Pulse

New report finds County residents are happy, but not particularly healthy

People like living in Prince Edward County—yet for over a decade and half the population has barely budged beyond the 25,000 folks who lived here in 1996. How can this be? How do we reconcile these two facts?

The answer to these and many other questions about what makes the County tick are contained in a new report called Vital Signs, released this week by the County Community Foundation.

Seventy per cent of County residents feel a sense of belonging to this community— five percentage points higher than the provincial average. Yet for many, the County is becoming too expensive a place to live. Household income is below the provincial average while home prices are higher than average. A scarcity of rental housing options compounds the problem for many. Of those able to find rental housing, 40 per cent spend more than 30 per cent of their income paying rent.

Worse still, there is very little in the way of affordable or subsidized housing in Prince Edward County. The result is that many County folks head north to the relative affordability of Hastings County. This may partly explain why the County’s population has remained flat since 1996 with a net gain of just 264 people.

And despite being more active than the provincial average—the County has much higher rates of obesity, more smokers and a shorter life expectancy.

These and many other findings about the County are contained in the Vital Signs report .

The report is billed as measure of the County—its strengths and challenges—presented in a clear and accessible manner. The data the Vital Signs team has gathered is meant to drive priorities for the Foundation, but is also made available to the community to inform individuals and other groups about the place they live and the opportunities to make improvements.

Vital Signs should give every County resident a richer more detailed picture of their community. It will likely shatter some preconceptions along the way.

Most residents understand the County is an older community—but did you know that a quarter of the population is 65 or older? That compares to just 14.6 per cent in Ontario.

While nearly 90 per cent of the County population are families— just 40 per cent have children living at home.

The County isn’t a particularly diverse place—92 per cent speak English and fewer than 2 per cent of the population is classed as a visible minority.

Nevertheless, this community features rich and varied cultural offerings that enjoy great popularity and resonance in the community. In fact more than 100,000 people attended an arts, music, theatre, literary or sports event last year.

Agriculture, once the predominant driver of the County economy, is now ranked 6th in terms of the numbers employed, behind retail and accommodation; health and social assistance; professional services; construction and manufacturing. The number of farms has declined by 8.3 per cent in since 2006. Farmed land has declined by 10 per cent. Currently just about a fifth of the County’s land is farmed.

The Vital Signs report also points to the lack of transit options for County residents made particularly acute by the extended geography and low population density. And given County residents’ dependence on personal transportation—Vital Signs authors note that outside of Picton there are just three gas stations in the County—a fact not lost on Wellington and Hillier residents.

Data from the County report will be compiled with national data gathered by more than 30 other Community Foundation Vital Signs reports. This information is made available to, and used by, policy makers, aid groups and philanthropic organizations across Canada. Together it helps paint a fuller picture of our communities—reinforcing some perceptions, while challenging others.

The County Community Foundation is committed to see Vital Signs become an annual checkup on Prince Edward County—a way to measure trends, progress, growth and decline. It will provide the statistical support for our efforts to make a better community.

The Vital Signs report is available at the County Community Foundation offices at 280 Main Street, Suite 103 in Picton, or at the Foundation’s website: countycommunityfoundation.ca.