Planning for Growth

The Regional Municipality of Durham is one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

Our population increased by more than six per cent between 2011 and 2016. At the end of 2016, there were about 673,000 people living in the region. Our population is expected to grow to 1.3 million by 2051.

With proper planning, growth improves our quality of life.

Growth management

Directing more growth to our built-up areas means:

Different types of housing availability - click here to view housing forms by density type.
Appealing public spaces and walkable communities.
Communities accessible by transit.
Better protection for our natural systems.

Planning benefits

There are many benefits to planning for growth in Durham:

Jobs
Local services
Public facilities
Housing options

These benefits of planning improve the quality of people of all ages.

Planning means that we can:

Plan for healthy and complete communities.
Protect farmland and green spaces.
Reduce traffic jams.
Refresh downtowns.
Support long-term economic growth.

Monitoring

The Planning Division monitors population and household data.

Growth trends

The 2022 Commissioner's Report 97 has semi-annual population and household estimates. It also has short-term population and household estimates.

The 2022 Commissioner's Report 53 details semi-annual population and household estimates.

Development activity

The Planning division provides a yearly update on subdivision and condominium activity.

Annual subdivision/condominium activity

Report 2023-INFO-37 focuses on applications that have reached major goals in 2022.
Report 2022-INFO-58 focuses on applications that have reached major goals in 2021.
Report 2021-INFO-33 focuses on applications that have reached major goals in 2020.
Report 2020-INFO-68 focuses on applications that have reached major goals in 2019.
Report 2019-P-17 focuses on applications that have reached major goals in 2018.
Report 2018-INFO-60 focuses on applications that have reached major goals in 2017.
Report 2017-INFO-51 focuses on applications that have reached major goals in 2016.

Building activity

Building activity shows us:

Housing activity.
Employment activity.
Investment.
Economic performance.

The 2022 Annual Building Activity Review summarizes the key results of the 2022 Annual Building Activity Review. The appendix includes background data and analysis used to formulate the report.

Statistics

The Census of Population is our main source of demographic data. Statistics Canada conducts the census every five years.

Census data

The 2022 Commissioner's Report 31 recaps the 2021 Census of Population first release on population and dwelling counts.
The 2022 Commissioner's Report 77 recaps the 2021 Census of Population second release on age, sex at birth, gender and dwelling type.
The 2022 Commissioner's Report 79 recaps the 2021 Census of Population third release on families, households, marital status and income.
The 2022 Commissioner's Report 80 recaps the 2021 Census of Population fourth release on language.
The 2022 Commissioner's Report 98 recaps the 2021 Census of Population fifth release on Indigenous peoples and the housing portrait.
The 2022 Commissioner's Report 102 recaps the 2021 Census of Population sixth release on citizenship, immigration, ethnocultural characteristics, religion, mobility, and migration.
The 2023 Commissioner's Report 4 recaps the 2021 Census of Population seventh release on education and employment.

Durham Region profile

The Durham Region profile is a complete set of demographic and socio-economic data.

The 2020 Commissioner's Report 44 summarizes highlights from the Durham Region profile.
Our Infographic is a visual summary of the information from the profile.
Our Technical Report is a complete, detailed report with more than 100 tables of data.
Our Online Portal is an interactive tool that provides an overview of the Durham Region Profile data using various maps, graphics, and tables.

Employment, business and land inventory

Every year, we count the number of businesses and employees in Durham Region.

Business count

Durham Region Business Count Highlights 2022 includes basic information about businesses such as:

Type and nature of business.
Number of employees.
Floor space.

Employment lands inventory

We keep track of the supply of employment lands (2018):

The results of the previous Employment Lands Inventory are also available:

Employment areas - Region of Durham (2014)