Whitby (2011 population 122,022) is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region. It is approximately a 30-minute drive to the Toronto borough of Scarborough, and it is known as a commuter suburb in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area. While the southern portion of Whitby is predominantly urban, and an economic hub, the northern part of the municipality is more rural and includes the communities of Ashburn, Brooklin, Myrtle and Myrtle Station.