# Hamilton in numbers

The figures below are computed from the City of Hamilton's own published records and refreshed as the city updates them. Every section links the exact dataset it is derived from. Raw counts, not estimates; where the record is silent, the page says so.

## Deaths on Hamilton roads

267killed, 2008–2025

94of them were pedestrians

15were cyclists

Cyclist deaths run one or two a year: 1 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 1 in 2024, 1 in 2025. The city publishes this dataset annually, so 2026 figures do not exist here yet; until they do, the police releases on the wire are the only same-year signal.

### By year: deaths held flat while injuries halved

| Year | Killed |  | Injured |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2008 | 14 |  | 1,677 |  |
| 2009 | 14 |  | 1,667 |  |
| 2010 | 20 |  | 1,811 |  |
| 2011 | 17 |  | 1,835 |  |
| 2012 | 20 |  | 1,795 |  |
| 2013 | 14 |  | 1,740 |  |
| 2014 | 16 |  | 1,830 |  |
| 2015 | 14 |  | 1,931 |  |
| 2016 | 11 |  | 1,936 |  |
| 2017 | 16 |  | 1,682 |  |
| 2018 | 11 |  | 1,561 |  |
| 2019 | 14 |  | 1,469 |  |
| 2020 | 13 |  | 1,141 |  |
| 2021 | 16 |  | 1,162 |  |
| 2022 | 16 |  | 1,150 |  |
| 2023 | 14 |  | 977 |  |
| 2024 | 14 |  | 962 |  |
| 2025 | 13 |  | 922 |  |

### What police recorded the driver doing, fatal collisions only

The second most common entry is **driving properly**: in 52 fatal collisions the record shows no driver error at all.

Lost control58

Driving properly52

Failed to yield right-of-way34

Other25

Exceeding speed limit21

Disobeyed traffic control20

Improper turn11

Speed too fast for condition11

### Locations with more than one fatal collision on record

- 2× binbrook rd btwn hendershot & southbrook
- 2× burlington st e @ parkdale av n
- 2× centennial py btwn major road bridge & webster
- 2× fiddler's green rd btwn book & butter
- 2× green rd @ highway no. 8
- 2× haldibrook rd @ regional 56 rd
- 2× james st n @ main st e
- 2× red hill valley py nb btwn railway bridge & ramp greenhill wb to rhvp nb
- 2× upper james st btwn private & twenty
- 2× upper paradise rd btwn kordun & stone church
- 2× wilson st e btwn lower lions club & privateSource: [City of Hamilton, Traffic Collisions dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/017c8bdcc3a342308ab68bd2ba0e2758_0) · deaths and injuries are collision counts by classification; property-damage-only collisions are excluded because the city's reporting method for them changed in 2023.

## Crime by ward, May 2026

From the police service's own monthly ward reports, read directly from the published PDFs. Raw counts, not per-person rates, so bigger and denser communities naturally show higher totals.

The 15 wards, drawn from the [city's boundary layer](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/c2c6e4fbf4ca4dbca39446bf8892df38) (simplified). Shaded wards are the former towns named on the cards below; the rest are the urban wards in the table.

### Where each ward is, in plain words

- **Ward 1** West end: Westdale, Chedoke, Cootes
- **Ward 2** Downtown and the North End
- **Ward 3** Lower city east of downtown
- **Ward 4** East Hamilton below the escarpment
- **Ward 5** East end and the Beach Strip
- **Ward 6** East Mountain
- **Ward 7** Central Mountain
- **Ward 8** West and central Mountain
- **Ward 9** Upper Stoney Creek
- **Ward 10** Lower Stoney Creek
- **Ward 11** Glanbrook, Binbrook, Mount Hope
- **Ward 12** Ancaster and west Flamborough
- **Ward 13** Dundas and the valley
- **Ward 14** Western Mountain
- **Ward 15** Flamborough and WaterdownAncasterWARD 12Violent crime, YTD**95**Property crime, YTD**397**

DundasWARD 13Violent crime, YTD**76**Property crime, YTD**210**

Stoney CreekWARDS 9 & 10Violent crime, YTD**207**Property crime, YTD**620**

Flamborough & WaterdownWARD 15Violent crime, YTD**55**Property crime, YTD**190**

GlanbrookWARD 11Violent crime, YTD**65**Property crime, YTD**199**

### The nine urban wards, individually

| Ward | Violent YTD | Property YTD | Violent this month | Property this month |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ward 1 | 137 | 482 | 26 | 105 |
| Ward 2 | 660 | 794 | 142 | 177 |
| Ward 3 | 582 | 789 | 132 | 163 |
| Ward 4 | 347 | 636 | 87 | 131 |
| Ward 5 | 267 | 690 | 44 | 128 |
| Ward 6 | 186 | 378 | 45 | 95 |
| Ward 7 | 287 | 514 | 65 | 96 |
| Ward 8 | 166 | 489 | 35 | 119 |
| Ward 14 | 138 | 264 | 36 | 51 |

Source: [Hamilton Police Service ward reports](https://hamiltonpolice.on.ca/ward-reports) · a dash means the report's layout defeated exact extraction for that figure, and nothing was guessed.

## Building and development

Development applications filed with the city: rezonings, subdivisions, site plans and consultations. Each is a proposal entering the pipeline this page's council coverage reports the votes on.

2019563

2020490

2021541

2022591

2023408

2024291

2025312

2026116

Source: [City of Hamilton, Development Applications dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/da765ab0f2f64ce5a4792879ecad9f17_2) · the current year is a running count, not a total.

## Overdoses and opioids

118suspect drug-related deaths in 2026, through July

163in all of 2025

20.4opioid deaths per 100,000 in 2024, against 13.9 for Ontario

Paramedics answered **190 opioid-related calls in August 2026**. In 2017 the monthly average was 36.

Source: [City of Hamilton Public Health, Hamilton Opioid Information System](https://www.hamilton.ca/people-programs/public-health/alcohol-drugs-gambling/hamilton-opioid-information-system) · suspect drug-related deaths are coroner-reported and preliminary, and recent months rise as records arrive.

## Homelessness and shelters

The city counts the people it knows to be homeless once a month. It is a point-in-time count of people known to the system, not an estimate of everyone unhoused, and it is a level rather than a running total: the months are not added together, because it is largely the same people counted again each month.

2,037counted in August 2026

2,247the highest month on record, March 2026

+136%against 864 in January 2020, where the series begins

Of the 2,037 counted in August 2026, **910 had been homeless longer than six months** and 1,127 for less than six.

### The 24 most recent counts, October 2023 to August 2026

That window covers 35 calendar months. The city published no count for 11 of them, so those months are absent from the chart below rather than drawn as zero, and the bars are not evenly spaced in time.

2023-101,693

2023-111,671

2023-121,633

2024-011,592

2025-011,703

2025-021,733

2025-031,859

2025-042,007

2025-052,029

2025-062,030

2025-072,025

2025-082,010

2025-092,076

2025-102,057

2025-112,023

2025-121,980

2026-012,111

2026-022,211

2026-032,247

2026-042,243

2026-052,190

2026-062,129

2026-072,074

2026-082,037

Source: [City of Hamilton, Scale of Homelessness dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/scale-of-homelessness) · months the city published without a count are left out rather than shown as zero.

### Shelter occupancy, August 2026

Beds filled as a share of the beds that sector has. Over 100% means the sector ran past its own capacity.

| Sector | Occupancy |
| --- | --- |
| Men | 95% |
| Women | 94% |
| Families | 87% |
| Youth | 50% |
| Emergency | 57% |
| Mixed | 84% |
| Asylum claimants | 58% |

Source: [City of Hamilton, Shelter Occupancy dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/shelter-occupancy)

The city also publishes two annual figures that it **stopped updating after 2019**, so they are history rather than current record. In 2019, 2,902 distinct people used a shelter ([dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/unique-shelter-users)). In 2019, 1,622 people were recorded in chronic homelessness ([dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/chronic-homelessness)).

## Jobs

The unemployment rate for the Hamilton area, from Statistics Canada's monthly Labour Force Survey — a three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted. This is the one figure on this page that updates every month.

6.5%unemployment, August 2026

6.9%a year earlier, August 2025

7.4%the highest of the last 24 months

### The last 24 months

2024-096.2%

2024-106.3%

2024-116.8%

2024-127.2%

2025-017.2%

2025-027.1%

2025-037.1%

2025-046.9%

2025-056.7%

2025-066.4%

2025-076.5%

2025-086.9%

2025-097.2%

2025-106.9%

2025-117.2%

2025-127.2%

2026-017.4%

2026-026.6%

2026-036.5%

2026-046.7%

2026-057%

2026-066.9%

2026-076.4%

2026-086.5%

Source: [Statistics Canada, Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (table 14-10-0459)](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410045901)

## Money and health, ward by ward

Average household income (2020 incomes, from the census), the share of households spending 30% or more of income on housing (2021), and two health measures from the city's 2016 custom tabulations — older, but the only ward-level health record the city publishes. The average household in Ward 14 has **2.7× the income** of one in Ward 2.

| Ward | Avg household income (2020) | Spending 30%+ on housing (2021) | ED visits per 1,000 (2016) | Average age at death (2016) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | $89,500 | 31% | 499 | 77 |
| 2 | $67,900 | 35% | 675 | 71 |
| 3 | $73,500 | 30% | 700 | 70.7 |
| 4 | $82,900 | 24% | 596 | 72.4 |
| 5 | $81,800 | 26% | 561 | 75.5 |
| 6 | $101,600 | 19% | 527 | 75.5 |
| 7 | $92,300 | 21% | 489 | 76.7 |
| 8 | $103,200 | 21% | 381 | 76.8 |
| 9 | $127,900 | 22% | 347 | 77.2 |
| 10 | $122,200 | 19% | 427 | 75.9 |
| 11 | $126,600 | 17% | 187 | 75.3 |
| 12 | $162,600 | 18% | 237 | 79.5 |
| 13 | $131,000 | 19% | 309 | 80.4 |
| 14 | $184,800 | 16% | 405 | 79.6 |
| 15 | $155,800 | 18% | 146 | 76.9 |

Ward 1West end: Westdale, Chedoke, Cootes

Avg. income$89,500

Spending 30%+31%

ED visits /1,000499

Avg. age at death77

Ward 2Downtown and the North End

Avg. income$67,900

Spending 30%+35%

ED visits /1,000675

Avg. age at death71

Ward 3Lower city east of downtown

Avg. income$73,500

Spending 30%+30%

ED visits /1,000700

Avg. age at death70.7

Ward 4East Hamilton below the escarpment

Avg. income$82,900

Spending 30%+24%

ED visits /1,000596

Avg. age at death72.4

Ward 5East end and the Beach Strip

Avg. income$81,800

Spending 30%+26%

ED visits /1,000561

Avg. age at death75.5

Ward 6East Mountain

Avg. income$101,600

Spending 30%+19%

ED visits /1,000527

Avg. age at death75.5

Ward 7Central Mountain

Avg. income$92,300

Spending 30%+21%

ED visits /1,000489

Avg. age at death76.7

Ward 8West and central Mountain

Avg. income$103,200

Spending 30%+21%

ED visits /1,000381

Avg. age at death76.8

Ward 9Upper Stoney Creek

Avg. income$127,900

Spending 30%+22%

ED visits /1,000347

Avg. age at death77.2

Ward 10Lower Stoney Creek

Avg. income$122,200

Spending 30%+19%

ED visits /1,000427

Avg. age at death75.9

Ward 11Glanbrook, Binbrook, Mount Hope

Avg. income$126,600

Spending 30%+17%

ED visits /1,000187

Avg. age at death75.3

Ward 12Ancaster and west Flamborough

Avg. income$162,600

Spending 30%+18%

ED visits /1,000237

Avg. age at death79.5

Ward 13Dundas and the valley

Avg. income$131,000

Spending 30%+19%

ED visits /1,000309

Avg. age at death80.4

Ward 14Western Mountain

Avg. income$184,800

Spending 30%+16%

ED visits /1,000405

Avg. age at death79.6

Ward 15Flamborough and Waterdown

Avg. income$155,800

Spending 30%+18%

ED visits /1,000146

Avg. age at death76.9

Sources: [Census income by ward](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/census-income) · [housing tenure and shelter-cost ratio](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/census-housing-tenure-income-ratio) · [health care use](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/health-care-use-for-hamilton) · [health status](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/health-status-for-hamilton), all City of Hamilton open data.

## Property taxes

Hamilton charges different rates in each of its six former municipalities, because transit and fire service are billed only where they are provided. The figures are the city's own, for 2026, on its average assessed home of $387,100. "By ward" does not exist in the public record; this community split is the finest official cut there is.

$6,028the highest bill: Hamilton, urban with full time fire

$4,828the lowest: Flamborough, rural with volunteer fire

$1,200the gap, on the same $387,100 home

### Every community and service tier, 2026

| Community | Service tier | Total residential rate | Taxes on a $387,100 home |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Ancaster](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/ancaster/) | Urban with Full Time Fire | 1.428% | $5,526 |
| [Ancaster](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/ancaster/) | Urban with Composite Fire | 1.346% | $5,212 |
| [Ancaster](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/ancaster/) | Rural with Full Time Fire | 1.367% | $5,290 |
| [Ancaster](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/ancaster/) | Rural with Composite Fire | 1.285% | $4,975 |
| [Ancaster](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/ancaster/) | Rural with Volunteer Fire | 1.252% | $4,848 |
| [Dundas](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/dundas/) | Urban with Composite Fire | 1.424% | $5,513 |
| [Dundas](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/dundas/) | Rural with Composite Fire | 1.367% | $5,293 |
| [Dundas](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/dundas/) | Rural with Volunteer Fire | 1.286% | $4,979 |
| [Flamborough](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/flamborough/) | Urban with Composite Fire | 1.319% | $5,106 |
| [Flamborough](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/flamborough/) | Rural with Composite Fire | 1.280% | $4,956 |
| [Flamborough](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/flamborough/) | Rural with Volunteer Fire | 1.247% | $4,828 |
| [Glanbrook](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/glanbrook/) | Urban with Full Time Fire | 1.446% | $5,598 |
| [Glanbrook](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/glanbrook/) | Urban with Composite Fire | 1.365% | $5,284 |
| [Glanbrook](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/glanbrook/) | Urban with Volunteer Fire | 1.332% | $5,156 |
| [Glanbrook](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/glanbrook/) | Rural with Full Time Fire | 1.361% | $5,270 |
| [Glanbrook](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/glanbrook/) | Rural with Composite Fire | 1.280% | $4,956 |
| [Glanbrook](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/glanbrook/) | Rural with Volunteer Fire | 1.247% | $4,828 |
| Hamilton | Urban with Full Time Fire | 1.557% | $6,028 |
| Hamilton | Urban with Composite Fire | 1.476% | $5,714 |
| [Stoney Creek](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/stoneycreek/) | Urban with Full Time Fire | 1.420% | $5,497 |
| [Stoney Creek](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/stoneycreek/) | Urban with Composite Fire | 1.339% | $5,183 |
| [Stoney Creek](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/stoneycreek/) | Urban with Volunteer Fire | 1.306% | $5,055 |
| [Stoney Creek](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/stoneycreek/) | Rural with Composite Fire | 1.283% | $4,965 |
| [Stoney Creek](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/stoneycreek/) | Rural with Volunteer Fire | 1.250% | $4,837 |

[Ancaster](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/ancaster/)

Urban with Full Time Fire1.428%$5,526

Urban with Composite Fire1.346%$5,212

Rural with Full Time Fire1.367%$5,290

Rural with Composite Fire1.285%$4,975

Rural with Volunteer Fire1.252%$4,848

[Dundas](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/dundas/)

Urban with Composite Fire1.424%$5,513

Rural with Composite Fire1.367%$5,293

Rural with Volunteer Fire1.286%$4,979

[Flamborough](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/flamborough/)

Urban with Composite Fire1.319%$5,106

Rural with Composite Fire1.280%$4,956

Rural with Volunteer Fire1.247%$4,828

[Glanbrook](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/glanbrook/)

Urban with Full Time Fire1.446%$5,598

Urban with Composite Fire1.365%$5,284

Urban with Volunteer Fire1.332%$5,156

Rural with Full Time Fire1.361%$5,270

Rural with Composite Fire1.280%$4,956

Rural with Volunteer Fire1.247%$4,828

Hamilton

Urban with Full Time Fire1.557%$6,028

Urban with Composite Fire1.476%$5,714

[Stoney Creek](https://localwire.ca/hamilton/stoneycreek/)

Urban with Full Time Fire1.420%$5,497

Urban with Composite Fire1.339%$5,183

Urban with Volunteer Fire1.306%$5,055

Rural with Composite Fire1.283%$4,965

Rural with Volunteer Fire1.250%$4,837

Source: [City of Hamilton, How Property Tax Rates are Calculated](https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/property-taxes/understanding-property-tax/how-property-tax-rates-are-calculated) · rates include the education portion the province sets.

Businesses and industry carry **12%** of the city's assessment base in 2026, down from 13% in 2016 — the rest sits on homes ([dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/non-residential-assessment-percentage-of-total-assessment)). Tax arrears were **3.3%** of the levy in 2022, the newest year the city has published ([dataset](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/tax-arrears-as-a-percentage-of-the-levy)).

## Rent

What Hamilton tenants actually pay, from CMHC's October survey of occupied purpose-built rentals. Long-standing tenancies at long-standing prices are in the average, so it sits well below today's asking rents — this is the cost of staying, not the cost of moving.

$1,528average two-bedroom rent, 2025

$1,439across all unit sizes

+60%since 2016, when the average was $901

### Every survey year, by unit size

| Year | Bachelor | One bedroom | Two bedroom | Three bedroom+ | All sizes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2016 | $655 | $812 | $966 | $1,096 | $901 |
| 2017 | $632 | $845 | $1,030 | $1,129 | $944 |
| 2018 | $746 | $916 | $1,085 | $1,257 | $1,009 |
| 2019 | $814 | $963 | $1,130 | $1,283 | $1,055 |
| 2020 | $867 | $1,033 | $1,184 | $1,350 | $1,118 |
| 2021 | $915 | $1,095 | $1,271 | $1,479 | $1,190 |
| 2022 | $920 | $1,142 | $1,335 | $1,450 | $1,242 |
| 2023 | $1,017 | $1,326 | $1,545 | $1,645 | $1,431 |
| 2024 | $1,021 | $1,361 | $1,520 | $1,693 | $1,438 |
| 2025 | $1,053 | $1,343 | $1,528 | $1,677 | $1,439 |

2016

Bachelor$655

One bedroom$812

Two bedroom$966

Three bedroom+$1,096

All sizes$901

2017

Bachelor$632

One bedroom$845

Two bedroom$1,030

Three bedroom+$1,129

All sizes$944

2018

Bachelor$746

One bedroom$916

Two bedroom$1,085

Three bedroom+$1,257

All sizes$1,009

2019

Bachelor$814

One bedroom$963

Two bedroom$1,130

Three bedroom+$1,283

All sizes$1,055

2020

Bachelor$867

One bedroom$1,033

Two bedroom$1,184

Three bedroom+$1,350

All sizes$1,118

2021

Bachelor$915

One bedroom$1,095

Two bedroom$1,271

Three bedroom+$1,479

All sizes$1,190

2022

Bachelor$920

One bedroom$1,142

Two bedroom$1,335

Three bedroom+$1,450

All sizes$1,242

2023

Bachelor$1,017

One bedroom$1,326

Two bedroom$1,545

Three bedroom+$1,645

All sizes$1,431

2024

Bachelor$1,021

One bedroom$1,361

Two bedroom$1,520

Three bedroom+$1,693

All sizes$1,438

2025

Bachelor$1,053

One bedroom$1,343

Two bedroom$1,528

Three bedroom+$1,677

All sizes$1,439

### The average, year by year

2016$901

2017$944

2018$1,009

2019$1,055

2020$1,118

2021$1,190

2022$1,242

2023$1,431

2024$1,438

2025$1,439

Source: [City of Hamilton open data, Average Market Rent (CMHC)](https://open.hamilton.ca/datasets/average-market-rent) · surveyed each October; occupied units, not asking rents.

The backdrop to the plateau: the apartment **vacancy rate was 3.6% in 2025**, up from 1.8% at the 2022 trough — empty units compete, and rents stopped climbing ([CMHC via Statistics Canada](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3410012701)).

## What is not here yet

Fire incidents and licensed food establishments are next in the ingest queue, and suspect-death figures by neighbourhood exist on the city's dashboard once there is a clean way to date them.

Figures last re-derived 2026-09-07 · this page rebuilds automatically when the city's data changes.

---

Source: https://localwire.ca/hamilton/numbers/