Annex: what the data says about living here

Crime and safety

Toronto Police recorded 685 major crimes in Annex in the most recent reporting year, down from 780 the year before — a change of -12.2%, which puts the neighbourhood's overall trend in the falling category. The rate works out to 17.8, compared with 13.2 across the city, so the level is above the city average and the neighbourhood ranks 137 when all areas are ordered from the lowest rate upward.

The categories counted here are assaults, break-ins, robberies, vehicle thefts and major thefts. Most of the volume comes from assaults, which account for 60.7% of the total. That mix matters: much of what is reported in a busy, pedestrian-heavy area is street-level and commercial, not residential.

Break-ins are the figure worth watching if you are moving into a house or a low-rise unit. Police logged 149 of them, a rate of 3.9 against 1.9 for Toronto as a whole. That is above the city average, and the year-over-year pattern is stable.

Housing stock

The census counts 16,325 occupied dwellings in Annex, and 54.5% of them sit in tall apartment buildings. Condominium tenure covers 34.4% of the stock, so a large share of what looks like rental towers from the street is in fact individually owned and leased out.

Renters hold 59.1% of households here, noticeably more than the citywide 48.1%. Alongside the towers, 39.7% of dwellings date from the older part of the building record — the Victorian and early post-war houses and walk-ups that give the streets behind the main avenues their character. Buyers looking at those properties should budget for the usual older-building questions: knob-and-tube wiring, basement moisture, roof and window age.

Parks and outdoor life

The City of Toronto's municipal parks inventory — city-owned land only, so ravines, campus grounds and private open space are not included — lists 24 parks in Annex, covering 3.8% of the neighbourhood's land against 12.5% citywide. Measured as park area per dwelling, the supply is below the city average, which is what you would expect where so many households are stacked vertically.

The largest single green space is Ramsden Park. For families, the practical count is 7 children's playgrounds and 4 outdoor sports fields and courts, plus 1 community centre for indoor programming through the winter. Most of the parks are small by area, so expect short walks to a bench and a play structure rather than long trail loops.

Rents in the Toronto region

CMHC publishes average rents for the Toronto census metropolitan area, not for individual neighbourhoods, so treat the following as regional context rather than a price list for Annex. In the 2025 survey, bachelor units averaged $1,491, smaller units $1,761, family-sized units $2,045 and the largest units $2,294.

Asking rents in a central, transit-rich neighbourhood with a condo share of 34.4% typically run above the regional average, since much of the supply is newer condo stock rented unit by unit. Use the CMHC figures as a floor for comparison, not a forecast.

Practical notes for newcomers

Because break-ins are above the city average, basic hardware pays for itself: deadbolts on ground-floor doors, secured patio and basement windows, lighting at side entrances, and a parcel arrangement if you are out during the day. In a building, ask the property manager how the entry system, garage door and locker room are monitored.

Tenant insurance is worth arranging before move-in day, given that 59.1% of households here rent and that contents coverage is the part a landlord's policy does not touch. Many buildings now ask for proof of it as a lease condition.

If you are buying, get the mortgage pre-approval done before you start viewing. With 34.4% of dwellings held as condominiums, you will also want the status certificate reviewed — reserve fund, upcoming special assessments, and any restrictions on renting the unit out.