Huron County Council received an update on quality of life metrics within the region during this week’s meeting.
The report, shared by Kristin Crane, who is the Director of Research and Planning for the United Way Perth-Huron shared demographic information, including the median age in Huron County is 46.8 years, which is higher than the median for the province of Ontario at 41.6.
She also shared population changes that have happened in the lower-tier municipalities of Huron County between 2016 and 2021. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh saw the highest population increase of 8.5%, while the county overall saw an increase of 3.5%.
Crane also shared that annual incomes are lower in Huron County compared to the entire province, with the median income at $36,400 for Huron County, in comparison to the median income for Ontario at $39,200. The calculated living wage for the province is currently at $41,405, which works out to $22.75 per hour.
Due to the increases that have been seen across the province for rent, the data found that 31% of renters and 16% of homeowners spend more than 30% of their income on shelter each month. It was also shared that 15% of tenants within the county are in subsidized housing.
Also because of the cost of housing, it was found that food insecurity was a result of inadequate incomes, with 87% of respondents saying that they had to sacrifice part of their food budget in order to cover other expenses, with 24% saying that their income did not meet their needs, considering 63% of respondents were employed full-time.
Such findings are a concern, especially since 29% of households in the county are one-person households, while 40% are two-person households.
