Cities / Toronto

Tower district · North York, Toronto

Willowdale West

Towers and apartments near North York Centre, with older bungalow streets

  • Renters
  • Newcomers
  • Transit commuters
Map of Willowdale West and the neighbouring areas around it DownsviewAvondaleWillowdale EastNorth York CentreDon MillsBridle Path-Sunnybrook-York MillsSt. Andrew-WindfieldsBedford Park & NortownLansing-WestgateNewtonbrook WestWestminster-BransonBathurst ManorClanton ParkYork University HeightsBayview VillageNewtonbrook EastBayview Woods-SteelesWillowdale WestBathurst ManorLansing-WestgateNewtonbrook WestWestminster-BransonNewtonbrook EastWillowdale EastAvondale2 km
Willowdale West in context. Neighbouring areas link to their guides. Boundaries: Toronto Police Service.

At a glance

A North York neighbourhood with many apartment buildings, and some detached homes on its quieter streets. Owners are the majority, but apartments are common.

Median home value (est.)
$803K*
* est.: 2021 census, indexed to September 2026 · city $803K
Residents
21,206
Toronto Police estimate for 2025, up from 17,160 at the 2021 census
Households renting
40%
city 48%
Homes that are apartments
65%
city 61%

What the numbers mean

  • Owners valued the median home at $900K in the 2021 census. Indexed to September 2026 prices with the Greater Toronto MLS® Home Price Index (-11% since then), that is about $803K, close to the Toronto median of $803K. It is an estimate: the index tracks the whole region, not this neighbourhood.
  • 40% of households rent, below the 48% city-wide.
  • Tenants here paid a median of $1,800 a month in shelter costs (rent plus utilities and fees) in the 2021 census, 24% above the $1,450 median across Toronto's 158 neighbourhoods. That figure covers all tenants, including long-term ones, so a new lease will cost more.

Who lives here

Share of residents by age, Toronto Police estimate for 2025, up from 17,160 at the 2021 census.

0-1410%
15-194%
20-247%
25-3421%
35-4414%
45-5412%
55-6412%
65+20%

Homes

Share of homes by type, Toronto Police estimate for 2025, up from 17,160 at the 2021 census.

Single-detached26%
Semi-detached2%
Row house3%
Duplex flat4%
Apartment under 5 storeys2%
Apartment 5+ storeys63%

Upfront closing costs1

Toronto buyers pay land transfer tax twice, once to Ontario and once to the City, so the bill is about double Ontario's alone. Government fees at the median home price: This uses the census home value indexed to September 2026 prices, so treat it as an estimate.

Ontario land transfer tax
$12,540
on $803K
Toronto municipal land transfer tax
$12,540
on $803K
Total
$25,070
3.1% of the price

Household income and housing costs2

What households here earn and how much of it housing takes, 2021 Census.

Median household income
$76,500
2020, before tax
Spend 30%+ on housing
41%
of owner and tenant households
Owners' monthly cost
$1,800
median shelter cost
Tenants' monthly cost
$1,800
median shelter cost

Typical apartment rent nearby3

Willowdale West sits in CMHC's North York (N.Central) survey zone. October 2025 average rent of purpose-built rental apartments in that zone:

Studio
$1,471
−$20 vs metro average
1 bedroom
$1,771
+$10 vs metro average
2 bedroom
$2,039
−$6 vs metro average
3 bedroom or more
$2,324
+$30 vs metro average

How it's changing

Toronto doesn't publish building permits by neighbourhood, so we can't chart construction here yet.

Safety4

Reported incidents in 2025 (the latest full year Toronto Police publish by neighbourhood), per 1,000 residents, compared with the median of 158 Toronto neighbourhoods.

Reported crime
9.5
per 1,000 · below the 12.5 median
Violent crime
6.1
per 1,000 · median 7.1
Property crime
3.3
per 1,000 · median 5.5
  • Reported crime runs about 24% below the median Toronto neighbourhood: 9.5 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, versus 12.5.
  • The most common reported crime is assault, 59% of the total. 35% of incidents are property crime.
  • Crime has fallen since 2020: 201 reported incidents in 2025 versus 245 in 2020.

What gets reported

Top crime types in the rate, same period.

Assault59%
Theft from vehicles15%
Break and enter11%
Vehicle theft9%
Robbery5%

Other reported incidents

Counted by police but left out of the rate, same period.

Bicycle theft
15
Theft over $5,000
8
Shootings and firearm discharges
0

Reported crime by year

Sources and notes

  1. Source: Government of Ontario, Calculating Land Transfer Tax; City of Toronto, MLTT rates; City of Toronto MLTT rates and fees. 2026 rules, applied to this community's median census home value, indexed to September 2026 with the MLS® HPI. First-time buyer refunds (up to $4,000 provincial and $4,475 municipal) are not deducted. Toronto adds higher rates on the part of a price above $3 million from April 1, 2026. Legal fees, title insurance, inspection and adjustments are extra. ↩
  2. Source: City of Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles, 2021 Census (158-neighbourhood model). Income is median total household income in 2020 (before tax). The share spending 30% or more of income on shelter combines owner and tenant households; 30% is the standard affordability line. Shelter costs for owners include mortgage payments, property tax and utilities; for tenants, rent and utilities. 2021 Census, a 25% sample, so small neighbourhoods carry some error. ↩
  3. Source: CMHC Rental Market Survey, Housing Market Information Portal. These are zone averages across all units in apartment buildings of three or more units, not a figure for Willowdale West alone, and they are not asking rents. Houses, basement suites and condos rented out by owners are not included. Zones are large, so neighbouring communities can share one figure. ↩
  4. Source: Toronto Police Service, Neighbourhood Crime Rates open data (2020 to 2025). Rates use Toronto Police 2025 population estimates. Incidents are counted where they occur. Police services count crime differently, so compare with the local median rather than across cities. How we calculate this. ↩