Centennial (Oshawa)

Around the Neighbourhood

Cultural landmarks: the Oshawa Creek valley and its trail system along the eastern edge give the neighbourhood its natural spine and connect it south toward the rest of the city.

Hot local spots: everyday shopping is a short drive to the retail on Taunton Road and along Simcoe Street.

Parks & green space: this is the strong suit, with about ten parks including North Oshawa Park (basketball and tennis courts, a skate park, sports field and community clubhouse), Somerset Park (trail and playground) and Northway Court Park (playground and sports field).

Your Typical Neighbour

Centennial reads as an established, middle-income Oshawa neighbourhood: a blend of longtime owners and families drawn by the parks and the prices, across a range of home vintages. Oshawa is Durham’s largest city, home to roughly 175,000 people as of the 2021 census, with a median household income of about $86,000. Community-level figures for Centennial are not published separately, so these are municipality-wide numbers.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census, Oshawa (City)

What We Love

The parks, plainly. About ten of them in one neighbourhood is rare, and North Oshawa Park alone gives you courts, a skate park, a clubhouse and a field without leaving the community. The streets are mature and treed rather than raw and new, prices are among the friendlier ones in north Oshawa, and elementary schools are close enough to walk. For a first house or a family on a budget, that’s a strong combination.

What We Don't

There’s no high school in Centennial, so teenagers get bused or driven to Eastdale, Maxwell Heights or O’Neill… factor that into the family logistics. The housing is a patchwork of ages, so condition and updates vary house to house, and you’ll want a careful eye on the older stock. And, like the rest of the area, the GO train and downtown mean a car and a real commute.

Real Estate

Centennial is mostly detached homes across a spread of vintages, with some townhomes mixed in. It’s one of the more affordable established neighbourhoods in north Oshawa, which makes it popular with first-time buyers and families who want a house and a yard without a new-build price. Because the stock varies, an inspection and a realistic renovation budget matter more here than in a uniform subdivision. New to the market? Start with our First-Time Buyer guide.

(Current prices and days on market appear in the live statistics block below, updated quarterly.)

Transit

Centennial is a car-first neighbourhood. The nearest GO service is Oshawa GO on the Lakeshore East line, about a 12-to-15-minute drive south at 915 Bloor Street West, running roughly an hour to Union. Durham Region Transit handles local buses, and Highway 401 to the south plus the 407 across the north put the rest of the region within driving distance.

Schools

Centennial is served by the Durham District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board and has a good supply of elementary schools within walking distance. There is no secondary school in the community itself; high-school students attend nearby schools such as Eastdale Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Maxwell Heights Secondary School or O’Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute (known for its audition-based arts programs). For school rankings and Fraser Institute scores, see our interactive Durham Region School Map.