Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you Read by hand. We read Muskoka Lakes's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.
Compare · 2025
How Muskoka Lakes compares with similar towns
Is Muskoka Lakes spending a lot or a little? The fairest way to tell is to compare it with towns like it. We picked every Ontario town of the same type (Ontario lower-tier municipalities with 60% to 160% of this population that had filed their 2025 return): 38 towns with between 4,801 and 11,876 people.
How to read this. Each grey dot is one similar town. The large dot is Muskoka Lakes, and the line marked "typical" is the town in the middle. The label and colour say where Muskoka Lakes sits:
▼ Very low: lower than 90% of similar towns
▼ Low: lower than 75%
≈ Typical: in the middle half
▲ High: higher than 75%
▲ Very high: higher than 90%
Warning mark: unusual in a worrying way for this measure, like very low savings or a very high tax increase
Being far from the middle is not wrong by itself, but it is where to start asking why.
One thing to keep in mind: "per home" uses the number of households each town reports to the Province. Some towns count seasonal cottages as households and some do not, so comparisons with lake and cottage towns are rougher than they look.
Similar towns in Central Ontario include Wainfleet, Ramara.
Spending per home
What the town spends on each service, divided by the number of homes. This makes big and small towns comparable.
Total day-to-day spending
Everything the town spent in a year, divided by the number of homes.
$2,108Lower than 36 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $3,079
typical
$0$6,257+
Town property tax
The town's own share of property tax, divided by the number of homes.
$1,897Lower than 33 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $2,358
typical
$0$4,014+
Running the town office
Council, managers, office staff and the town hall, per home.
$447Lower than 30 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $503
typical
$0$783+
Council
Council pay, expenses and meetings, per home.
$64Higher than 27 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $52
typical
$0$220+
Roads and snow
Per home. Towns with many kilometres of rural road spend more.
$605Lower than 30 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $734
typical
$0$1,940+
Snow ploughing
Per home.
$168Higher than 26 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $128
typical
$0$609+
Police, fire and safety
Per home.
$520Lower than 33 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $707
typical
$0$1,366+
Fire department
Per home.
$250Higher than 21 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $241
typical
$0$566+
Police
Per home. Most small Ontario towns pay the OPP under the same province-wide formula.
$0Lower than 31 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $309
typical
$0$680+
Water, sewers and garbage
Per home.
$0Lower than 35 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $556
typical
$0$1,583+
Garbage, dump and recycling
Per home.
$0Lower than 31 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $168
typical
$0$385+
Parks, arena and library
Per home.
$389Lower than 20 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $390
typical
$0$934+
Planning and business
Per home.
$128Higher than 23 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $108
typical
$0$368+
Money health
Signs of whether the town is living within its means.
Savings compared with spending
Savings, as a share of one year's spending.
48%Lower than 33 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 100%
typical
42%205%+
Savings (reserves)
Money set aside for repairs and emergencies, per home. More is safer.
$1,012Lower than 37 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $2,940
typical
$0$8,977+
Long-term debt
What the town still owes on long-term loans, per home.
$27Lower than 30 of 38 similar towns. Typical: $1,109
typical
$0$3,597+
Unpaid property taxes
Property taxes owed but not yet paid at year end, as a share of all taxes billed. The Province’s financial indicators treat 10% to 15% as a moderate risk and more than 15% as high.
6%Lower than 31 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 7%
typical
4.2%14%+
Share spent running the office
Out of every dollar spent, how much goes to running the town office.
21%Higher than 33 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 16%
typical
11%28%+
How worn out things are
How much of the value of roads, pipes and buildings has already been used up. Higher means older.
52%Higher than 26 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 45%
typical
29%62%+
How fast costs are growing
Growth over five years (2020 to 2025), and the latest one-year change in property tax.
Property tax increase, last year
How much more the town collected in its own property tax than the year before.
10%Higher than 35 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 7%
typical
2.5%14%+
Property tax growth, 5 years
How much the town's own property tax grew over five years.
42%Higher than 35 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 32%
typical
21%48%+
Spending growth, 5 years
How much day-to-day spending grew over five years.
57%Higher than 35 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 38%
typical
18%74%+
Office cost growth, 5 years
How much the cost of running the town office grew over five years.
29%Lower than 27 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 45%
typical
6.9%103%+
Council cost growth, 5 years
How much council costs grew over five years.
51%Higher than 25 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 32%
typical
−12%125%+
Parks and arena cost growth, 5 years
How much parks, arena and library costs grew over five years.
59%Higher than 19 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 59%
typical
6.9%151%+
Roads cost growth, 5 years
How much road and snow costs grew over five years.
63%Higher than 31 of 38 similar towns. Typical: 43%
typical
9.5%102%+
Source: Ontario Financial Information Return (FIR), 2025, all 39 municipalities (archived copy). Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Retrieved 2026-10-01. Figures are what the municipality reported to the Province for each year, prepared on the same basis as its audited financial statements.
Towns sort costs into categories a little differently, and some share services with neighbours, so small gaps mean little. Big gaps are worth a question.
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