Region of Waterloo Economic Development Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: Demographics .................................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 General Population ............................................................................................................................. 7 1.1.1 Population Growth ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.1.2 Median Age .................................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Language ............................................................................................................................................. 8 1.2.1 Languages Spoken at Home ......................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Diversity ............................................................................................................................................ 10 1.3.1 Visible Minorities ....................................................................................................................... 10 1.3.2 Immigrant Population ................................................................................................................ 11 1.4 Income Earners ................................................................................................................................. 12 1.4.1 Low Income Measure (LIM) ....................................................................................................... 12 1.4.2 Income Distribution ................................................................................................................... 13 1.5 Crime ................................................................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER 2: Workforce ..................................................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Labour Force Statistics ...................................................................................................................... 16 2.1.1 Labour Force and Participation Rate ......................................................................................... 16 2.1.2 Unemployment Rate .................................................................................................................. 17 2.2 Highly Skilled Workforce ................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.1 Educational Attainment ............................................................................................................. 18 2.2.2 Major Field of Study ................................................................................................................... 19 2.2.3 Tech Talent in Waterloo Region ................................................................................................. 20 2.2.4 Employment by Industry ............................................................................................................ 22 2.2.5 Employment by Occupation ....................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 3: Education ....................................................................................................................................... 24 3.1 Wilfrid Laurier University .................................................................................................................. 25 3.2 University of Waterloo ...................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Conestoga College ............................................................................................................................. 27 3.4 Business Support Organizations and Research Centre ..................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 4: Resilient Economy .......................................................................................................................... 30 4.1 Innovation Culture ............................................................................................................................ 31 4.1.1 Start-up Culture ......................................................................................................................... 31 2 WATERLOO REGION COMMUNTY PROFILE 2018 Region of Waterloo Economic Development 4.2 Local Economy .................................................................................................................................. 34 4.2.1 An Overview of Business Environment ...................................................................................... 34 4.3 Key Industries .................................................................................................................................... 35 4.3.1 Advanced Manufacturing Sector ............................................................................................... 35 4.3.2 Information Technology Sector ................................................................................................. 36 4.3.3 Aerospace Sector ....................................................................................................................... 38 4.4 Key Economic Indicators ................................................................................................................... 41 4.4.1 GDP Growth ............................................................................................................................... 41 4.4.2 Consumer Price Index ................................................................................................................ 42 4.4.3 Employment Growth .................................................................................................................. 43 4.5 Building Development ....................................................................................................................... 44 4.5.1 Total Value of New Building Permits ......................................................................................... 44 4.5.2 Housing Starts ............................................................................................................................ 45 4.5.3 Development in the Built Up Area (BUA) ................................................................................... 46 4.5.4 Total New Square Footage, Non-Residential ............................................................................. 47 4.6 Standard of Living ............................................................................................................................. 48 4.6.1 Residential Prices and Rental Market ........................................................................................ 48 4.6.2 Median Household Income ........................................................................................................ 50 CHAPTER 5: Transportation ............................................................................................................................... 52 5.1 Market Access ................................................................................................................................... 53 5.2 Rail Access to Toronto ....................................................................................................................... 53 5.3 Local Transit Network ....................................................................................................................... 54 5.3.1 Grand River Transit .................................................................................................................... 54 5.3.2 Rapid Transit .............................................................................................................................. 55 5.4 New Transit Investments .................................................................................................................. 56 5.4.1 The King-Victoria Transit Hub .................................................................................................... 56 5.4.2 High Speed Rail .......................................................................................................................... 56 5.5 Region of Waterloo International Airport......................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 6: Cost Competitiveness ...................................................................................................................... 58 6.1 National and Provincial Cost Advantages ......................................................................................... 59 6.1.1 Property Tax Rates in Waterloo Region ..................................................................................... 59 6.1.2 Corporate Tax Rates ................................................................................................................... 60 6.1.3 Exchange Rate ............................................................................................................................ 61 Region of Waterloo Economic Development 6.1.4 National and Provincial Incentives ............................................................................................