This document provides statistics and performance metrics for assessing the prosperity of Thunder Bay, Ontario compared to peer regions. It includes summary statistics on population, GDP, age and cost of living for Thunder Bay and peer averages. Several sections then evaluate Thunder Bay's performance relative to peers in areas like population and job growth, GDP per capita, creativity, technology indicators, workforce talent metrics, tolerance/inclusiveness, and quality of place factors. Peer regions used for comparison have populations similar to Thunder Bay's 123,000 residents.

1. Prosperity Scorecard for
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Ronnie Sanders and Patrick Adler
Research Associates
February 8, 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
Battle Creek, MI
•
14 peer states/
• Bloomington, IL
provinces for
• College Station, TX
Ontario based on
• Kelowna, BC
population.
• Mount Vernon, WA
• Rocky Mount, NC
10 cities/regions
• Sherbrooke, QC
selected with
• State College, PA
populations
• Trois-Rivieres, QC
approximately the
same as Thunder
Bay.
4

5. Summary Statistics
5

6. Summary Statistics
Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Summary Statistics Thunder Bay, ON Minimum Average Maximum Average
123,000 115,700 150,000 197,000 546,000
Total Population, 2006
$5,000
GDP (CAD millions) 2006 $5,000 $6,000 $9,000 $29,000
41.8 25.7 36.6 43.8 37.5
Median Age, 2006
Overall Cost of Living Index 102.8 92.5 104.3 131.4 101.5
6

7. Total Population
Total Population
Thunder Bay, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
College Station, TX 197,000
Sherbrooke , QC 187,000
Kelowna, BC 162,000
Bloomington, IL 161,000
Rocky Mount, NC 146,000
Trois-Rivières, QC 142,000
State College, PA 141,000
Battle Creek, MI 138,000
Dalton, GA 134,000
Thunder Bay, ON 123,000
Mount Vernon, WA 116,000
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)
Thunder Bay, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Bloomington, IL $8,600
Sherbrooke , QC $7,200
Kelowna, BC $6,800
Dalton, GA $6,700
Rocky Mount, NC $6,700
College Station, TX $6,500
State College, PA $5,800
Mount Vernon, WA $5,500
Battle Creek, MI $5,500
Thunder Bay, ON $5,300
Trois-Rivières, QC $5,300
Source: MPI Analysis (2008) . Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 94-581-XCB2006004.
Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2008 Survey. (2006).
8

9. Median Age
Median Age
Thunder Bay, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Trois-Rivières, QC 43.8
Kelowna, BC 43.4
Thunder Bay, ON 41.8
Sherbrooke , QC 40.2
Rocky Mount, NC 38.2
Battle Creek, MI 37.8
Mount Vernon, WA 37.3
Dalton, GA 33.8
Bloomington, IL 31.0
State College, PA 29.3
College Station, TX 25.7
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
Thunder Bay, ON and Peer Regions, 2006
Bloomington, IL 131.39
Dalton, GA 127.86
Trois-Rivières, QC 103.77
Thunder Bay, ON 0.00 102.79
Sherbrooke , QC 100.45
State College, PA 100.45
Mount Vernon, WA 100.28
Battle Creek, MI 96.56
Rocky Mount, NC 96.23
Kelowna, BC 94.46
College Station, TX 92.52
10

11. Overall Performance
11

12. Overall Performance
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Overall Performance Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Population Growth (00-05) 0.8% 10 0% 5.8% 12.4% 5.7%
-3.4% 10 -3.6% 4.8% 19.9% 9.3%
Job Growth (00-05)
GDP per capita, 2006 $43,000 6 $35,500 $45,000 $58,200 $45,000
Change in Average Wage (00-05) -2.4% 8 -11.2% -2.2% 3.7% 0.1%
Creativity Index 0.46 5 0.24 0.44 0.66 N/A
12

13. Population Growth
13

14. Job Growth
14

15. GDP per Capita
15

16. Change in Average Wage
16

17. Creativity Index
17

18. Technology
18

19. Technology
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Technology Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Total Patents, 2005 2 11 2 18 42 517
Patents per 10,000, 2005 0.16 10 0.14 1.17 2.98 2.46
Patent Growth, Short Term (00-05) -3.3% 10 -4.5% 10.8% 56.7% -0.5%
North American High Tech LQ, 2006 0.51 6 0.22 0.58 1.54 0.63
North American Tech Pole Index 0.013 6 0.002 0.020 0.079 0.189
19

20. Total Patents
20

21. Patents per 10,000
21

22. Patent Growth, Short-term
22

23. North American High-Tech LQ
23

24. North American Tech-Pole Index
24

25. Talent
25

26. Talent
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Talent Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Creative Class as % of Workforce, 2006 26.9% 4 18.5% 24.9% 29.4% 26.1%
Super Creative Core as % of Workforce, 2006 14.7% 5 5.6% 11.9% 16.3% 11.0%
Pop > 25, Above High School below BA, 2006 58.2% N/A 51.7% 58.2% 65.5% 59.0%
Talent Index (Pop > 25, BA and above), 2006 13.0% 9 12.0% 21.4% 40.2% 21.7%
Pop > 25, Graduate and/or Professional Degree, 2006 3.5% 9 3.4% 7.8% 20.5% 7.5%
Brain Drain/Gain Index, 2006 0.63 6 0.00 0.69 1.28 N/A
26

27. Creative Class
27

28. Super Creative Core
28

29. Above High School, Below BA
29

30. Talent Index (BA and above)
30

31. Graduate / Professional Degrees
31

32. Brain Drain / Gain Index
32

33. Tolerance / Inclusiveness
33

34. Tolerance / Inclusiveness
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Tolerance Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Visible Minorities (% Pop), 2006 2.7% 5 0.0% 5.2% 28.1% 11.1%
Mosaic Index (% Pop), 2006 10.3% 4 2.2% 7.9% 15.0% 7.9%
Gay and Lesbian Index, 2006 0.77 5 0.64 0.79 1.03 0.81
Bohemian Index, 2006 0.67 3 0.16 0.46 1.05 0.69
0.76 0.92 N/A
Integration Index, 2006 0.83 6 1
34

35. Visible Minorities
35

36. Mosaic Index
36

37. Gay / Lesbian Index
37

38. Bohemian Index
38

39. Integration Index
39

40. Territorial Assets / Quality of Place
40

41. Territorial Assets / Quality of Place
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer
Territorial Assets Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum
Social and Cultural Assets
Arts and Cultural Establishments per 10,000, 2006 1.95 3 0.22 1.36 2.22
Resturants and Bars per 1,000, 2006 1.83 7 1.46 1.90 2.40
Student/Teacher Ratio, 2006 14.50 4 13.58 15.83 22.17
Doctor's per 1,000, 2006 0.81 5 0.00 1.13 3.42
Civic Assets
Federal Voter Turnout (%), 2004/2006 62% 5 40% 59% 66%
Voilent and Property Crime per Capita, 2006 0.09 10 0.02 0.06 0.12
Housing and Transportation Assets
Population Density (KM2), 2006 48 9 25.34 71.67 160.76
Median Housing Value to Income Ratio, 2005 2.42 1 2.42 3.51 7.14
Drivers per Other Modes, 2006 9.77 3 4.84 28.69 169.98
41

42. Arts and Cultural Establishments per 10,000
42

43. Restaurants and Bars per 1,000
43

44. Student / Teacher Ratio
44

45. Doctors per 1,000
45

46. Federal Voter Turnout
46

47. Crime (Violent + Property) per Capita
47

48. Population Density (population per km^2)
48

49. Median Housing Value to Income Ratio
49

50. Drivers per Other Modes
50

51. For More Information
Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Summary Statistics Thunder Bay, ON Minimum Average Maximum Average
123,000 115,700 150,000 197,000 546,000
Total Population, 2006
$5,000
GDP (CAD millions) 2006 $5,000 $6,000 $9,000 $29,000
41.8 25.7 36.6 43.8 37.5
Median Age, 2006
Overall Cost of Living Index 102.8 92.5 104.3 131.4 101.5
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Overall Performance Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Population Growth (00-05) 0.8% 10 0% 5.8% 12.4% 5.7%
-3.4% 10 -3.6% 4.8% 19.9% 9.3%
Job Growth (00-05)
GDP per capita, 2006 $43,000 6 $35,500 $45,000 $58,200 $45,000
Change in Average Wage (00-05) -2.4% 8 -11.2% -2.2% 3.7% 0.1%
Creativity Index 0.46 5 0.24 0.44 0.66 N/A
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Technology Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Total Patents, 2005 2 11 2 18 42 517
Patents per 10,000, 2005 0.16 10 0.14 1.17 2.98 2.46
Patent Growth, Short Term (00-05) -3.3% 10 -4.5% 10.8% 56.7% -0.5%
North American High Tech LQ, 2006 0.51 6 0.22 0.58 1.54 0.63
North American Tech Pole Index 0.013 6 0.002 0.020 0.079 0.189
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Talent Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Creative Class as % of Workforce, 2006 26.9% 4 18.5% 24.9% 29.4% 26.1%
Super Creative Core as % of Workforce, 2006 14.7% 5 5.6% 11.9% 16.3% 11.0%
Pop > 25, Above High School below BA, 2006 58.2% N/A 51.7% 58.2% 65.5% 59.0%
Talent Index (Pop > 25, BA and above), 2006 13.0% 9 12.0% 21.4% 40.2% 21.7%
Pop > 25, Graduate and/or Professional Degree, 2006 3.5% 9 3.4% 7.8% 20.5% 7.5%
Brain Drain/Gain Index, 2006 0.63 6 0.00 0.69 1.28 N/A
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer Provincial/State
Tolerance Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum Average
Visible Minorities (% Pop), 2006 2.7% 5 0.0% 5.2% 28.1% 11.1%
Mosaic Index (% Pop), 2006 10.3% 4 2.2% 7.9% 15.0% 7.9%
Gay and Lesbian Index, 2006 0.77 5 0.64 0.79 1.03 0.81
Bohemian Index, 2006 0.67 3 0.16 0.46 1.05 0.69
0.76 0.92 N/A
Integration Index, 2006 0.83 6 1
Thunder Peer Peer Peer Peer
Territorial Assets Bay, ON Ranking Minimum Average Maximum
Social and Cultural Assets
Arts and Cultural Establishments per 10,000, 2006 1.95 3 0.22 1.36 2.22
Resturants and Bars per 1,000, 2006 1.83 7 1.46 1.90 2.40
Student/Teacher Ratio, 2006 14.50 4 13.58 15.83 22.17
Doctor's per 1,000, 2006 0.81 5 0.00 1.13 3.42
Civic Assets
Federal Voter Turnout (%), 2004/2006 62% 5 40% 59% 66%
Voilent and Property Crime per Capita, 2006 0.09 10 0.02 0.06 0.12
Housing and Transportation Assets
Population Density (KM2), 2006 48 9 25.34 71.67 160.76
Median Housing Value to Income Ratio, 2005 2.42 1 2.42 3.51 7.14
51 Drivers per Other Modes, 2006 9.77 3 4.84 28.69 169.98

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

53. Thank You
Ronnie Sanders
Ronnie.Sanders@rotman.utoronto.ca
Patrick Adler
Patrick.Adler@rotman.utoronto.ca