Perth County, Ontario
| Perth County | ||
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| County (upper-tier) | ||
| County of Perth | ||
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 Location of Perth County |
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| Coordinates: 43°30′N 81°05′W / 43.500°N 81.083°WCoordinates: 43°30′N 81°05′W / 43.500°N 81.083°W | ||
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Ontario
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| Formed | 1850 | |
| County seat | Stratford | |
| Municipalities |
List
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| Area | ||
| • Land | 2,218 km2 (Formatting error: invalid input when rounding sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 394 m (1,293 ft) | |
| Population (2016) | ||
| • Total | 76,796 | |
| • Urban density | 33.9/km2 (88/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) | |
| Area code(s) | 519 and 226 | |
| Website | www.countyofperth.on.ca | |
Perth County, in the Canadian province of Ontario, is located in Southwestern Ontario, 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Toronto and is very large, 2,218.46 square kilometers in size. The county seat is at Stratford. However, Stratford and the town of St. Marys, Ontario operate under their own municipal governments that are independent from the County's government. The County, Townhships and independent entities "enjoy a large degree of collaboration and work together to growth the region as a leading location for industry and people" according to the County. Census data published for Perth County by Statistics Canada includes those two separate municipalities and most Perth County publications also include the two, at least in some sections of the document.
The County's most recent Official Plan, excluding St. Marys and Stratford which have their own plans, was published in February, 2016. This is a consolidated Plan. Previously, each of the fourteen local municipalities in the County had a local Official Plan.
The county includes:
Perth County was settled primarily through the efforts of the Canada Company agency which opened a road from the site of Stratford to Goderich. The settlers were almost equal in number as to their origins: English, Irish, Scottish and German. They began arriving in the 1820s but the majority arrived in the 1830s and the 1840s. Most became farmers, and even today, the county is known for mixed farming, dairying and hog production.
This area originally formed part of the Huron District, which was constituted as the United Counties of Huron, Perth and Bruce in 1850. The County of Perth was given its own Provisional Municipal Council at that time, and was separated from the United Counties in 1853.
It had 11 original townships:
Over time, four additional towns were incorporated as urban municipalities: St. Marys, Mitchell, Listowel and Milverton. On January 1, 1998, the county was restructured by reducing fourteen municipalities to four. Only the City of Stratford and the Town of St. Marys were unaffected.
The population, excluding St. Marys and Stratford, has been quite stable in recent years:
Figures below are for the full Perth census division, which combines Perth County, the City of Stratford and the Town of St. Marys. The change between 2011 and 2016 is not significant. The 2016 population for all of the entities was 76,796.
The average household income in Perth County (including Stratford and St. Marys) in 2011 was $75,863, in an area with housing prices and tax rates that are significantly below the provincial average. Housing in Perth County is also relatively affordable with the average sale price of a single detached dwelling in the County being $249,700 (including Stratford and St. Marys) in 2013.
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