Why is hydrocloric acid stronger than ethanoic acid?

Yes - low pH means a stronger acid because pH is the NEGATIVE logarithm to base 10 of the [H+] ion concentration. Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid in that it fully ionizes and has a higher concentration of hydrogen ions on a like for like basis than ethanoic acid (acetic acid) which is a weak acid in that it does not fully dissociate.