WELLINGTON COUNTY – A new tool from Statistics Canada allows people to compare the quality of life in every Canadian municipality.
Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North have lower levels of poverty and a smaller percentage of people in need of housing than provincial and federal averages, indicating a higher quality of life here.
In other areas such as post-secondary education and languages spoken, the municipalities here fall below the provincial and national averages.
The Municipal Quality of Life Dashboard presents visual data surrounding four quality of life indicators: housing, poverty, education, and official national languages spoken.
It does not include data on other significant indicators of quality of life such as health, income, social connections, or governance.
The dashboard launched on July 14 and is based on data from Statistics Canada’s 2021 census data.
Poverty
While poverty rates here are higher than the average for Wellington County, there is a smaller percentage of people experiencing poverty here than the averages for Ontario and Canada.
In 2021, Stats Canada defined poverty thresholds as $43,269 in rural areas of the county and $43,985 in urban areas.
Of Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North, Wellington North has the highest poverty rate at 7.3 per cent, or 390 people living in poverty.
In Minto there are 520 people living in poverty, or 5.8% of the population.
The poverty rate in Mapleton is 6.6%, with 715 people living in poverty.
This compares with a 4.7% average poverty rate in Wellington County, 8.3% province-wide, and 8.1% in Canada. 
Housing
There are also less people in need of housing in north Wellington than the provincial and federal averages, with 77% of people here living in “acceptable housing.”
Statistics Canada defines acceptable housing as housing that is adequate, suitable, and affordable.
Provincially, about 67% of people live in acceptable housing.
Federally, the percentage is about 71.
And in Wellington County overall, about 78% of people live in acceptable housing.
With 9% of the township’s population in need of core housing, Wellington North has a higher percentage than the county average.
Another 17.4% of people in Wellington North live in housing that Statistics Canada considers unacceptable, but cannot afford to move.
There is slightly less housing need in Mapleton and Minto than Wellington County overall.
In Mapleton, 4.9% of the population is in core housing need, and another 15.7% live in unacceptable housing.
In Minto, 3.1% of people are in core housing need and another 18% live in unacceptable housing.
In Wellington County overall, 5.4% of people are in core housing need and another 16.3% live in unacceptable housing. 
Languages
Almost 3% of people in north Wellington are able to hold a conversation in both English and French.
About 1% of people here are not able to converse in either of Canada’s official languages.
That compares with about 5% of people in Wellington County who can hold a conversation in both English and French, and less than 1% not able to converse in either language.
Provincially, 10.8% of people speak both English and French, and federally it’s 18%.
In Ontario, 2.4% of people cannot converse in either language, and federally it’s 1.9%.
The dashboard does not include data on other languages spoken.
Education
Almost 40% of people in north Wellington have attained a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree.
Minto has most post-secondary graduates of the three municipalities at 40.4%, and Wellington North is close behind at 39.2%.
In Mapleton, 36% of people have a post-secondary education.
These post-secondary education rates fall below the county, provincial, and federal averages.
About half of Wellington County residents have post-secondary education, and the provincial and federal averages are nearing 60%.
In all three municipalities in north Wellington, more women than men have attained post-secondary education.
