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Neighbourhood guide

Living in Renfrew-Collingwood, Vancouver

The second most populous neighbourhood in Vancouver, four SkyTrain stations inside its boundaries, and six in ten residents who grew up speaking something other than English. Here is what renting in Renfrew-Collingwood is actually like, and where the real bargains hide.
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Four SkyTrain stations Very diverse Family sized Value
A plaza painted in bright colours beneath an elevated SkyTrain station
81 rentals available in Renfrew-Collingwood
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What's it like to live in Renfrew-Collingwood?

Renfrew-Collingwood is the second largest neighbourhood in Vancouver by population, around 53,000 people in the wedge between Nanaimo Street and Boundary Road, and it is really two places. Collingwood, in the south, is built around Joyce Station and the Kingsway corridor, and it is the busier, denser, more recently built half. Renfrew, in the north, runs along the Millennium Line and Renfrew Park and is quieter and more residential. People who say they live "in Collingwood" or "by Renfrew" are drawing a real distinction.On transit it is the best served neighbourhood in the city outside the downtown peninsula. Four SkyTrain stations sit inside the boundaries: Joyce–Collingwood and 29th Avenue on the Expo Line, Renfrew and Rupert on the Millennium Line. Joyce Station is also a substantial bus exchange, with the R4 running the length of 41st Avenue to UBC. From Joyce you are about fifteen minutes from Metrotown and under half an hour from downtown, without a transfer.It is among the most linguistically mixed parts of the city: roughly six in ten residents have a mother tongue that is neither English nor French, with Cantonese by a distance the largest, then Tagalog, Mandarin and Vietnamese. The food along Kingsway and around Joyce reflects that, and the grocery stores are better than the restaurant guides suggest. The average household is 2.6 people, well above the city, and about four in ten homes are a suite in a house or duplex.The trade-off is distance and, in places, noise. Kingsway is a six lane arterial and the blocks facing it are loud. Downtown is a real commute rather than a walk. Cycling infrastructure is thinner than on the west side and the terrain is not flat. What you get in exchange is space: this is one of the few places left in Vancouver where a family can rent a whole floor within a short walk of a SkyTrain platform.

Best suited for

  • Transit commuters
  • Families wanting space per dollar
  • Anyone commuting to Burnaby
  • Renters who cook
  • –Anyone who wants to walk to work downtown
  • –Daily cyclists

Quick facts

  • Population53,000
  • Renter households44%
  • Median age40
  • SkyTrain stations4

Getting around

Four stations on two SkyTrain lines, and a major bus exchange at Joyce.

84/100

WalkabilityDense around Joyce and Kingsway, quiet elsewhere

92/100

Transit accessExpo and Millennium Lines plus the Joyce exchange

78/100

CyclingHilly, with busy arterials and a thinner bike network
Joyce–Collingwood Station8 min walk
Central Park16 min walk
Downtown Vancouver28 min by SkyTrain
Metrotown15 min by SkyTrain
29th Avenue Station21 min walk
Vancouver General Hospital35 min by transit
Expo Line
Millennium Line
R4 41st Ave
19 Metrotown
26 Joyce Station
41 Joyce Station
9 Boundary

Renfrew-Collingwood on the map

The neighbourhood boundary, and the places listed further down the page.

Schools and childcare

The neighbourhood is large and spans several catchments, so confirm your address with the Vancouver School Board. Walk times are measured from Kingsway and Joyce, in the Collingwood half.
SchoolTypeWalk time
Sir Guy Carleton Elementary
Public · K–72 min
Collingwood Neighbourhood School
Public · K–76 min
Saint Mary's Elementary
Independent · K–77 min
Vancouver Formosa Academy
Independent · 8–1212 min
Twin Fun Time Daycare
Childcare · 0–516 min
Sir Wilfred Grenfell Elementary
Public · K–716 min
John Norquay Elementary
Public · K–722 min
Windermere Secondary
Public · 8–1223 min

Around the neighbourhood

Walk times from Kingsway and Joyce Street. A few of these sit just outside the neighbourhood boundary, where they are the nearest of their kind.

Groceries

  • 88 Supermarket2 min
  • Consumers Produce3 min
  • Safeway5 min
  • Desi Bazaar7 min

Coffee and bakeries

  • CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice1 min
  • Milk & Sugar Cafe3 min
  • BlackBall Taiwanese Dessert4 min
  • Pine House Bread & Cake Shop4 min

Food and drink

  • Amay's House1 min
  • The Captain's Boil1 min
  • Congee Noodle King1 min
  • Pho Tan Vietnamese Restaurant1 min

Parks

  • Collingwood Park5 min
  • Gaston Park6 min
  • Foster Park8 min
  • Melbourne Park9 min

Fitness and recreation

  • Vector Training Centre4 min
  • Collingwood Neighbourhood House6 min
  • Orijin Yoga13 min
  • Killarney Community Centre15 min

Everyday services

  • Unicare Pharmacy1 min
  • The Medicine Shoppe6 min
  • Supersave Pharmacy6 min
  • VPL: Collingwood Branch8 min

Rent with confidence in Renfrew-Collingwood

What BC tenancy rules protect, and how liv.rent keeps the process safe from first message to signed lease.

Deposits are capped

A landlord in BC can ask for a security deposit of up to half a month of rent, plus up to half a month again if you have a pet. Anything more is not permitted.

Rent increases are limited

Existing tenancies can only be increased once every 12 months, by no more than the provincial cap, and with three full months of written notice.

Every listing is verified

Landlords complete ID verification before they can post, and you can sign the lease and pay rent through liv.rent, so there is no e-transfer to a stranger.
About four in ten homes here are suites in a house or duplex, which usually means renting from an owner who lives upstairs. Check that the suite is a legal one, confirm what the rent includes, and get the heating, laundry and parking arrangement in writing. Your rights under the Residential Tenancy Act are the same whether your landlord is a company or the person on the floor above. The tenancy points above are general information about renting in British Columbia, not legal or financial advice. For guidance on your own tenancy, contact the Residential Tenancy Branch.How liv.rent verification works

Renfrew-Collingwood rental questions

Is Renfrew-Collingwood expensive compared with the rest of Vancouver?

It is cheaper than the headline number suggests, and the reason is worth understanding. CMHC's October 2025 survey put the average rent for a purpose built apartment at $1,968 in its Southeast Vancouver zone, effectively the same as the $1,970 city average. But CMHC only surveys purpose built apartment buildings, and in this neighbourhood those are mostly the newer towers around Joyce Station. The cheaper stock, the suites in houses that make up about four in ten homes, is not in that figure at all.

How many SkyTrain stations does Renfrew-Collingwood have?

Four, which is more than any other local area outside the downtown peninsula. Joyce–Collingwood and 29th Avenue are on the Expo Line in the south, and Renfrew and Rupert are on the Millennium Line in the north. Joyce is also a bus exchange, including the R4 along 41st Avenue to UBC.

What is the difference between Renfrew and Collingwood?

Collingwood is the southern half, centred on Joyce Station and Kingsway. It is denser, busier, has most of the new towers and most of the shops. Renfrew is the northern half along the Millennium Line, quieter and more residential, built around Renfrew Park and its community centre and pool. Rents and transit both differ enough that it is worth deciding which half you are searching.

Is Renfrew-Collingwood a good neighbourhood for families?

It is one of the best in the city on space per dollar. The average household is 2.6 people against 2.1 citywide, most homes have real bedrooms rather than dens, and the elementary schools are numerous. The neighbourhood spans several catchments and is physically large, so confirm the specific catchment for an address rather than assuming the nearest school.

Is it noisy?

On Kingsway, yes. It is a six lane arterial and the units facing it hear all of it. The streets a block or two back are markedly quieter, and the Renfrew half is quieter again. Units near the SkyTrain guideway also carry train noise, which is regular rather than loud. View at the hour you would actually be home.

When is the best time to look for a rental in Renfrew-Collingwood?

Vacancy in CMHC's Southeast Vancouver zone was 2.4% in October 2025 against 3.7% citywide, so purpose built apartments here move faster than the city average. House suites turn over year round and are less tied to the calendar. Late spring and August remain the fullest months for choice.
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Methodology

Places, parks, schools and transit routes on this page come from OpenStreetMap. Walk times are approximate. Population, age and how many households rent come from Statistics Canada's 2021 Census. Neighbourhood figures total its smallest published areas inside the City of Vancouver's local area boundaries. Rent and vacancy come from CMHC's Rental Market Survey for October 2025, in its Southeast Vancouver zone.Listing counts and prices come from liv.rent, so they show what's on the platform rather than the whole city.OpenStreetMap, Statistics Canada, CMHC. Last updated October 2026.