East York, Toronto Neighbourhood Guide

East York Neighbourhood Overview

East York, Toronto is an administrative historic township and municipality in the Greater Toronto area. Today’s highly coveted East York once had the highest percentage of senior citizens. Nowadays, this metropolitan neighbourhood is preferred by young families, students, and working professionals as it is around 13 minutes from Downtown. The township was formed on January 1, 1924. Back in that time, the neighbourhood consisted mainly of market gardens. Besides this, East York was known for having a handful of brickmaking workshops and horse racing tracks at the edge of Oak Park. The major growth period of East York took place between 1946 to 1961 when the housing supply doubled in size. East York was the only Borough distinction of Canada until 1998, the neighbourhood became a semi-autonomous borough in 1967 when it was merged with the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. Later in 1998, the borough was dissolved and amalgamated with the lower-tier municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto to build the new "megacity" of Toronto.

Liveability & Lifestyle of East York

Living in East York gives residents a dense suburban feel. The area houses several parks, restaurants, and coffee shops. Numerous retirees and young working professionals live in the region and they tend to remain conservative. Most of the shopping complexes of the area are located on the main north-south arterial roadways which include Donlands, Pape, Coxwell, Greenwood, and Woodbine Avenues. It is a most coveted and ancient residency with a high-end lifestyle. Also, the area is considered one of the most pet-friendly regions of Toronto as it provides residents with pet-friendly condos, houses, and houses both for rent and purchasing purposes. As given in the following table, the liveability score depends on several factors such as employment, crime rate, cost of living, and so forth.

Liveability	70
Amenities	A+
Cost of Living	F
Employment	C-
Housing	B
Schools	A
Crime Rate	A+

The Crime rate in East York is 22% lower than the national average. This little snapshot of the crime rate in East York depicts the safety culture of the region and that people in the neighbourhood are safe and sweet.

Index	East York per 100,000 people	Toronto per 100,000 people	Ontario per 100,000 people	National per 100,000 people
Total Crime	3,294 (estimate)	2,915	3,086	4,223
Violent Crime	846 (estimate)	748	792	1,042
Property Crime	2,448 (estimate)	2,167	2,294	3,181

People and Culture of East York

East York was known as Dublin township when surveyed in 1971 and a borough until it merged with Toronto in 1998. Later, John Simcoe changes the name of the township to East York in the honour of the Duke of York. The early settlements of the locality included the communities of Norway, Todmorden, Doncaster, and Leslieville. The area is in proximity to the eastern branch of the Don River and became the hub for numerous industries. Several early industries were built in the area such as paper mills, sawmills, gristmills, carding and woollen mills. Thus, the area presents as part of Toronto’s industrial heritage. Prior to this, people in East York were involved in agricultural activities such as growing peas, turnips, beans, potatoes, oats, barley, and wheat. Shortly thereafter the urban encroachment began in the township. In former times, the area was mostly occupied by senior citizens, but now, over a period of time, even the younger generation has started staying in the locality. Most of the people living in East York were employees of brickmaking workshops, mills, and industries in the region. The area has a hot real estate market with a healthy inventory. The total revenue of the East York community is around $5 million, which remains fairly constant every year.

Index	East York
Median household income	$75,305
Average unemployment rate	5.0%
Average In labour force	68.6%

People in East York, Toronto, majorly speak English, and a major chunk of the total population claims that their first language was neither French nor English. Here is a closer look at the language statistics for the locality:

Language Spoken	Percentage of People
English	70%
French	2%
Other	28%

Neighbourhood Nearby East York

A former township in Greater Toronto has now been turned into a highly sought-after location in the city. It's a quiet location, and the area is well-served with facilities for dining and shopping. Most of the shopping complexes in the region are situated on the north-south side of the arterial roadways, which include Greenwood, Pape, Coxwell, and so forth. Apart from this, the south end of East York provides shoppers with a colourful array of bakeries, fruit markets, clothing stores, accessory stores, and coffee shops, along with some decent Greek restaurants. The area is nestled in the vicinity of elementary schools and reputed healthcare centres. A child's major source of knowledge is education. It offers them the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects, such as history, maths, literature, politics, and many others. The top schools in the area include the ones listed below:

Toronto District School Board
Westside Montessori School
East York Alternative Secondary School
R H McGregor Elementary School

The neighbourhood restaurant's main purpose is to serve as a gathering spot for friends both new and old. In most small towns, the restaurants serve as a hub where people congregate to laugh, talk, clink glasses, and take in their surroundings. The top eateries in the area include the following:

Pomarosa Coffee Shop & Kitchen
Hanamaru
Le Conciliabule
Naomi Universal Cuisine
Local 1794

Shopping malls near East York provide benefits that are time-returning and unmatched everywhere else—not even online. They operate as neighbourhood hubs that give connectedness, effectiveness, and convenience, much like the traditional marketplaces found in ancient town squares or souqs. The top shopping complexes in the area include the ones listed below:

East York Town Centre
Beach Mall
Gerrard Square
Eglinton Square
SmartCentres Leaside

People can get a range of medical aids at the clinics nearby, including those given by family doctors, dentists, paediatricians, obstetricians/gynaecologists, pharmacists, mental health specialists, and others. They are situated in areas where limitations related to economy, geography, or culture limit the accessibility of healthcare. The top healthcare services in the area are the ones listed below:

Enhanced Care Clinic
Infinity Cosmetics Health Centre
Thornlea Medical Centre and Walk-in Clinic
East York Medical Health Centre

Top Attractions & Places to Visit in East York

There are numerous dining options for locals in Toronto’s neighbourhood, which is constantly bustling with life. East York is a beautiful township that has kept its ancient charm intact. However, you can explore the locality at your own pace and enjoy its customary fascination. There are beautiful parks in East York and other endless things in East York to entertain its visitors, such as:

Taylor Creek Park which is a part of a nature trail
Stan Wadlow Park which features league and recreational hockey programs as well as public skating.
A Royal Ontario Museum for people with a passion for antiques.

Things to do in East York

Besides being customary and industrial, East York is also fancy and trendy, and it does its best for the residents living there. The area has renowned educational institutes in close vicinity like the Toronto District School Board, Westside Montessori School, East York Alternative Secondary School, and many others. This lovely community includes trendy cafes, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, trails, and museums to indulge people throughout.

Go Shopping

In addition to all the facilities, there are numerous shopping complexes near East York, which keeps it convenient for all sorts of people, such as the East York Town Centre, Beach Mall, Gerrard Square, and Eglinton Square. Moreover, it has the best nightlife to enjoy.

Enjoy the Nightlife

One of the best night cafes in East York is Nostalgia Coffee Company, followed by Starbucks, The Chocolate Messenger, and so forth. Next comes the Black Beer Pub, The Wally Tap and Grill, followed by Poor Romeo. This place is also convenient as it directly connects with other places in Toronto within a short distance.

Distance & Commute from Popular Locations

Distance & Commute - Time from East York to popular locations with transit:

The distance between East York and Toronto Airport (YYZ) is around 26 minutes. The driving distance is about 33.8 kilometres via Ontario 401 Express.
The Toronto Union Station is about 12.2 km and takes around 17 minutes via Don Valley Pkwy S to reach.

Popular Markets in East York

East York is a residential hub with beautiful attractions nearby and nice markets nearby for shopping. A neighbourhood without a marketplace would make it tough for residents to live or visit. We have incorporated some popular markets in and around East York, Toronto.

Farmer’s Market

There are multiple farmer’s markets in East York that allow local farmers to sell their produce, meat, and other goods.

Saturday Farmer’s market at Evergreen
The Leslieville Farmer’s market
Withrow Park Farmer’s market

East York Demographics

The average population density in East York is 66% higher than in Toronto. The median age in East York is around 3% higher than in Toronto. It is also a popular central Toronto neighbourhood for renters, including business executives, artists, university graduates, culture professionals, and law and public sector professionals. In East York, there are over 46% of females with kids in the region, and around 67% of the population consists of married couples. The region has a population density of around 7,836 with a 1.0:1 male/female ratio in the area. 86.4% of people in East York speak English, and 0.1% of people speak French only.

Statistics	East York
Area Code	416
Population	64,226

Things to Do in East York With Kids & Pets

East York is considered one of the best places for kids and pets, as the neighbourhood is very pet-friendly and kid-friendly. East York has an enchanted castle, several parks, the Ontario Museum, and multiple other kid-friendly things to do in the neighbourhood.

Average Cost of Living in East York

Cost of Living - Avg Cost of Living in East York A national average of 100 is used to create the cost of living index. A score of 90 would suggest a cost of living that is 10% below the national average, while a score of 110 would indicate a cost of living that is 10% over the national average. Here are some figures for the cost of living across categories in the area and also the corresponding cost of living figures for Toronto.

Index	East York	Toronto
Cost of Living	108	114
Goods & Services	108	108
Groceries	100	100
Health care	103	103
Housing	104	126
Transportation	107	107
Utilities	130	130

Real Estate Housing Market of East York

Real Estate - property type, housing trends, characteristics (Year built), Lot Size / Unit Size MLS listings The housing market in East York has some competition. The sales prices usually change over time and as per the market condition. Most of the homes in East York were constructed in phases, starting in the 1890s and continuing up until the early 1960s. Since the homes were constructed over such a long period of time, many dwelling types may be seen from one street to the next. There are many bungalows, two-story or one-and-a-half-story detached and semi-detached residences, as well as some more recent custom-built homes, in East York. Along Cosburn Avenue between Broadview and Donlands Avenues, there are also a lot of high-rise rental apartment buildings.