc doesn’t stand out for manufacturing

and is only a little above the median for finance and insurance.

Relative to other Southwestern Ontario municipalities, Strathroy-Caradoc has a notably high concentration of

residents working in health care/social assistance as well as in retail.

Industry Provincial rank (of 340) SWO Rank (of 97)

Manufacturing 66 44

Finance and insurance 79 35

Health care, social assistance 81 12

Wholesale trade 102 36

Retail trade 115 10

Transportation, warehousing 118 34

Construction 131 34

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 137 64

Accommodation and food services 165 46

Professional, scientific, technical 181 46

Admin/support, waste management/remediation 189 55

Real estate 203 64

Arts, entertainment, recreation 216 70

Information and cultural industries 219 67

Educational services 245 65

Public administration 264 60




Median family income Strathroy-Caradoc fell in the bottom half of Southwestern Ontario

municipalities for median family income (and for median individual

income as well). It was also in the bottom half among municipalities

in Middlesex County.

Middlesex Centre had the highest median household income in

Middlesex County and the fifth highest in Southwestern Ontario (and

three above it are municipalities in Wellington County the border on

the GTA). Thames Centre also placed highly on the list.

Strathroy-Caradoc’s median household income of $72,743 was up

5.4% from $68,991 at the 2006 Census.

Across the regions of Southwestern Ontario, Guelph-Wellington and

Waterloo Region were the only two to place above the provincial

average of $80,987. The Ontario average is pushed up by high

medians in large urban areas in Ottawa and parts of the GTA

(although not the City of Toronto itself). Chatham-Kent had the lowest

median family income in Southwestern Ontario.




Median dwelling value The median value of a house (or other residential dwelling) is

lower in Strathroy-Caradoc than in most of Southwestern Ontario.

Among Middlesex County municipalities, the ranking for dwelling

value roughly follows the same order as income, with Middlesex

Centre at the top, followed closely by Thames Centre. Adelaide-

Metcalfe, North Middlesex and Lucan Biddulph placed third,

fourth and fifth (for household income they were fourth, fifth, and

third, respectively), followed by Strathroy-Caradoc, Southwest

Middlesex and Newbury.

The median dwelling value in Strathroy-Caradoc was $210,760,

which was about $20,000 below the median for London-

Middlesex ($230,121). At the time of the 2006 Census, the median

for Strathroy-Caradoc was $202,435

Three of the four municipalities with the highest median dwelling

value were in Wellington County, and the Guelph-Wellington

region had the highest median dwelling value among the regions

of Southwestern Ontario at $300,421, followed closely by

Waterloo Region. Chatham-Kent had the lowest regional median

dwelling value at $149,775, followed by Windsor-Essex and

Lambton County.




Immigrants Strathroy-Caradoc scored in the top quartile of Southwestern

Ontario municipalities for percentage of residents who are

immigrants, although it did fall below the regional average (the

average is pushed up by urban areas that have large populations

and higher concentrations of immigrants).

At 12.2%, Strathroy-Caradoc ranked 21st among the 97 lowest-tier

municipalities in Southwestern Ontario. The average across

Southwestern Ontario was 16.3%, led by Windsor at 27.1%.

Strathroy-Caradoc placed well above the 10.8% average in the

SCOR region as well as the 10.1% average in Middlesex County.

No municipality in Southwestern Ontario was above the provincial

average of 28.5%, but every municipality in Ontario outside of the

GTA was below that average (some GTA municipalities were

above 50%). The average among Ontario municipalities outside of

the GTA was 15.1%, with Hamilton placing highest in that group.

Across the regions of Southwestern Ontario, Waterloo Region had

the highest concentration of immigrants at 22.3%, followed by

Windsor-Essex and London-Middlesex, while Huron County had

the lowest at 7.3%.




Visible minorities In Southwestern Ontario, visible minorities are primarily

concentrated in the larger urban areas with only a couple of

exceptions. Only 1.8% of Strathroy-Caradoc residents were visible

minorities, but that was still good enough for a middle-of-the-pack

ranking in Southwestern Ontario. It was an increase from 1.3% in

2006.

The average across Southwestern Ontario was 9.9%, pushed up by

the urban areas. Strathroy-Caradoc also fell below the 2.0%

average for the SCOR region.

Every municipality in Southwestern Ontario fell below the

provincial average of 25.9% (as with immigrants, only GTA

municipalities had scores above the Ontario average). The average

outside of the GTA was 9.6% with Ottawa receiving the highest

numbers.

The counts for some municipalities were likely less than the

sampling errors, since the numbers get very small.

Among Southwestern Ontario regions, Waterloo Region had the

highest score for visible minorities at 15.4%, followed very closely

by Windsor-Essex. London-Middlesex was third. Huron County

had the lowest concentration at 0.8%.




Family doctors Strathroy-Caradoc scored well above average in Southwestern

Ontario for family doctors per capita (this does not include

specialists, where the municipality also receives a high score thanks

to the hospital).

Among the regions of Southwestern Ontario, London-Middlesex had

more family doctors than any other area, narrowly ahead of Guelph-

Wellington. And, aside from Newbury, Strathroy-Caradoc had the

most family doctors per capita of any municipality in London-

Middlesex.

Family doctors typically serve a roster of patients that includes many

from outside of their own municipality, so a community could be

well-served even if it doesn’t have a large number of physicians

within its own border, as long as there are doctors nearby. So it is not

necessarily the case that the further down the list a municipality falls,

the less access its residents have to a family doctor.

If specialists are added to the count, London-Middlesex had by far

the most physicians per capita of any Southwestern Ontario region,

with 3.00 per 1,000 residents. Well back in second place was

Stratford-St. Marys-Perth with 1.74.

Data on the number of family doctors is from the Ontario Physician

Human Resources Data Centre (OPHRDC); population data is from

the 2011 Census.



all southwestern ontario municipalities ranked

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population density

population of strathr

strathroycaradoc introduction

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strathroycaradoc perspective

fiveyear period