Is Halton a Good Region for Commuters?

Although Oakville, Burlington and Milton offer a number of job opportunities for residents, more than a few people commute outside of the Halton Region for work and a number of commuters make their way to Toronto for their 9-5.

Although Oakville, Burlington and Milton offer a number of job opportunities for residents, more than a few people commute outside of the Halton Region for work and a number of commuters make their way to Toronto for their 9-5.

Since Toronto is still a popular destination for the working men and women of the 905, it’s interesting to look at which cities work best for commuters who prefer to live outside T.O. Recently, real estate brokerage firm TheRedPin released some interesting data that ranks the best places to live if you’re working in the 416.

Although Halton might seem like a natural choice because of its proximity to Toronto, TheRedPin looked at a number of factors, including home prices and commuting times, and ranked Halton cities very low on a list of 27 cities. In fact, Oakville and Burlington were on the bottom of the list, coming in at 22 and 24, respectively. Milton came in at 20. 

The top best places to live in if you work downtown?

Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Maple/Vaughan and Port Perry/Scugog.

The top worst?

Milton, Oshawa, Oakville, Burlington and Keswick/Georgina.

You can see the full list below:

To produce the ranking, TheRedPin looked at thousands of property listings in the GTA, comparing house prices, average commuting times to downtown Toronto and average property price per square foot.

In this case, it looks like the east end of the GTA won out.

“If you want a better quality of life, you should consider buying property in Ajax, Pickering and Whitby – these make the top three towns in our ranking,” says TheRedPin’s Hyder Owainati. “Thanks to good average house prices and relatively short commuting distances, we’ve named these the best places to live for commuting to downtown Toronto.”

The rankings make sense when you consider the fact that the average home price in Oakville (all home types combined, of course) sits at $1,950,231.68. The average commute time per day is 127.5 minutes minutes, and property tends to run residents $885.51 per square foot. In Burlington, houses cost about $1,048,940.28, commutes last 177.5 minutes and homes cost about $584.08 per square foot. In Milton, homes cost about $728,619.95, commutes last 180 minutes and houses cost $415.74 per square foot. 

In Ajax, the average price is higher at $719,666.67. The commute is also long at 145 minutes, but the average price per square foot sits at a more affordable $352.17.

And while the east end cities tend to fare better, TheRedPin says there’s nothing wrong with choosing to commute to TO from other parts of the GTA. 

“However, homebuyers looking for homes for sale in Toronto shouldn’t be put off from exploring buying property in other areas,” says Owainati. “One thing our research shows is that houses in the suburbs can be more expensive than those close to downtown Toronto.”

TheRedPin points out that, besides property prices, energy savings and convenience, residents might want to consider the fact that long commutes can have a detrimental effect on one’s physical and mental health (something this recent study suggests, as well). The firm says that, in Canada, the average person spends 63 minutes a day traveling to and from work. That equates to 275 hours per year (or 12 full days). 

According to TheRedPin, a recent study of employees found that those with longer commuters are 46 per cent more likely to get less than seven hours sleep a night (the recommended level) and 21 per cent are more likely to be obese.

Worse still, 33 per cent are more likely to suffer from depression, 37 per cent are more likely to have money worries, and 12 per cent are more likely to suffer from work-related stress.

Halton people who live downtown–how is your commute treating you?