Where to open a business in Toronto
Toronto has 21,051 businesses mapped on OpenStreetMap, out of 159,789 registered companies. Per-company turnover is not published in this country: the analysis uses official population figures, household spending (Eurostat) and real business density instead.
The city's 25 zones differ sharply in population, average spend and real competition: the table below compares them one by one; the category pages below break down each business type.
Explore Toronto on the interactive map →The zones of Toronto
| Zone | Residents | Spend/resident/year | Businesses in the zone (equivalent radius) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaches-East York | 108,500 | €24,700 | 816 |
| Davenport | 104,730 | €24,700 | 1,088 |
| Don Valley East | 94,335 | €24,700 | 389 |
| Don Valley North | 112,590 | €24,700 | 380 |
| Don Valley West | 101,025 | €24,700 | 931 |
| Eglinton-Lawrence | 114,820 | €24,700 | 1,096 |
| Etobicoke Centre | 117,200 | €24,700 | 526 |
| Etobicoke North | 115,120 | €24,700 | 878 |
| Etobicoke-Lakeshore | 139,920 | €24,700 | 1,638 |
| Humber River-Black Creek | 111,200 | €24,700 | 454 |
| Parkdale-High Park | 104,715 | €24,700 | 932 |
| Scarborough Centre | 111,560 | €24,700 | 649 |
| Scarborough North | 94,025 | €24,700 | 338 |
| Scarborough Southwest | 110,095 | €24,700 | 389 |
| Scarborough-Agincourt | 103,690 | €24,700 | 370 |
| Scarborough-Guildwood | 102,755 | €24,700 | 427 |
| Scarborough-Rouge Park | 101,485 | €24,700 | 306 |
| Spadina-Fort York | 135,400 | €24,700 | 2,839 |
| Toronto Centre | 116,930 | €24,700 | 1,504 |
| Toronto-Danforth | 104,555 | €24,700 | 1,415 |
| Toronto-St. Paul's | 114,095 | €24,700 | 805 |
| University-Rosedale | 102,385 | €24,700 | 2,572 |
| Willowdale | 117,130 | €24,700 | 685 |
| York Centre | 107,355 | €24,700 | 686 |
| York South-Weston | 115,675 | €24,700 | 633 |
How these numbers are calculated
The zone breakdown uses the same model as the rest of Locifra: E = N x s (residents times average annual spend per resident, from Eurostat/official household-spending statistics) is the zone's spending potential; D = E x fi is the category's share of it. Category businesses within the zone's equivalent radius (r = square root of area/pi, between 0.9 and 6 km from the centre -- no longer a fixed 900 m circle, so a large or sparsely built zone doesn't look falsely empty) give n; sigma = N / n is residents per business, compared against a market threshold for the deficit index delta (if the zone has 20,000+ residents and n is still 0 even with this wider radius, no index is computed: it shows “—”, because a zero that large is usually an OpenStreetMap coverage gap, not a genuine absence of demand). Per-company turnover is not published in this country: there is no open register of individual companies' revenue, so Locifra shows no turnover column at all for this country — that is not a small sample by chance, it is a real limit of the official data that exists.
Model limits (v0). Model v0: a single average-spend value per zone (based on official statistics, not yet income-adjusted), a radius equivalent to the zone's area (r = square root of area/pi, between 0.9 and 6 km from the centre; neighbouring zones can overlap). If a zone has 20,000+ residents and the count of businesses in this category is still 0 at that radius, no deficit index is computed: it shows “—” instead of a number. No correction for non-residents (tourists, commuters). Scope: local retail and proximity services (B2C) only, not B2B or e-commerce. Per-company turnover is not published in this country: Locifra shows no turnover column at all for this country — not because the sample happens to be small, but because the official data does not exist at company level.
Frequently asked questions
How many businesses are mapped in Toronto?
OpenStreetMap lists 21,051 local businesses in Toronto (as of 2026-09-14).
Is per-company turnover published for Toronto?
No: this country does not publish individual companies' turnover. Locifra estimates demand from official population figures and Eurostat household-spending statistics, cross-checked against real business density.
Which category has the most opportunity in Toronto?
Among the main categories, clothing store shows the highest average deficit index across the city's zones: higher means less competition relative to resident demand, not a guaranteed gap.