At a glance
The ByWard Market district: cobblestone streets, restaurants, bars and a daily food market surrounded by condos and older apartments. It is the most central place to live in Ottawa, with the Rideau Centre, Parliament Hill and the canal all within a few blocks.
- Median home value
- $533K 2021 census, owner estimate · city $620K
- Residents
- 6,650 scaled estimate for mid-2025, up from 5,947 at the 2021 census
- Households renting
- 70% city 36%
- Households in condos
- 36% city 16%
What the numbers mean
- Owners valued the median home at $533K in the 2021 census, 14% below the Ottawa median of $620K. Prices have moved since, so treat it as a relative guide.
- 70% of households rent, well above the 36% city-wide, so expect a younger, more mobile mix of neighbours.
- Only 7% of residents are under 15, versus 17% city-wide.
- 23% of residents are 20 to 29, versus 14% city-wide. It skews young-professional.
- 36% of households live in condominiums (16% city-wide), so buying here usually means a condo.
- The median monthly rent is about $1,302, and about 30% of households spent 30% or more of their income on housing in 2021.
Who lives here
Share of residents by age, scaled estimate for mid-2025, up from 5,947 at the 2021 census.
Homes
Share of households by type, scaled estimate for mid-2025, up from 5,947 at the 2021 census.
Daily errands on foot1
Places within the neighbourhood or a 5-minute walk of its edge, compared with the typical neighbourhood in Ottawa.
- Supermarkets
- 3 city median 2
- Cafés and bakeries
- 53 city median 9
- Pharmacies and clinics
- 18 city median 10
- Playgrounds and dog parks
- 10 city median 34
Upfront closing costs2
Ontario charges a tiered land transfer tax, up to 2.5% on the part of a home over $2 million. Government fees at the median home price: This uses the 2021 census home-value estimate, and today's prices are higher, so the real bill will be larger.
- Ontario land transfer tax
- $7,140 on $533K
Typical apartment rent nearby3
Lowertown West sits in CMHC's Sandy Hill/Lowertown survey zone. October 2025 average rent of purpose-built rental apartments in that zone:
- Studio
- $1,374 +$42 vs metro average
- 1 bedroom
- $1,705 +$112 vs metro average
- 2 bedroom
- $2,119 +$203 vs metro average
- 3 bedroom or more
- $2,836 +$746 vs metro average
How it's changing
Ottawa doesn't publish building permits by neighbourhood, so we can't chart construction here yet.
Safety4
Reported incidents in 2025 (the latest full year Ottawa Police publish by location), per 1,000 residents, compared with the median of 105 Ottawa neighbourhoods.
- Reported crime
- 117.7 per 1,000 · above the 7.9 median
- Violent crime
- 99.4 per 1,000 · median 5.1
- Property crime
- 18.3 per 1,000 · median 2.8
- Reported crime runs about 14.9× the median Ottawa neighbourhood: 117.7 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, versus 7.9.
- The most common reported crime is assault, 67% of the total. 16% of incidents are property crime.
- Crime has been roughly flat since 2021, at about 662 reported incidents a year.
- Busy main streets, transit and nightlife bring in visitors, and incidents are counted where they happen, not where people live.
Crime per 1,000 residents
What gets reported
Top crime types in the rate, same period.
Other reported incidents
Counted by police but left out of the rate, same period.
- Theft under $5,000 (incl. shoplifting)
- 2,009
- Mischief and vandalism
- 182
- Theft over $5,000
- 19