One of my many passions has always been comparing demographics of cities. Whether it focuses on total population, immigration, ethnic diversity or languages, it is always fun to compare cities and their respective demographics. I have done this not only during my spare time, but also for urban studies, urban planning and even geography courses and programs overall over the past 5+ years. With this being my hobby and part of my many academic backgrounds, this post will see how Montreal stacks up to selected cities between the United States and Canada. This will be a very lengthy but informative post, so do enjoy!
Limitations
Comparing demographics between the United States and Canada poses some limitations. For starters, metropolitan areas are structured differently in the United States and are much larger than Canadian metropolitan areas. The United States measures metropolitan areas with two different metrics, they are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) and Combined Statistical Area (CSA’s). To be included in the MSA or CSA, adjacent counties must have 50,000+ in population, along with a high degree of economic linkage, primarily with commutes. If 15% of the population commutes from one county to the core principal city, they are included in the CSA. Canada on the other hand, states that to be included in a CMA, jurisdictions located on the fringes of a principal or core city must be 100,000, with half in the urban core and a high degree of commutes to the core city. Another limitation is how American cities have lower thresholds, mainly due to the “go big or go home” attitude, I.E, mega-cities.
The second limitation comes via the census. The 2016 Canadian census had a 3.3% undercount, which is absolutely huge. Hopefully for the 2021 census, the undercount will be much lower. SO when it comes to comparing populations in total, I will be using estimates by municipal or provincial organisations, as they tend to be more accurate. However, when it comes to comparing ethnic origins, languages or immigration, I will be using 2016 census numbers. For the U.S numbers, I will be using 2018 estimates, as they are relatively accurate as well. Overall, I will be using MSA’s and CMA’s, with exception to Toronto, which will be using the Golden Horseshoe rather than the CMA. Major cities like New York City and Los Angeles will also be included in this comparison.
Finally, the following cities that will be used and compared to Montreal are: New York City, L.A, Chicago, Miami, Philly, Toronto, Boston, Houston, and Washington D.C. Total of 10 cities, 8 in the U.S and 2 in Canada. It was originally 12 cities, but for saving time, I removed Vancouver and San Francisco. This will be a pretty lengthy post, but the information is interesting nonetheless. All data will be a mix of the Migration Policy Institute for the U.S and government statistic sites and Stats Canada for Canadian cities.
Population
- NYC MSA: 19,991,000 (2018)
- L.A MSA: 13,262,000 (2018)
- Chicago MSA: 9,536,000 (2018)
- Toronto ( Greater Golden Horseshoe): 9,245,438 (2016)
- Houston MSA: 6,779,000 (2018)
- Washington D.C MSA: 6,138,000 (2018)
- Miami MSA: 6,071,000 (2018)
- Philly MSA: 6,069,000 (2018)
- Boston MSA: 4,812,000 (201
- Montreal CMA: 4,318,505 (2019)
Ethnic Diversity
The next category will be ethnic diversity and it will be broken down into multiple categories. They are: total immigrant population, regions of origin and ethnic origin (immigrants + people born in the selected cities, respectively). I will be using MSA data for cities in the United States and CMA’s for Canadian cities. In respect to Toronto, I will be using the Toronto CMA rather than the Golden Horseshoe area, as demographics for this subject are not as accessible. I will also note that in respect to Canadian cities, as mentioned prior, there was a 3.3% undercount in the 2016 census.
Total immigrant Population (Using same data as previous topic, except for Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, which will be using Stats-Can 2016 census data)
- NYC: 5,762,000 (28.8% of population) (2018)
- LA: 4,412,000 (33.3% of the population) (2018)
- Toronto: 2,705,550 (46.1% of the CMA population) (2016)
- Miami: 2,450,000 (40.4% of the population) (2016)
- Chicago: 1,687,000 (17.17% of the population) (2018)
- Houston: 1,584,000 (23.4% of the population) (2018)
- Washington D.C: 1,396,000 (22.7% of the population) (2018)
- Montreal: 989,500 (23.4% of the population) (2016)
- Boston: 895,000 (18.6% of the population) (2018)
- Philly: 653,000 (10.8% of the population)
So in terms of absolute population of immigrants, Montreal ranks 8 out of the 10 selected cities. However, in terms of proportion of population, Montreal is more diverse than Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, D.C and is tied with Houston. Therefore, Montreal is tied with Houston for 5th, which is impressive considering it is the smallest metropolitan area in comparison to all cities selected.
Regions of Origin (immigrant population)
The categories will be broken down to total number of immigrants from respective regions, alongside share of total MSA population percentage wise. Immigrant population from Americas are the total population of North and South America.
NYC: Americas (2.9 million, 14.6%) Africa (265,000, 1.3%) Asia (1.68 million, 8.4%) Oceania (16,000, 0.1%) Europe (874,000, 4.4%)
L.A: Americas (2.4 million, 18.1%) Africa (75,000, 0.6%) Asia (1.69 million, 12.7%) Oceania (19,000, 0.1% Europe (224,000, 1.7%)
Toronto: Americas (409,865, 6.9%) Africa (152,755, 2.6%) Asia (1.51 million, 25.9%) Oceania (7,260, 0.1%) Europe (617,555 (10.5%)
Miami: Americas (2.16 million, 35.6%) Africa (22,000, 0.4%) Asia (129,000, 2.1%) Oceania (2,000, 0.1%) Europe (138,000, 2.6%)
Chicago: Americas (778,000, 8.2%) Africa (55,000, 0.6%) Asia (494,000, 5.2%) Oceania (3,000 0.0%) Europe (356,000, 3.7%)
Houston: Americas (1.01 million, 14.9%), Africa (90,000, 1.3%) Asia (408,000, 6%) Oceania (5,000, 0.1%) Europe (70,000, 1%)
Washington D.C: Americas (563,000, 9.2%) Africa (211,000, 3.4%) Asia (502,000, 8.2%) Oceania (4,000, 0.1%) Europe (116,000, 0.9%)
Montreal: Americas (210,770, 5.26%) Africa (204,635, 5.1%) Asia (264,995, 6.6%) Oceania (1,095, 0.02%) Europe (254,860, 6.36%)
Boston: Americas (367,000, 7.6%) Africa (79,000, 1.7%) Asia (287,000, 6%) Oceania (3,000, 0.1%) Europe (157,000, 3.3%)
Philly: Americas (205,000, 3.4%) Africa (62,000, 1%) Asia (269,000, 4.4%) Oceania (N/A), Europe (115,000, 1.9%).
Although Montreal is not ranked as high when it comes to overall immigration population, the data concludes that regionally, Montreal is the most balanced, with most regions outside of Oceania representing 5.1-6.6% of the overall population of the CMA. The least balanced metropolitan area goes to Miami, with 35.6% of immigrants coming from the Americas and 88% of immigrants come from the Americas (87% from Latin America), making Miami the least globally represented city on the list.
Ethnicity (Immigrants, Permanent Residents, Citizens) 15,000 and above cut off
**Limitations: Not all are listed with data sites, only selected groups**. All data will be used via Census Reporter for MSA`s (ACS 2019) and Stats Canada (2016 census). I have excluded Canadian origins from Canadian cities and American from American cities. For Canadian cities, Acadian, Québécois and First Nations (North American Indian) are all included as they are all distinct origins (and societies) in North America. On another note, the term “North American Indian” needs major overhaul in Stats Canada, as it is inappropriate. However, it will still be used for the purposes of this comparative analysis.
NYC: Puerto Rican (1,096,823) Italian (997,134) Dominican (842,307) Chinese (819,412) Asian Indian (689,507) Mexican (470,811) Irish (436,038) Jamaican (286,390) Polish (256,749) Ecuadorian (247,277) Filipino (234,354) Korean (217,774) Haitian (204,419) German (183,160) Salvadorian (181,174) Russian (166,500) Colombian (163,125) Guyanese (133,105) Guatemalan (114,762) Pakistani (99,858) Honduran (88,658) Bangladeshi (85,668) Peruvian (80,876) Greek (80,510) English (76,085) Ukrainian (70,312) Cuban (69,996) Trinidad and Tobagonian (68,754) Japanese (61,124) Egyptian (60,607) Portuguese (59,561) Spaniard (58,063) Hungarian (57,420) Brazilian (54,149) Nigerian (45,664) Albanian (44,424) Vietnamese (38,561) Ghanaian (35,340) Argentinian (32,933) British (30,436) French [except Basque] (27,202) Turkish (26,813) Scottish (26,112) Romanian (24,798) Panamanian (24,275) Venezuelan (23,174) Dutch (22,308) Barbadian (20,422)Taiwanese (20,126) Iranian (19,727) Arab (18,781) Armenian (17,985) Israeli (16,735) Chilean (16,600) Nicaraguan (16,592) Norwegian (15,528) Total: 56
L.A: Mexican (4,629,575) Chinese (642,829) Filipino (515,537) Salvadorian (456,302) Vietnamese (341,092) Japanese (331,496) Guatemalan (300,289) Japanese (196,005) Asian Indian (176,820) Armenian (164,686) German (127,136) Irish (113,410) English (111,306) Italian (109,393) Iranian (96,919) Honduran (67,694) Puerto Rican (53,242) Cambodian (48,428) Russian (48,415) Peruvian (46,369) Cuban (45,292) Taiwanese (42,477) Nicaraguan (39,818) Colombian (38,308) Thai (38,039) Polish (37,656) Spaniard (35,757) British (32,633) Argentinian (29,632) French [except Basque] (24,203) Spanish (23,791) Scottish (22,827) Dutch (21,517) Norwegian (20,385) Pakistani (19,851) Ecuadorian (19,284) Ukrainian (17,249) Swedish (16,651) Nigerian (16,056). Total: 39
Toronto: English (732,555) Chinese (700,705) East Indian (643,370) Irish (544,380) Scottish (543,760) Italian (484,365) Filipino (274,670) German (271,815) French (247,790) Polish (237,245) Portuguese (210,425) Jamaican (200,330) Ukrainian (144,330) Russian (139,910) Pakistani (122,950) Sri Lankan (114,400) Spanish (106,690) Greek (99,145) Dutch (98,890) Iranian (97,110) Vietnamese (73,740) Korean (73,385) Hungarian (59,720) Jewish (59,195) Guyanese (57,985) First Nations [North American Indian] (56,655) Welsh (56,210) Romanian (50,515) American (49,455) Punjabi (47,760) Trinidadian/Tobagonian (44,300) Afghan (41,735) Tamil (40,115) Croatian (37,460) Egyptian (36,340) Serbian (33,055) Lebanese (29,750) Iraqi (29,045) Macedonian (28,315) Japanese (28,045) Somali (25,550) Colombian (24,875) Bangladeshi (23,400) Arab [not specified] (23,205) Turk (23,085) Armenian (21,710) Ghanaian (20,465) Mexican (19,785) Lithuanian (19,520) Maltese (19,440) Nigerian (19,330) Swedish (18,590) Barbadian (18,395) Ecuadorian (17,930) Métis (17,860) Albanian (17,685) Czech (16,630) Norwegian (16,390) Finnish (16,385) Syrian (16,150) Ethiopian (15,990) Palestinian (15,555) Danish (15,455) Salvadorian (15,130) Total: 64
Miami: Cuban (1,182,861) Haitian (332,858) Colombian (260,312) Puerto Rican (245,694) Venezuelan (170,507) Mexican (160,488) Italian (141,730) Jamaican (140,495) Nicaraguan (133,786) Honduran (105,139) Peruvian (79,211) Guatemalan (76,665) German (62,305) Irish (62,170) Asian Indian (56,087) Argentinian (49,562) Ecuadorian (48,497) Chinese (47,554) Salvadorian (46,740) Brazilian (41,464) English (39,484) Polish (38,560) Russian (37,704) Spaniard (28,568) Filipino (24,473) French [except Basque] (17,850) Vietnamese (17,122) Chilean (16,692) Panamanian (15,400) Total: 29
Chicago: Mexican (1,647,892) Polish (329,085) Asian Indian (234,778) Irish (232,402) Puerto Rican (215,330) Italian (181,765) Filipino (143,348) Chinese (131,441) English (65,930) Korean (62,466) Guatemalan (44,349) Greek (43,694) Pakistani (39,005) Russian (37,351) Ecuadorian (33,161) Vietnamese (32,723) Ukrainian (31,933) Japanese (30,360) Swedish (29,358) Dutch (28,581) Norwegian (23,520) Lithuanian (23,501) Colombian (21,739) Salvadorian (21,355) Cuban (20,426) Romanian (20,358) Scottish (19,328) Spaniard (18,470) Serbian (18,160) Czech (17,534) Nigerian (16,079) Palestinian (15,803) Total: 32
Houston: Mexican (1,938,565) Salvadorian (216,882) Asian Indian (153,441) Vietnamese (141,109) German (139,544) Honduran (121,620) Chinese (107,927) English (104,323) Irish (82,538) Filipino (64,484) Guatemalan (56,448) Nigerian (52,971) Puerto Rican (48,473) Venezuelan (47,563) Colombian (45,388) Italian (41,837) Pakistani (41,825) Cuban (39,872) French [except Basque] (31,812) Polish (27,610) Scottish (26,078) Korean (21,382) Scottish-Irish (21,112) British (19,521) Spaniard (17,111). Total: 25
Washington D.C: Salvadorian (328,477) Asian Indian (185,735) Chinese (132,314) German (116,999) Mexican (144,158) Irish (110,541) English (101,545) Korean (97,622) Guatemalan (97,022) Filipino (91,906) Vietnamese (75,918) Puerto Rican (73,022) Italian (65,108) Ethiopian (60,447) Honduran (58,733) Peruvian (56,415) Bolivian (47,076) Pakistani (38,742) Colombian (30,086) Dominican (32,002) Polish (29,415) Jamaican (27,628) Afghan (26,562) Japanese (26,194) Nigerian (25,573) British (23,609) Iranian (19,987) Scottish (19,582) Ghanaian (19,112) Russian (19,025) Scottish-Irish (16,802) Nicaraguan (16,001) Spaniard (15,743) French [except Basque] (15,584) Total: 34
Montreal: French (870,245) Italian (279,800) Irish (239,460) English (138,320) Haitian (132,255) Scottish (124,130) Chinese (108,775) First Nations [North American Indian] (101,915), Québécois (92,115) German (86,025) Moroccan (77,450) Lebanese (68,765) Spanish (68,600) Greek (66,395) Polish (64,895) Portuguese (56,405) Algerian (54,635) Russian (49,275) East Indian (48,485) Romanian (47,980) Arab [not specified] (39,245) Vietnamese (38,660) Filipino (35,685) Ukrainian (35,050) Belgian (31,840) Berber (29,950) American (27,335) Egyptian (27,160) Armenian (26,100) Syrian (24,690) Hungarian (24,505) Jewish (23,675) Iranian (23,410) Colombian (22,910) Mexican (21,130) Tunisian (17,645) Peruvian (17,430) Salvadorian (17,300) Dutch (15,975) Métis (15,920) Acadian (15,285) Total: 41
Boston: Irish (329,533) Italian (185,795) Chinese (164,171) Puerto Rican (143,524) Dominican (137,832) Asian Indian (98,904) English (94,744) Haitian (66,073) Brazilian (54,920) French Canadian (52,346) Salvadorian (52,014) Guatemalan (48,038) German (44,721) Vietnamese (44,222) French [except Basque] (41,466) Portuguese (39,681) Mexican (35,736) Polish (33,603) Cape Verdean (32,663) Colombian (31,947) Greek (30,023) Korean (28,389) Cambodian (27,795) Russian (25,767) Scottish (20,178) Filipino (19,882) Honduran (17,560) Jamaican (17,538) British (16,539) Japanese (15,387) Total: 30
Philadelphia: Puerto Rican (288,811) Irish (256,643) Italian (243,649) German (172,104) Asian Indian (134,748) Mexican (116,396) Chinese (97,162) Polish (78,980) English (77,939) Dominican (57,636) Korean (39,076) Filipino (38,954) Korean (37,906) Russian (28,782) Jamaican (22,667) Ukrainian (20,967) Scottish (17,549) Haitian (17,264) Colombian (16,266) Guatemalan (15,324) Total: 20
Analysis: So how does Montreal stack up compared to other cities when it comes to ethnic origins of groups over 15,000? Very well actually. In fact, it out performs every city on the list except for Toronto and NYC. Using data that includes immigrants, citizens and permanent residents (in my opinion, alongside others) is a better metric of measuring diversity since it is more inclusive and it only makes sense to include citizens (all generations) and permanent residents. Montreal also has about 7 or 8 groups that are close to reaching the 15,000 threshold, so there is a good chance that Montreal will be close to 50 groups by the 2021 census. Of course, the data for both countries is far from perfect, as regions are lumped together or are vague, however, this is still a good metric to compare.
I also wanted to include groups over 15,000 for immigrants only, race and language, but that will be in a future update, since this is long enough. So how does Montreal stack up to selected cities demographically?
Metropolitan area: 10/10
Immigrant population by absolute number: 8/10. Immigrant population (percentage of metro pop.): 5/10 tie with Houston.
Origin of Immigrants (most regionally balanced): 1/10
Ethnic Origin groups over 15,000 people: 3/10
Conclusion: Montreal punches above its weight when it comes to demographics. Although it is the smallest city when it comes to metropolitan population, it is highly diverse proportionally, has the most balanced global representation amongst immigrant groups, and has more ethnic origin groups over 15,000 people than all cities outside Toronto and NYC. Considering the numbers used were also from 2016 and had a huge undercount (compared to U.S, which used 2019 estimates) Montreal will drastically change come the 2021 census (baring another 3.3% undercount).
Image used: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2018/11/28/readership-survey-demographic-analysis/
Sources Used:
United States
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/us-immigrant-population-metropolitan-area
Canada
https://www.statista.com/statistics/443749/canada-population-by-metropolitan-area/
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