When choosing a place to live, it can be tough to decide what city is right for you. Mississauga and Toronto are both great options, but they have their own unique benefits and drawbacks. In this blog post, we’ll compare Mississauga vs Toronto so that you can make the best decision for your lifestyle.
Mississauga and Toronto are neighbours along the shore of Lake Ontario. They have similarities but are very different from each other. Whether you’re moving to Toronto or Mississauga, determining which city is right for you is going to depend on personal variables like personality, work location, financial situation, age, and priorities. Think about where you’re at in life. Are you young and single, family-oriented, or a retiree? If you’re wondering whether you should be looking at condos for sale in Toronto or homes for sale in Mississauga, keep reading to find out which city is the best fit for you.
What’s it like in Mississauga and Toronto?
Mississauga
When locals in the GTA think of Mississauga, one thing that comes to mind is how green the landscape of the city is. Mississauga was not built with one central location in mind. It’s made up of several former hamlets and villages. The city grew from there while being mindful of its natural surroundings. Mississauga is known for its clean, safe, and friendly environment with lots of green spaces to explore and enjoy.
Mississauga doesn’t have Toronto beat when it comes to its mix of cultures, but due to its close proximity, there’s no shortage of diverse communities. In fact, over half of Mississauga’s population is a mix of different minority groups. You’ll find an array of ethnic restaurants with cuisines to experience from around the world in hubs like Port Credit, Streetsville, Hurontario, and even the Square Mall.
Toronto
Toronto is more of a concrete jungle, as it’s the largest city in all of Canada! While there are some wonderful parks in this city, its focus is on making life as convenient as possible for its residents by having nearly everything they could possibly need in close proximity. The subway is convenient, there are employment opportunities at every turn, the nightlife is booming, and there are endless restaurants! These are just some of the reasons why Toronto has some of the best neighbourhoods for families. Just like Mississauga, it’s relatively clean and friendly for a city of its size too.
Most people in Toronto aren’t originally from Toronto and some even say that it’s the most culturally diverse city in the world! If you love learning and experiencing different cultures, Toronto is probably the most ideal place to immerse yourself in a variety of ethnicities by visiting museums and galleries, get entertained by film festivals, live music, theatres, and more! There’s not much room for boredom in Toronto as there’s always something going on from street parties to festivals.
Real Estate in Mississauga and Toronto
Mississauga
Think of Mississauga as living the suburban life. Single-detached homes for sale in Mississauga dominate the market, but there’s also a healthy mix of townhomes and condos for sale in Mississauga. Nearly 75% of the residents here own their homes. You’re going to see a lot of three to four-bedroom homes in Mississauga and the majority of them were built between the 1960s to ‘80s. You can typically find Mississauga homes for sale at around $1.7M for single detached homes, $1M for townhouses, and $689K for condos.
Some of the most sought after neighbourhoods of Mississauga are:
- Lisgar
- Credit View
- Churchill Meadows
- Meadowvale
- Rathwood
Toronto
Toronto is the epitome of the urban lifestyle with the majority of homes for sale being condos. You will find some single detached homes, but they only make up about 25% of the homes for sale in Toronto. It’s about a 50/50 split of owners and renters in this big city. Nearly 60% of the homes here were constructed before 1960 and on into the 1980s. Unlike Mississauga, dwellings here are primarily one to two bedrooms as most locals spend their time enjoying all the city has to offer. Toronto homes for sale cost more than Mississauga, but not by much. You’re going to find houses selling for around $1.8M, townhomes about $1.3M, and condos for $738K.
The most popular neighbourhoods of Toronto are:
- Blake-Jones
- Playter Estates-Danforth
- Rouge E10
- Princess-Rosethorn
- North Riverdale
The infrastructure of Mississauga and Toronto
Mississauga
Healthcare– There are two major hospitals in Mississauga. The Credit Valley Hospital is off of Eglinton Ave W on the west side of town and Trillium Health Partners- Mississauga Hospital is located around the centre of the city on Queensway W.
Transportation– To get around Mississauga with ease, you’ll want a vehicle. You’ll have quick access to the 401, 403, and the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way). No matter where you are in Mississauga, you can be in Toronto in about 20 minutes (depending on the time of day), by way of these roads. If you don’t have your own vehicle, you can still move about the city with Mississauga’s public transit system that can even bring you the Islington Subway Station near Toronto. If you’re one to travel out of town a lot, Mississauga is the most ideal location for air travel. It’s home to the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Toronto
Healthcare– When it comes to options, Toronto has got you covered! There are several major hospitals in Toronto. Some of the top hospitals are Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and St. Michael’s Hospital.
Transportation– The cool thing about Toronto is that you can generally get anywhere in the city without the use of a car. Most locals take the subway or walk. The amount of people commuting by bicycle is growing and Toronto’s infrastructure is growing to support this way of transportation by way of bike lanes!
What’s the Cost of Living in Mississauga and Toronto?
Mississauga
Just like the housing cost difference that was shared above, it is less expensive to live in Mississauga than in Toronto, but not by much since they are neighbouring cities. Across all major categories like housing, food, clothing, transportation, personal care, and entertainment, Mississauga is about 13% less expensive to live in than Toronto.
Toronto
There’s no hiding that Toronto is more expensive than Mississauga. Though it costs more to live here, this city has so much to offer that people are willing to spend more money just to be here. For example, the housing supply never seems to keep up with the demand. Amenities seem limitless and are never far away, schools are great, and the opportunities to make money are everywhere!
How’s the Economy in Mississauga and Toronto?
Mississauga
The entire GTA is a happening place for job opportunities, but Mississauga just may be the spot to land a job. In fact, it has one of Ontario’s hottest job markets! Of the Fortune 500 companies, 60 of them are either globally or nationally headquartered in Mississauga. The top industries here are transportation parts and equipment industries, aerospace, banking and finance, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. A few of the household names worth mentioning are Panasonic, Kellogg’s, and Walmart, which all have their Canadian headquarters in Mississauga.
Toronto
Toronto plays a key role as an economic core of the world. The city’s primary focus in economics revolves around financial, industrial, commercial, and distribution. Toronto is to Canada like New York is to the U.S. It’s the banking and stock exchange hub in Canada. Because Ontario has a plethora of raw materials and hydroelectric power, Toronto has become the centre of this industry. Toronto also produces over half of Canada’s assembled goods. The GDP growth rate of Toronto continues to outpace the national average at a rate of 2.4% yearly. Some of the well-known companies established here are Apple, Coca-Cola, Google, McDonald’s, Microsoft, and Toyota.
Mississauga and Toronto Schools
Mississauga
Mississauga schools have an outstanding reputation for providing an excellent education to the children who live here. There are over 150 schools in Mississauga and are divided into four districts. The Peel District School Board administers the Anglophone public schools. Dufferin-Peel Catholic District school board teaches from a Catholic curriculum. The Coseil scholaire de district Cahtolique Centre-Sud and the Conseil scolaire Viamonde offers a separate French-language education all throughout grade school.
Toronto
Just like Mississauga, Toronto schools are reputable and have a lot to offer the residents here. There are four public school boards operating in Toronto. The Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) are English-speaking districts. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) and the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir offer French-speaking curricula to their students. The TDSB provides extensive ESL programs for adults learning the English language. After secondary school, residents have options to attend one of five public universities that call Toronto home. The OCAD, Ryerson, the Université de I’Ontario français, York University, and the University of Toronto.
How’s the Crime in Mississauga and Toronto?
Mississauga
People in Mississauga typically feel safe here as the crime rates are relatively low with a 41.61 crime index to be exact. The rates have been rising over the past three years, but the locals usually feel comfortable walking around day or night because they don’t feel threatened.
Toronto
When you compare the crime rates of Mississauga and Toronto you’re not going to see much difference. The locals here feel confident and relatively safe to move about their city as the crime index is 41.35, which is actually slightly lower than Mississauga.
Which City is Better? Mississauga vs Toronto
There’s really no wrong answer when determining which city is better: Mississauga vs Toronto. Just like our Vancouver vs Toronto post, it’s more of which city is the best fit for you. If you’re young, single, and enjoy being where all the action is, then Toronto may be the place for you. If you have a family and need space for your little ones to run, then Mississauga is probably a better fit. We hope this article has helped you compare the key elements surrounding these cities so you can determine which city is right for you.
