Little Italy Toronto

Your Typical Neighbour

Little Italy is mixed in a way that actually feels mixed. Older Italian, Portuguese, Latin American and Vietnamese residents share the sidewalks with a well-educated professional crowd: about 63% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the median family income (around $133,000) runs well ahead of Toronto’s median family income. It is not a family enclave… roughly 37% of households are people living alone and about 32% are families with kids, and residents trace roots to some 122 ethnic origins. “Little Italy” is more a name than a demographic now.

Source: City of Toronto Neighbourhood Profile, Palmerston-Little Italy, 2021 Census

What We Love

Some of the city’s best eating and drinking sits within a short walk, and it isn’t all red sauce. Bar Raval (505 College) does Spanish small plates in a room carved out of wood, and Cafe Diplomatico, “the Dip,” has owned one of the best people-watching patios in the city since 1968. The strip keeps reinventing itself too: Sal’s Pasta & Chops, from the Lucia team, took over a College Street space in 2025. Beyond the food it is cafes, live music, Latin dancing and, lately, a bigger late-night scene with the arrival of the Nest nightclub. And the side streets stay leafy and quiet even when College is at its loudest.

What We Don’t Love

Congestion and parking, full stop. Walk College on a warm Saturday night and you will shuffle, and driving it is worse when streetcars run both ways and leave a single lane. The flip side of a hot restaurant strip is turnover, too: even 20-year institutions like Vivoli have closed, so don’t fall in love with a spot assuming it will be there forever.

Real Estate

Little Italy is mostly Victorian-era semis and row houses on narrow lots, under mature trees, with garages off the rear laneways. Prices climb on the grander streets, Palmerston and Dovercourt, drifting north into South Annex territory, while Crawford between Dundas and College shows the more typical streetscape of narrow semis. Inventory is tight, so the well-priced “needs work” houses that used to slip through now tend to end in bidding wars. A steady trickle of low- and mid-rise condos and lofts along College has made the neighbourhood more attainable, with new projects like the mid-rise at 897 College West adding to the mix, and we’d expect more along the retail stretch over time. 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.)

Schools

There are a number of schools serving the Little Italy neighbourhood, and all of the options will offer fine examples of the multiculturalism that is synonymous with living in Toronto.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Ossington Old Orchard Public School
St. Luke Catholic School
Brock Public School
Montrose Junior Public School
Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Elementary School
Dewson Street Junior Public School

INTERMEDIARY SCHOOLS

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Clinton Street Junior Public School
Pope Francis Catholic School

SENIOR SCHOOLS

Central Toronto Academy
Delta Alternative Senior School
Harbord Collegiate Institute
Cast School
Bloor Collegiate Institute

For school rankings and Fraser Institute scores, see our interactive Toronto school map.

Transit

The 506 College streetcar is the workhorse into downtown, with the 511 Bathurst running north-south and buses filling in along Ossington and Harbord. There is no subway in the neighbourhood, the main knock for transit purists, but drivers reach the Gardiner and Lakeshore quickly via Bathurst or Dufferin.