I mapped every Mississauga postal code. L5M (Churchill Meadows) has more people than any postal code in Toronto

[u/Radiant_Nobody6364]

I met someone recently who’d memorized every postal code in the GTA. I’d name a street and they’d instantly tell me the first three characters. So I made a map to learn them, and Mississauga had a few surprises:

All 22 Mississauga codes run from L4T (Malton) to L5W (Meadowvale Village)

L5M (Churchill Meadows) has 106,468 people, more than any code in Toronto. Toronto’s biggest, M2N, has 75,100

L4V is basically Pearson Airport, with 5 residents

Hurontario & Burnhamthorpe is where three codes meet: L5B, L4Z and L5A

You can tap any code to see its neighbourhoods and the streets on its edges, search any address or intersection, and quiz yourself: torontopostalcodes.ca

How many Mississauga codes can you place without looking?

[u/kamomil]

I met someone recently who’d memorized every postal code in the GTA

Are you sure it wasn't a Canada Post employee?

[u/Radiant_Nobody6364 → u/kamomil]

Honestly that would explain a lot 😂

[u/Sensei-D → u/kamomil]

I was going to ask the same thing. No other reason to have that memorized.

[u/goldenboy1014]

Better to look at a stat like population density (population per square km) instead to really see where high concentrations of people reside.

L5M may have more people in total, but the boundaries and coverage areas of each FSA are not created equal in size.

BTW, postal codes are 6 characters. The first 3 characters of a postal code (eg L5M) are called forward sortation areas, or FSA for short.

[u/Radiant_Nobody6364 → u/goldenboy1014]

Good point, City Centre is way denser (~6,500/km² vs ~4,200 in L5M). And yep, FSA is the proper term. I went with postal code since it’s what most people call it!

[u/BigMisterLawyerDude]

Lived in L5M for 15 years and I can completely believe that. The amount of people is evident in the traffic around Erin Mills. With the new condos in that area, I can see it becoming even more dense.

[u/hockeygal_94 → u/BigMisterLawyerDude]

I don't think it's nearly as dense as square one it's just a larger geographical area, but yes more condos are definitely increasing the density YOY

[u/cocobodraw]

This is neat, thank you!

[u/Monty1426]

I find that hard to believe. Churchill Meadows is the western burbs with very little high density. I'm surprised that it's not an area closer to Square One.

[u/asionm → u/Monty1426]

The postal code is called Churchill Meadows but it includes Streetsville and Erin Mills Town Center and the surrounding condos. It becomes more believable when you factor those areas in.

[u/Radiant_Nobody6364 → u/Monty1426]

Surprised me too. It’s way bigger than the Square One code (about 2.5x the area) and has more people per home, so it outnumbers it even though City Centre is denser.

[u/zanimum → u/Monty1426]

The boundaries for postal codes were introduced in 1973, and haven't changed since. Back in 1973, Toronto already had density, and so the land mass for each is small, and this portion of Mississauga was farmland at the top. They simply weren't anning ahead, and so drew the boundary too loose.

[u/Radiant_Nobody6364 → u/zanimum]

Makes sense. Canada Post does split codes when areas grow, so L5M feels overdue for one.

[u/senx2660 → u/Monty1426]

I have doubts too as someone who lives in L5M

[u/Radiant_Nobody6364 → u/senx2660]

Fair! That’s from the latest census, about 106k people across ~33k homes, and with all the new condos it’s probably even higher now.

[u/Cerealkiller4321]

🙋‍♀️

[u/scotte416]

Churchill Meadows doesn't even seem that dense? At least when I lived at 9th/Erin Center 10 years ago.

[u/Dapper_Pomelo_7705 → u/scotte416]

Drive down the crowded side streets of Churchill Meadows. Single family homes with multiple people/families living in them. Front lawns paved over to park their extra cars.

[u/Eisenwulf → u/scotte416]

Say hello to Ridgeway Plaza! lol

[u/PeNdR4GoN_]

I moved from L5M right before Ridgeway Plaza opened. Dodged a bullet.

[u/gripesandmoans]

Actually you are missing one - L5P. The postal code for Pearson itself.

[u/PyroSAJ → u/gripesandmoans]

Does anyone live in the L5P?

[u/gripesandmoans → u/PyroSAJ]

Not officially /s

[u/aaffpp]

L5T is not a postal code, it's a partial code.. like M and L

[u/Ok-Bandicoot7329 → u/aaffpp]

It's an FSA

[u/aaffpp → u/Ok-Bandicoot7329]

I know.