Apartments for Rent in Kitchener, ON

Renter's guide to Kitchener, ON

Located in southern Canada, Kitchener is a large city in the province of Ontario. Together with the nearby cities of Waterloo to the north and Cambridge to the south, it forms the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.

As part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Kitchener and its neighbouring cities were named the fastest-growing tech talent markets in Canada in CBRE’s 2017 Scoring Canadian Tech Talent. The city is part of the region’s booming startup and tech scene and is home to numerous tech companies.

Kitchener is the fourth-largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Ontario, and the tenth-largest CMA in Canada. The city has less than 10 percent of the population of Toronto, ON and there are about twice as many people here as there are in nearby Cambridge. Kitchener is located 66.5 miles from Toronto and can be found 336 miles from Ottawa.

Much like other cities in the region, Kitchener’s climate is humid continental, with warm, humid summers and cold winters each year. In the summer, the weather in Kitchener includes temperatures that average about 79ºF, though some days can get above 86ºF. Winter temperatures in the city are around 20ºF, with temperature extremes as low as -29ºF. Kitchener sees an average of about 36.5 inches of rain each year, mostly in the spring, summer, and autumn months. There is quite a bit of snow and ice in the winter months, with about 63 inches per year. Flooding is sometimes a concern for the city, particularly in the spring.

Tips for renting in Kitchener, ON

Things to do in Kitchener, ON

THEMUSEUM is just one of the many fun things to do in Kitchener. The space provides an interesting mix of science, technology, culture, and art with a number of permanent exhibits, as well as a constantly changing group of temporary exhibits.

The Doon Heritage Village, Bingemans Big Splash, the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum, Grand River Rocks, and Bingemans FunworX are some of the best Kitchener attractions for kids. The city also has plenty of playgrounds where kids can get active outdoors.

Some of the best places to shop in Kitchener include Belmont Village, Fairview Park Mall, Sunrise Shopping Centre, and the Conestoga Mall in nearby Waterloo.

The city has many great restaurants to choose from, and some of the best restaurants in Kitchener include Charcoal Steak House, 271 West Restaurant, Borealis Grille & Bar, Rainbow Caribbean Cuisine, and Lancaster Smokehouse. Fare ranges from affordable comfort food to global flavours like Indian, Japanese, Mexican, and Thai.

Kitchener, ON employment & economy

Kitchener’s economy has traditionally been rooted in manufacturing, with about one-fifth of the population employed in the industry. Four business parks are home to many manufacturing and distribution companies, and these parks include the Bridgeport Business Park, Grand River West Business Park, Huron Business Park, and Lancaster Corporate Centre.

The city’s economy has become more diversified recently, with the digital media and technology, health science, and finance and insurance industries becoming increasingly present here. Digital media and tech companies that have offices in Kitchener include Desire2Learn, Communitech, and Google Inc. (for the development of the Gmail application).

The city has been working to redevelop its downtown area, making improvements to encourage businesses to move into the area. Kitchener’s unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, which is slightly lower than the national rate of 5.8 percent.

Education in Kitchener, ON

Some of the Fraser Institute’s highest-ranked Kitchener elementary schools include MAC Maple Grove, Lackner Woods, Our Lady of Grace, Blessed Kateri, and Williamsburg. The highest-ranked secondary schools in Kitchener are Resurrection, Cameron Heights, Huron Heights, Kitchener Waterloo, and Grand River. The Waterloo Region District School Board operates public schools in the city, and there are also several private elementary and secondary schools here.

Kitchener’s top colleges and universities include the University of Waterloo (School of Pharmacy, Centre for Family Medicine, Health Sciences Campus), McMaster University (School of Medicine), Conestoga College (one of Ontario’s top non-university educational institutions and one of Canada’s seven polytechnical institutes), and Emmanuel Bible College.