The old cliché that people move out to the suburbs to “settle down” might have more truth to it than previously thought.
According to a Statistics Canada report released this morning, Canadians between the ages of 25 and 44 are more likely to flee to the ‘burbs than move downtown.
The study focused on the country’s three largest census metropolitan areas, which are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and found that between 2001 and 2006 central municipalities posted a net loss of individuals aged 25 to 44.
In all three cities, 14% of people left the core for surrounding municipalities between 2001 and 2006 compared with 4% to 5% of individuals who moved in the other direction.
StatsCan said the age group was important because it’s traditionally the time when many people establish families and buy their first homes, which makes them sought-after “clientele” for all municipalities.
The people most likely to move between 2001 and 2006 were new parents, people with post-secondary degrees and after-tax net incomes between $70,000 and $99,999.
In Vancouver, 27% of new parents left the city for the suburbs between 2001 and 2006 compared with only 8% of singles.