MTL Rent

Appearance

Income Map & Area Income Data ​

MTL Rent includes household and individual income data from Statistics Canada to help renters understand affordability in different areas of Montreal.

Income Map ​

The Income Map page (/income-map) displays a full-page choropleth map of Montreal showing income levels by census tract.

Map Modes ​

The map has two viewing modes, toggled with buttons at the top:

2021 Income (default) ​

  • Each of ~1,000 census tracts is colored by median household income
  • Color scale: Red (lower income) to Yellow (mid-range) to Green (higher income)
  • Range: ~$23,000 (student areas like Quartier Latin) to ~$360,000 (Westmount)

2016-2021 Change ​

  • Shows income growth percentage over the 5-year period between censuses
  • 923 census tracts matched between 2016 and 2021
  • Color scale: Red (declining/low growth) to Green (high growth)
  • Average growth across Montreal CMA: ~20%

Interacting with the Map ​

  • Hover over a tract to see a tooltip with the tract ID and income (or change %)
  • Click a tract to open a popup with detailed statistics:
    • Median household income (before and after tax)
    • Average household income
    • Number of households
    • Income change % (in change mode)
  • A color legend adapts to the current mode

Data Source ​

Income data comes from Statistics Canada's 2021 Census (Table 98-10-0058-01) and 2016 Census Profile. Census tract boundaries are from official StatCan boundary shapefiles.

Income Distribution ​

The Distribution tab shows how household income is distributed across 19 income brackets for the Montreal CMA, comparing 2016 and 2021 census data.

Features ​

  • Side-by-side bar chart comparing 2016 (blue) and 2021 (green) distributions
  • 19 brackets from "Under $5,000" to "$200,000 and over"
  • Shows percentage of households in each bracket
  • Tooltip with exact household counts
  • Total household counts for each census year

Key Insights ​

  • The $100k+ brackets grew significantly between 2016 and 2021
  • Lower income brackets ($0-$20k) shrank, partly due to income growth and inflation
  • Montreal CMA median household income rose from $67,000 (2016) to $76,000 (2021)

Data Source ​

Statistics Canada Table 98-10-0055 (Census of Population).

The Rent Trends tab on the income map shows average rent data from the CMHC Rental Market Survey. For a more comprehensive view, see the dedicated Rent Data page (/rent-data).

Dedicated Rent Data Page ​

The /rent-data page provides a full interface for exploring CMHC rent data across Canada:

  • City selector to pick any of 205 Canadian geographies
  • Comparison mode to compare up to 5 cities side by side
  • Line chart showing average rent by bedroom type over time
  • Stats cards with key metrics
  • Sortable city table for browsing all available geographies

Data Source ​

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Rental Market Survey, auto-downloaded from Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133-01. Covers 5,880 records across 205 geographies from 1987 to 2025. Data is loaded automatically during database seeding.

The FSA Trends page (/income-map/trends) shows individual income trends by Forward Sortation Area (3-character postal code prefix) from 2015 to 2021.

Features ​

  • Table of ~278 Montreal-area FSAs with 7-year income data
  • Sparkline chart per FSA showing the income trend over time
  • Sort by growth %, income level, or FSA code
  • Search by FSA code
  • Color-coded growth indicators (green = growing, red = declining)

Important Note ​

FSA trend data comes from CRA Individual Tax Statistics and represents average individual tax filer income, not household income. These figures are not directly comparable to the census household income shown on the choropleth map. Both data types are clearly labeled in the UI.

Area Income on Listings ​

On each listing detail page, a card shows the Area Median Household Income for the listing's location.

How It Works ​

  • The system finds the nearest census tract to the listing's coordinates (using centroid distance)
  • Only matches within 5km are shown
  • Displays: "Area Median Household Income: $X/yr"
  • Real variation across listings: $46,000 to $109,000+

This replaces the previous generic $76,000 CMA-level fallback that was the same for every listing.

Data Source ​

Based on 2021 Canadian Census median household income data at the census tract level (~1,000 tracts in Greater Montreal).