Vancouver neighbourhood scores
Living in Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Vancouver
Kensington-Cedar Cottage grades B overall (74/100), #4 of 22 residential areas in and around Vancouver. Its strongest categories are schools, flood risk and shops & food; its weakest are road safety and quiet streets.
Kensington-Cedar Cottage has about 9,803 home addresses across 7.2 km². Out of 22 residential areas, Kensington-Cedar Cottage ranks #9 for families, #3 for seniors and #13 for commuters. It grades A for schools, parks, childcare, shops & food, transit, health care, flood risk.
Explore Kensington-Cedar Cottage on the mapGrades by category
| Category | Grade | What we measured |
|---|---|---|
| Crime | B (69) | Police-reported incidents per 1,000 residents per year: violent crime, break-ins, thefts and mischief (collisions are in Road safety) |
| Schools | A (100) | Homes within 1 km of a public elementary school and 2 km of a public middle/secondary school |
| Kids at home | C (61) | Share of households that are families with children at home (2021 Census). Used in the Families score only |
| Road safety | E (9) | ICBC-reported crashes per km² per year, 2021–2025 |
| Parks | A (93) | Homes within 400 m of a park, plus 500 m of a playground |
| Childcare | A (84) | Homes within 800 m of a licensed group centre or preschool, and 1 km of care for under-3s (home daycares alone don’t count) |
| Quiet streets | E (21) | How close homes are to traffic: right beside a highway counts most, fading out by 300 m; arterial roads fade out by 150 m and collector roads by 100 m (OpenStreetMap road types) |
| Shops & food | A (99) | Homes within 1 km of a grocery store or pharmacy, and 800 m of a café or restaurant |
| Transit | A (99) | Homes within 400 m of a bus stop, and of a stop with 40+ weekday departures |
| Health care | A (99) | Homes within 1.5 km of a walk-in clinic or hospital, and 1 km of a pharmacy |
| Commute time | C (51) | Workers with a commute under 15 minutes, less a penalty for commutes of an hour or more (2021 Census) |
| Highway access | C (60) | Average straight-line distance from homes to the nearest Highway 1 or 99 interchange |
| Flood risk | A (100) | Share of homes outside the City's designated floodplain |
Who lives here
About 51,405 people live in Kensington-Cedar Cottage (2021 Census), with a median age of 39.6 (city: 41.1). 55.1% of households own their home and 44.9% rent. 33.4% of households are families with children at home, 13.2% of residents are under 15 and 15.8% are 65 or older. 18% of homes are houses and 33% are apartments.
Schools
100% of homes are within 1 km of a public elementary school, and 100% are within 2 km of a public middle or secondary school. Across Vancouver School Board (School District 39), 93.4% of students graduate within six years of starting Grade 8 (BC: 92.5%, 2024/2025); the Province doesn't publish this for single schools.
| School | Beats % of BC schools | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Gladstone Secondary secondary | 48 | 69% proficient in graduation literacy (BC 75%); 48% in graduation numeracy (BC 47%) |
| Lord Selkirk Elementary elementary | 52 | FSA reading beats 54% of BC schools; FSA math beats 50% |
| Queen Alexandra Elementary elementary | 42 | FSA reading beats 33% of BC schools; FSA math beats 51% |
| Sir Richard McBride Elementary elementary | 69 | FSA reading beats 77% of BC schools; FSA math beats 61% |
| Laura Secord Elementary elementary | 74 | FSA reading beats 77% of BC schools; FSA math beats 71% |
| Charles Dickens Elementary elementary | 74 | FSA reading beats 78% of BC schools; FSA math beats 69% |
| Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary elementary | 56 | FSA reading beats 54% of BC schools; FSA math beats 57% |
| Tecumseh Annex elementary | – | Too few students to publish |
| Sir Richard McBride Annex elementary | – | Too few students to publish |
| Lord Selkirk Annex elementary | 10 | FSA reading beats 17% of BC schools; FSA math beats 3% |
| Tyee Elementary elementary | 87 | FSA reading beats 90% of BC schools; FSA math beats 83% |
| Charles Dickens Annex elementary | – | Too few students to publish |
| St Joseph's independent elementary | 87 | FSA reading beats 89% of BC schools; FSA math beats 85% |
| Stratford Hall independent elementary | 95 | FSA reading beats 96% of BC schools; FSA math beats 96%; 97% proficient in graduation literacy (BC 75%); 88% in graduation numeracy (BC 47%) |
Provincial test results (FSA 2023/2024–2025/2026, graduation assessments 2022/2023–2024/2025) compared with every BC school. They don't count toward any grade, because scores follow family income closely. How we work these out.
Parks
12 city parks covering 49.1 hectares. 90.7% of homes are within a five-minute walk (400 m) of a park.
Transit
120 bus stops with 12,498 weekday departures on routes 007, 008, 009, 019, 020, 022, 025, 033, 041, N19, 099, N9, N20, N8, R4. 99.1% of homes are within 400 m of a stop.
Flood risk
0% of homes sit in the City's designated floodplain, according to the City of Vancouver floodplain map.
Road safety
ICBC recorded 8,944 crashes inside Kensington-Cedar Cottage from 2021 to 2025, 2,992 of them with injuries or deaths.
Crime
The Vancouver Police Department recorded 7,210 incidents in Kensington-Cedar Cottage from 2021–2025, about 28.1 per 1,000 residents a year (2.8 of them violent). Crime grades B. The VPD cautions people not to rely on its data to judge the safety of a specific location or area.
Common questions about Kensington-Cedar Cottage
Is Kensington-Cedar Cottage a good place to live?
Kensington-Cedar Cottage grades B overall (74/100), #4 of 22 residential areas in and around Vancouver. Its strongest categories are schools, flood risk and shops & food; its weakest are road safety and quiet streets. For families it ranks #9, for seniors #3 and for commuters #13. Grades come from public data only, never from reviews or opinion.
How much crime is there in Kensington-Cedar Cottage?
The Vancouver Police Department recorded about 28.1 incidents per 1,000 residents a year in Kensington-Cedar Cottage from 2021–2025, 2.8 of them violent. Crime grades B.
Is Kensington-Cedar Cottage in a flood zone?
0% of homes in Kensington-Cedar Cottage are in the City of Vancouver floodplain map, so it grades A for flood risk.
What schools are in Kensington-Cedar Cottage?
Public schools inside the boundary: Gladstone Secondary, Lord Selkirk Elementary, Queen Alexandra Elementary, Sir Richard McBride Elementary, Laura Secord Elementary, Charles Dickens Elementary, Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary, Tecumseh Annex, Sir Richard McBride Annex, Lord Selkirk Annex, Tyee Elementary, Charles Dickens Annex, St Joseph's, Stratford Hall. 100% of homes are within 1 km of an elementary school. Check catchments with Vancouver School Board (School District 39).
Are the schools in Kensington-Cedar Cottage good?
On provincial tests, Stratford Hall beats 95% of BC schools, Tyee Elementary beats 87% of BC schools, St Joseph's beats 87% of BC schools, Laura Secord Elementary beats 74% of BC schools, Charles Dickens Elementary beats 74% of BC schools, Sir Richard McBride Elementary beats 69% of BC schools, Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary beats 56% of BC schools, Lord Selkirk Elementary beats 52% of BC schools, Gladstone Secondary beats 48% of BC schools, Queen Alexandra Elementary beats 42% of BC schools and Lord Selkirk Annex beats 10% of BC schools (FSA 2023/2024–2025/2026, graduation assessments 2022/2023–2024/2025). SD39 graduates 93.4% of students within six years (BC 92.5%). Test scores follow family income closely, so visit and talk to the school too.
How many people live in Kensington-Cedar Cottage?
About 51,405 people (2021 Census), with a median age of 39.6. 55.1% of households own their home.
Is there good transit in Kensington-Cedar Cottage?
99.1% of homes are within 400 m of a bus stop; 120 stops get 12,498 TransLink departures on a weekday. Transit grades A.
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Data last built 2026-11-04. How these grades are calculated