Waterloo Region, just the facts

Waterloo Region is one of the fastest growing areas in Canada. Over the last 15 years, Kitchener Waterloo has become one of Canada’s fastest growing metropolitan areas. With a 1.9% annual growth rate since 1993, its population was estimated at 534,900 at the end of 2009 and is expected to grow to 712,000 by 2029.

A disproportionate percentage of that population growth (roughly 30%) will consist of young professionals and empty nesters, the two demographic segments most likely to gravitate to downtown living. The population of downtown neighborhoods increased by 6% from 2001 to 2009, adding 1708 new residents. The city of Kitchener with provincial and federal funding support recently spent $11 million to transform the streetscape of a six block stretch of its primary downtown shopping street, King Street West. The new streetscape has wider sidewalks, outdoor patios, more on street parking spaces, sleek new street lights and illuminated street trees. Foot traffic levels have doubled since 2003.

With the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and others, there are about 44,000 full time students in Waterloo Region.

Because of our universities, a diversified economy and affordable real estate, Kitchener Waterloo was named in 2010 by the Real Estate Investment Network as the top region for commercial and residential real estate investment in all of Ontario and the second best in all of Canada.

Waterloo Region is well known as a high tech hub. There are hundreds of new start ups every years. The high tech industry is a major employer, employing close to 30,000 people in the region. Manufacturing (Toyota) and the insurance industry (Manulife and Sunlife) also employ tens of thousands of residents.

I love living in Waterloo Region, most people do. We have all the things that make living here a great lifestyle. In the past decade, KW has improved in so many ways. Restaurants, coffee shops and festivals are all ubiquitous. There are lots of jobs. It’s a nice life.

 

 

Source: Downtown Kitchener BIA

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