A comparison of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario with its peer regions across North America. Prepared by Kevin Stolarick of the Martin Prosperity Institute as part of TVOntario's AgendaCamp series on Ontario's changing economy.

1. Prosperity Scorecard for
Kitchener, Ontario
Dr. Kevin Stolarick
Research Director
March 27, 2009

2. Outline / Approach
1. Summary Statistics
2. Overall Performance
3. Technology
4. Talent
5. Tolerance / Inclusiveness
6. Territorial Assets / Quality of
Place
2

3. Benchmark Peers
3

4. Peer Selection
20 peer states/ Ann Arbor, MI
•
provinces for Canton, OH
•
Fort Wayne, IN
Ontario based on •
Lansing, MI
•
population.
Peoria, IL
•
Reading, PA
•
10 cities/regions Santa Barbara, CA
•
Spokane, WA
•
selected with
Tallahassee, FL
•
populations
Victoria, BC
•
approximately the Kitchener, ON
•
same as Kitchener.
4

5. Summary Statistics
5

6. Summary Statistics
Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Summary Statistics Kitchener, ON Value Average Value Urban Regions
451,000 330,088 396,000 454,000
Total Population, 2006 546,000
GDP (CAD millions) 2006 $18,000
$22,000 $14,000 $22,000 $29,000
Median Age, 2006 36.4 33 36.6 43.1 37.5
Overall Cost of Living 88.7 0.5 0.6 0.7 101.5
6

7. Total Population
Total Population
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Lansing, MI 454,000
Kitchener, ON 451,000
Spokane, WA 447,000
Canton, OH 410,000
Fort Wayne, IN 409,000
Reading, PA 401,000
Santa Barbara, CA 400,000
Peoria, IL 370,000
Ann Arbor, MI 344,000
Tallahassee, FL 338,000
Victoria, BC 330,000
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006004. US Census Bureau,
American Community Survey. (2006).
7

8. Total GDP (100,000 CA $)
GDP (CAD Millions)
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Kitchener, ON $21,800
Santa Barbara, CA $20,900
Ann Arbor, MI $20,900
Lansing, MI $20,200
Fort Wayne, IN $18,700
Spokane, WA $18,000
Peoria, IL $17,400
Reading, PA $15,600
Victoria, BC $15,400
Canton, OH $15,000
Tallahassee, FL $13,900
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006004.
Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2008 Survey. (2006).
8

9. Median Age
Median Age
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 43.1
Canton, OH 40.2
Reading, PA 38.1
Peoria, IL 37.4
Kitchener, ON 36.4
Spokane, WA 36.1
Fort Wayne, IN 35.6
Lansing, MI 34.6
Santa Barbara, CA 33.8
Tallahassee, FL 33.5
Ann Arbor, MI 33.4
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-551-xcb2006012. U.S. Census Bureau,
2006 American Community Survey.
9

10. Overall Cost of Living
Overall Cost of Living Index
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 107.38
Fort Wayne, IN 104.95
Reading, PA 101.43
Spokane, WA 100.45
Tallahassee, FL 100.45
Lansing, MI 97.81
Santa Barbara, CA 96.23
Peoria, IL 93.30
Canton, OH 92.89
Ann Arbor, MI 88.99
Kitchener, ON 0.00 88.65
10

11. Overall Performance
11

12. Overall Performance
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Overall Performance ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Population Growth (00-05) 8.9% 1 0% 4.5% 8.9% 5.7%
6.2% 4 -3.3% 4.3% 11.6%
Job Growth (00-05) 9.3%
GDP per capita, 2006 $48,000 4 37,500 $47,000 $65,200 $45,000
Change in Average Wage (00-05) 2.2% 3 -8.8% 0.1% 9.0% 0.1%
Creativity Index 0.69 5 0.36 0.61 0.83 NA
12

13. Population Growth
Population Growth
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, (00-05)
Kitchener, ON 8.9%
Reading, PA 7.4%
Spokane, WA 6.9%
Ann Arbor, MI 6.6%
Victoria, BC 5.8%
Tallahassee, FL 5.5%
Fort Wayne, IN 4.8%
Lansing, MI 1.4%
Peoria, IL 0.9%
Canton, OH 0.8%
Santa Barbara, CA 0.2%
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007 and Statistics Canada
Catalogue no. 95-f0495-xcb-01004 US Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006)
and US Census, 2000
13

14. Job Growth
Job Growth
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, (00-05)
Spokane, WA 11.6%
Reading, PA 10.4%
Victoria, BC 7.1%
Kitchener, ON 6.2%
Tallahassee, FL 6.1%
Santa Barbara, CA 3.4%
Peoria, IL 2.4%
Canton, OH 2.2%
Fort Wayne, IN 1.0%
Ann Arbor, MI 0.1%
Lansing, MI -3.3%
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006004 and .95-F0495-xcb-
01004. US, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2000 and 2006.
14

15. GDP per Capita
GDP per Capita
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Ann Arbor, MI $65,200
Santa Barbara, CA $54,500
Peoria, IL $48,600
Kitchener, ON $48,300
Fort Wayne, IN $47,300
Victoria, BC $46,700
Lansing, MI $46,500
Tallahassee, FL $43,700
Spokane, WA $42,300
Reading, PA $40,700
Canton, OH $37,500
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006004. Bureau of
Economic Analysis, 2008 Survey. (2006).
15

16. Change in Average Wage
Change in Average Wage
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Santa Barbara, CA 9.0%
Tallahassee, FL 3.7%
Kitchener, ON 0.0% 2.2%
Victoria, BC 1.9%
Ann Arbor, MI 1.6%
Peoria, IL -0.1%
Spokane, WA -0.3%
Lansing, MI -0.9%
Reading, PA -3.7%
Fort Wayne, IN -4.0%
Canton, OH -8.8%
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006004 and .95-F0495-xcb-01004. US,
Bureau of Labor Statistics 2000 and 2006.
16

17. Creativity Index
Creativity Index
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Ann Arbor, MI 0.83
Victoria, BC 0.83
Tallahassee, FL 0.70
Santa Barbara, CA 0.70
Kitchener, ON 0.69
Lansing, MI 0.67
Spokane, WA 0.57
Fort Wayne, IN 0.50
Canton, OH 0.44
Reading, PA 0.39
Peoria, IL 0.36
Source: MPI Analysis. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US Census
Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
17

18. Technology
18

19. Technology
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Technology ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Total Patents, 2005 113 4 31 115 394 517
Patents per 10,000, 2005 2.50 4 0.9 3.00 11.45 2.46
Patent Growth, Short Term (00-05) #REF! 3 -12.7% 2.0% 17.5% -0.5%
North American High Tech LQ, 2006 1.14 3 0.26 0.83 1.87 0.63
0.189
North American Tech Pole Index 0.260 3 0.008 0.119 0.385
19

20. Total Patents
Total Patents
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2005
Ann Arbor, MI 394
Santa Barbara, CA 206
Canton, OH 134
113
Kitchener, ON 0
Fort Wayne, IN 96
Lansing, MI 70
Peoria, IL 68
Reading, PA 55
Spokane, WA 55
Tallahassee, FL 46
Victoria, BC 31
Source: MPI and Dieter Franz Kogler Analysis. USPTO (1975-07).
20

21. Patents per 10,000
Patents per 10,000
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2005
Ann Arbor, MI 11.45
Santa Barbara, CA 5.15
Canton, OH 3.27
Kitchener, ON 2.50
Fort Wayne, IN 2.35
Peoria, IL 1.84
Lansing, MI 1.54
Reading, PA 1.37
Tallahassee, FL 1.36
Spokane, WA 1.23
Victoria, BC 0.94
Source: MPI and Dieter Franz Kogler Analysis. USPTO (1975-07).
21

22. Patent Growth, Short-term
Patent Growth, Short Term
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, (00-05)
Victoria, BC 17.5%
Tallahassee, FL 13.2%
Kitchener, ON 0.0% 6.8%)
Santa Barbara, CA 4.9%
Canton, OH 4.7%
Spokane, WA 3.0%
Ann Arbor, MI 1.3%
Lansing, MI -0.6%
Fort Wayne, IN -6.5%
Peoria, IL -9.3%
Reading, PA -12.7%
Source: MPI and Dieter Franz Kogler Analysis. USPTO (1975-07).
22

23. North American High-Tech LQ
North American High Tech LQ
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Ann Arbor, MI 1.87
Santa Barbara, CA 1.73
Kitchener, ON 1.14
Victoria, BC 0.90
Fort Wayne, IN 0.68
Spokane, WA 0.66
Reading, PA 0.65
Tallahassee, FL 0.53
Lansing, MI 0.43
Peoria, IL 0.27
Canton, OH 0.26
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-559-XCB2006009. County
Business Patterns, 2006
23

24. North American Tech-Pole Index
North American Tech Pole Index
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Ann Arbor, MI 0.385
Santa Barbara, CA 0.319
Kitchener, ON 0.260
Victoria, BC 0.115
Fort Wayne, IN 0.066
Spokane, WA 0.059
Reading, PA 0.046
Tallahassee, FL 0.023
Lansing, MI 0.022
Peoria, IL 0.009
Canton, OH 0.008
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-559-XCB2006009. County
Business Patterns, 2006
24

25. Talent
25

26. Talent
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Talent ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Creative Class as % of Workforce, 2006 27.9% 6 25.3% 30.1% 38.2% 26.1%
Super Creative Core as % of Workforce, 2006 15.9% 3 9.4% 13.2% 18.6% 11.0%
Pop > 25, Above High School below BA, 2006 55.7% 8 41.2% 57.6% 67.5% 59.0%
Talent Index (Pop > 25, BA and above), 2006 20.8% 10 18.1% 28.1% 51.7% 21.7%
7.5%
Pop > 25, Graduate and/or Professional Degree, 2006 8.3% 8 6.0% 11.0% 26.2%
0.88 1.27 NA
Brain Drain/Gain Index, 2006 0.59 11 0.59
26

27. Creative Class
Creative Class as % of Workforce
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Tallahassee, FL 38.2%
Ann Arbor, MI 36.7%
Lansing, MI 34.3%
Victoria, BC 33.2%
Santa Barbara, CA 29.0%
Kitchener, ON 27.9%
Fort Wayne, IN 27.3%
Spokane, WA 27.0%
Peoria, IL 26.7%
Canton, OH 25.4%
Reading, PA 25.3%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
27

28. Super Creative Core
Super Creative Core as % of Workforce
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 18.6%
Ann Arbor, MI 17.0%
Kitchener, ON 15.9%
Tallahassee, FL 15.6%
Lansing, MI 15.2%
Santa Barbara, CA 12.9%
Spokane, WA 10.7%
Reading, PA 10.0%
Fort Wayne, IN 10.0%
Peoria, IL 9.8%
Canton, OH 9.4%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
28

29. Above High School, Below BA
Pop > 25, Above High School below BA
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Canton, OH 67.5%
Fort Wayne, IN 64.8%
Peoria, IL 63.7%
Spokane, WA 63.3%
Lansing, MI 59.6%
Reading, PA 59.5%
Victoria, BC 55.9%
Kitchener, ON 55.7%
Tallahassee, FL 53.3%
Santa Barbara, CA 49.4%
Ann Arbor, MI 41.2%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
29

30. Talent Index (BA and above)
Talent Index (Pop > 25, BA and above)
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Ann Arbor, MI 51.7%
Tallahassee, FL 32.2%
Lansing, MI 31.7%
Santa Barbara, CA 30.4%
Spokane, WA 27.9%
Victoria, BC 26.1%
Peoria, IL 25.3%
Fort Wayne, IN 23.8%
Reading, PA 21.4%
Kitchener, ON 20.8%
Canton, OH 18.1%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
30

31. Graduate / Professional Degrees
Pop > 25, Graduate and/or Professional Degree
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Ann Arbor, MI 26.2%
Tallahassee, FL 13.2%
Lansing, MI 12.4%
Santa Barbara, CA 11.2%
Victoria, BC 10.9%
Spokane, WA 9.2%
Peoria, IL 8.6%
Kitchener, ON 8.3%
Fort Wayne, IN 8.1%
Reading, PA 7.2%
Canton, OH 6.0%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
31

32. Brain Drain / Gain Index
Brain Drain/Gain Index
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Fort Wayne, IN 1.27
Peoria, IL 1.08
Spokane, WA 1.01
Ann Arbor, MI 0.96
Reading, PA 0.93
Santa Barbara, CA 0.82
Canton, OH 0.80
Victoria, BC 0.80
Tallahassee, FL 0.74
Lansing, MI 0.71
Kitchener, ON 0.00 0.59
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007 and AUCC
Enrollment numbers 2007. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
32

33. Tolerance / Inclusiveness
33

34. Tolerance / Inclusiveness
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Tolerance ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Visible Minorities (% Pop), 2006 13.6% 7 9.2% 17.0% 37.7% 11.1%
Mosaic Index (% Pop), 2006 22.8% 2 2.2% 9.8% 23.6% 7.9%
Gay and Lesbian Index, 2006 0.78 7 0.59 0.94 1.62 0.81
Bohemian Index, 2006 1.01 3 0.35 0.73 1.60 0.69
0.71 0.90
Integration Index, 2006 0.77 4 1
34

35. Visible Minorities
Visible Minorities (% Pop)
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Tallahassee, FL 37.7%
Ann Arbor, MI 24.2%
Santa Barbara, CA 22.2%
Lansing, MI 15.9%
Fort Wayne, IN 15.8%
Reading, PA 15.1%
Kitchener, ON 13.6%
Peoria, IL 12.9%
Victoria, BC 10.3%
Canton, OH 9.7%
Spokane, WA 9.2%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
35

36. Mosaic Index
Mosaic Index (% Pop)
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Santa Barbara, CA 23.6%
Kitchener, ON 22.8%
Victoria, BC 18.8%
Ann Arbor, MI 11.4%
Reading, PA 6.9%
Lansing, MI 6.0%
Tallahassee, FL 4.9%
Spokane, WA 4.8%
Fort Wayne, IN 4.5%
Peoria, IL 2.4%
Canton, OH 2.2%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
36

37. Gay / Lesbian Index
Gay and Lesbian Index
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 1.62
Ann Arbor, MI 1.29
Santa Barbara, CA 1.15
Tallahassee, FL 0.97
Lansing, MI 0.95
Spokane, WA 0.85
Kitchener, ON 0.78
Fort Wayne, IN 0.75
Reading, PA 0.71
Peoria, IL 0.62
Canton, OH 0.59
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-553-XWE2006002 and 97-
552-XCB2006007. US Census (2006).
37

38. Bohemian Index
Bohemian Index
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 1.60
Ann Arbor, MI 1.02
Kitchener, ON 1.01
Fort Wayne, IN 0.85
Santa Barbara, CA 0.63
Tallahassee, FL 0.58
Canton, OH 0.54
Spokane, WA 0.52
Peoria, IL 0.43
Lansing, MI 0.43
Reading, PA 0.35
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-559-XCB2006011 and 97-
F0012-XCB-01049. US, County Business Patterns, 2006
38

39. Integration Index
Integration Index
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Spokane, WA 0.90
Canton, OH 0.82
Victoria, BC 0.80
Kitchener, ON 0.77
Peoria, IL 0.73
Lansing, MI 0.71
Fort Wayne, IN 0.68
Reading, PA 0.67
Ann Arbor, MI 0.65
Tallahassee, FL 0.57
Santa Barbara, CA 0.54
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007 and 94-580-XCB2006005. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
39

40. Territorial Assets / Quality of Place
40

41. Territorial Assets / Quality of Place
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max
Territorial Assets
ON Ranking Value Average Value
Social and Cultural Assets
Arts and Cultural Establishments per 10,000 4.45 2 0.77 2.08 6.85
Resturants and Bars per 1,000 2.24 2 1.67 2.00 2.75
Student/teacher Ratio 16.73 6 11.37 16.50 21.63
Doctor's per 1,000 0.41 10 0.20 0.94 1.86
Civic Assets
Voter Turnout (%) 66% 6 54% 64% 71%
Crime per Capita 0.05 7 0.03 0.05 0.09
Housing and Transportation Assets
Population Density (Km^2) 546 8 52.78 184.08 545.58
Median Housing Value to Income Ratio $3.69 2 $2.44 $4.61 $12.82
Auto Dependency 8.89 11 3.47 18.74 37.98
41

42. Arts and Cultural Establishments per 10,000
Arts and Cultural Establishments per 10,000
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 6.85
Kitchener, ON 4.45
Santa Barbara, CA 2.97
Ann Arbor, MI 1.48
Spokane, WA 1.30
Peoria, IL 1.30
Tallahassee, FL 1.07
Reading, PA 0.95
Canton, OH 0.90
Fort Wayne, IN 0.81
Lansing, MI 0.77
Source: Canadian Business Patterns, June 2007 Establ. Counts by CA/CMA, Industry Groups &
Emp. Size Ranges. US, County Business Patterns 2006
42

43. Restaurants and Bars per 1,000
Resturants and Bars per 1,000
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 2.75
Kitchener, ON 2.24
Santa Barbara, CA 2.20
Peoria, IL 2.14
Spokane, WA 2.02
Canton, OH 1.91
Fort Wayne, IN 1.82
Ann Arbor, MI 1.79
Lansing, MI 1.74
Tallahassee, FL 1.72
Reading, PA 1.67
Source: Canadian Business Patterns, June 2007 Establ. Counts by CA/CMA, Industry Groups &
Emp. Size Ranges. US, County Business Patterns 2006
43

44. Student / Teacher Ratio
Student/Teacher Ratio
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Peoria, IL 11.37
Tallahassee, FL 14.78
Lansing, MI 15.73
Santa Barbara, CA 15.77
Canton, OH 16.50
Kitchener, ON 16.73
Fort Wayne, IN 16.90
Spokane, WA 16.93
Ann Arbor, MI 17.05
Victoria, BC 18.08
Reading, PA 21.63
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-559-XCB2006011 and 97-
F0012-XCB-01049. US, County Business Patterns, 2006
44

45. Doctors per 1,000
Doctor's per 1,000
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Ann Arbor, MI 1.86
Victoria, BC 1.26
Canton, OH 1.15
Peoria, IL 1.13
Lansing, MI 1.10
Tallahassee, FL 1.04
Spokane, WA 0.92
Fort Wayne, IN 0.76
Reading, PA 0.47
Kitchener, ON 0.41
Santa Barbara, CA 0.20
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-559-XCB2006011 and 97-
F0012-XCB-01049. US, County Business Patterns, 2006
45

46. Federal Voter Turnout
Federal Voter Turnout (%)
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2004/2006
Tallahassee, FL 71.1%
Victoria, BC 69.7%
Ann Arbor, MI 68.8%
Lansing, MI 68.7%
Canton, OH 66.4%
Kitchener, ON 65.7%
Peoria, IL 63.7%
Spokane, WA 61.7%
Santa Barbara, CA 59.5%
Reading, PA 55.8%
Fort Wayne, IN 53.8%
Source: MPI Analysis. Elections Canada
Official Voting Results of the 39th General Election – Poll-by-Poll Results. US, POLIDATA
(www.polidata.us )
46

47. Crime (Violent + Property) per Capita
47

48. Population Density (population per km^2)
Population Density (KM^2)
Toronto, ON and Peer Regions, 2005
Kitchener, ON 546
Victoria, BC 475
Ann Arbor, MI 184
Reading, PA 179
Canton, OH 162
Fort Wayne, IN 115
Lansing, MI 102
Spokane, WA 97
Peoria, IL 57
Santa Barbara, CA 56
Tallahassee, FL 53
Source: MPI Analysis (2008). Statistics Canada, Catalogue No. 94-581-X2006005
48

49. Median Housing Value to Income Ratio
Median Housing Value to Income Ratio
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2005
Peoria, IL 2.44
Fort Wayne, IN 2.44
Reading, PA 2.99
Canton, OH 3.01
Lansing, MI 3.20
Kitchener, ON 3.69
Spokane, WA 3.84
Tallahassee, FL 3.93
Ann Arbor, MI 4.15
Victoria, BC 8.17
Santa Barbara, CA 12.82
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-559-XCB2006011 and 97-
F0012-XCB-01049. US, American Community Survey 2006
49

50. Drivers per Other Modes
Drivers per Other Modes
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Victoria, BC 3.47
Ann Arbor, MI 8.32
Kitchener, ON 8.89
Santa Barbara, CA 10.52
Lansing, MI 14.17
Spokane, WA 15.25
Reading, PA 16.16
Canton, OH 26.49
Tallahassee, FL 27.67
Fort Wayne, IN 37.18
Peoria, IL 37.98
Source: Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US Census Bureau, American
Community Survey. (2006).
50

51. For More Information
Benchmark Summary: Kitchener vs Peer Regions
Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Summary Statistics Kitchener, ON Value Average Value Urban Regions
451,000 330,088 396,000 454,000
Total Population, 2006 546,000
GDP (CAD millions) 2006 $18,000
$22,000 $14,000 $22,000 $29,000
Median Age, 2006 36.4 33 36.6 43.1 37.5
Overall Cost of Living 88.7 0.5 0.6 0.7 101.5
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Overall Performance ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Population Growth (00-05) 8.9% 1 0% 4.5% 8.9% 5.7%
6.2% 4 -3.3% 4.3% 11.6%
Job Growth (00-05) 9.3%
GDP per capita, 2006 $48,000 4 37,500 $47,000 $65,200 $45,000
Change in Average Wage (00-05) 2.2% 3 -8.8% 0.1% 9.0% 0.1%
Creativity Index 0.69 5 0.36 0.61 0.83 NA
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Technology ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Total Patents, 2005 113 4 31 115 394 517
Patents per 10,000, 2005 2.50 4 0.9 3.00 11.45 2.46
Patent Growth, Short Term (00-05) #REF! 3 -12.7% 2.0% 17.5% -0.5%
North American High Tech LQ, 2006 1.14 3 0.26 0.83 1.87 0.63
0.189
North American Tech Pole Index 0.260 3 0.008 0.119 0.385
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Talent ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Creative Class as % of Workforce, 2006 27.9% 6 25.3% 30.1% 38.2% 26.1%
Super Creative Core as % of Workforce, 2006 15.9% 3 9.4% 13.2% 18.6% 11.0%
Pop > 25, Above High School below BA, 2006 55.7% 8 41.2% 57.6% 67.5% 59.0%
Talent Index (Pop > 25, BA and above), 2006 20.8% 10 18.1% 28.1% 51.7% 21.7%
7.5%
Pop > 25, Graduate and/or Professional Degree, 2006 8.3% 8 6.0% 11.0% 26.2%
0.88 1.27 NA
Brain Drain/Gain Index, 2006 0.59 11 0.59
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max N.A. Average of
Tolerance ON Ranking Value Average Value Urban Regions
Visible Minorities (% Pop), 2006 13.6% 7 9.2% 17.0% 37.7% 11.1%
Mosaic Index (% Pop), 2006 22.8% 2 2.2% 9.8% 23.6% 7.9%
Gay and Lesbian Index, 2006 0.78 7 0.59 0.94 1.62 0.81
Bohemian Index, 2006 1.01 3 0.35 0.73 1.60 0.69
0.71 0.90
Integration Index, 2006 0.77 4 1
Kitchener, Peer Peer Min Peer Peer Max
Territorial Assets
ON Ranking Value Average Value
Social and Cultural Assets
Arts and Cultural Establishments per 10,000 4.45 2 0.77 2.08 6.85
Resturants and Bars per 1,000 2.24 2 1.67 2.00 2.75
Student/teacher Ratio 16.73 6 11.37 16.50 21.63
Doctor's per 1,000 0.41 10 0.20 0.94 1.86
Civic Assets
Voter Turnout (%) 66% 6 54% 64% 71%
Crime per Capita 0.05 7 0.03 0.05 0.09
Housing and Transportation Assets
Population Density (Km^2) 546 8 52.78 184.08 545.58
Median Housing Value to Income Ratio $3.69 2 $2.44 $4.61 $12.82
Auto Dependency 8.89 11 3.47 18.74 37.98
51

52. For More Information
• Richard Florida’s books
– “The Rise of the Creative Class”
– “The Flight of the Creative Class”
– “Who’s Your City?”
• www.martinprosperity.org
• www.creativeclass.com
52

53. Thank You
Kevin Stolarick
kms@rotman.utoronto.ca

54. Creative Class
Occupation Composition of Kitchener (CMA) and
its Municipalities
100%
90%
80% Farming/Fishing/Forestry
70%
Service Class
60%
50%
Working Class
40%
30% Creative Class
20%
10%
0%
Kitchener Kitchener Cambridge Waterloo Other
CMA
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
54

55. Talent Index (BA and above)
Talent Index (Pop >25 with BA or Above), Kitchener
(CMA) and its Municipalities
Waterloo 36.1%
Kitchener CMA 20.8%
Kitchener (CD) 18.4%
Other 17.7%
Cambridge 13.7%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
55

56. Graduate / Professional Degrees
Pop > 25, Graduate and/or Professional Degree
Kitchener, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Waterloo 16.2%
Kitchener CMA 8.3%
Kitchener (CD) 7.0%
Other 6.1%
Cambridge 4.7%
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
56

57. Visible Minorities
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
57

58. Mosaic Index
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006007. US
Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2006).
58