Photo: Michael from Calgary, AB, Canada · CC BY 2.0Patterson scores better for health than 96% of Canadian towns
Adults here are more upbeat about their health than the province: 56% very good or excellent, against 53% in Alberta. What sets Patterson apart within its region is distance, and at 2.9 km to a hospital it is ordinary (3.7 km typical). Patterson grades A+ for health, #67 of 474 in Alberta and #202 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Patterson
Fewer smokers
Around Patterson, only 6.2% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate lower than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
Life expectancy above the norm
Patterson’s region sits 1.5 years above the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 21.7 years ahead (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
More people feeling well
The survey’s age-standardised figure sits 4.8 points over the typical Canadian town’s, and 57% answered very good or excellent. Health survey ↓
Pharmacies close at hand
A typical home in Patterson has 5.5 pharmacies within 3 km, the nearest 1.8 km away. Getting care ↓
From Statistics Canada: the health survey and life expectancy for the health region, the deprivation index for the town; distances from the healthcare facilities database and OpenStreetMap.
Patterson grades A+ for health
Each input ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: the region’s four, the town’s distance to a hospital.
The region’s four figures and the town’s distance to a hospital are each ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, then averaged. Its place: #67 of 474 in Alberta and #202 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
How the grade works
Health is graded as a regional score, labelled as such: very good or excellent self-rated health, chronic conditions (arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure averaged) and smoking from the Canadian Community Health Survey, each age-standardised so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, and life expectancy at birth, all for the health region. The residents’ average distance to a hospital is the one input measured for the town itself, so towns in one region can still differ.
In the region, high blood pressure (17%) and diabetes (6.7%)
What the survey finds on conditions, weight and habits for the region, the province as the tick.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
Habits · 2023/2024
Fewer adults report obesity than across Alberta: 27%, the province 32%.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight. The anxiety disorder figure is the 2021/2022 estimate: Statistics Canada found the latest too unreliable to publish here.
How the 5 health regions in Alberta compare on life expectancy
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in Alberta, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
Top of the 5 regions in Alberta: the lowest figure is 78.3, 4.7 years below the highest.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
Statistics Canada scores every small area from 1 to 5 on each dimension; Patterson’s bars are its residents’ average, shown and not graded.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
More people rate their health highly here than in Alberta: 57% to 54%
How adults in the health region answered the survey, not adjusted for age; the tick marks the province.
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Mental health is no outlier: 54% say very good or excellent (Alberta: 52%) and 23% live with stressful days.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
The nearest hospital is 2.9 km from the average home in Patterson
Straight-line distances from each part of Patterson, weighted by who lives there.
Against 3.1 km for the typical town in Alberta and 3.7 km for the typical Canadian town, Patterson sits near the middle. The clinic list is thin in Alberta: the facilities database holds few clinics there, so the clinic distance overstates the trip.
Hospitals and clinics: Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities. Pharmacies: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Straight-line distances from each dissemination area, weighted by its 2021 population.
Life expectancy close to where deprivation puts it, a shade under
Regions, not towns, with every town in a region sharing its dot: of the 102, the marked one, Patterson’s, follows the trend.
Canada’s 102 health regions show life expectancy dropping as deprivation climbs (correlation −0.83); a region scored 2.3 would be expected to reach 83.2 years, and Patterson’s region is close, at 83.0. Its 10 closest matches on deprivation lean shorter-lived: 7 of them below it, a median of 82.8.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, 2022/2024, by health region. Deprivation: Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation 2021 (situational vulnerability), averaged over each region’s towns by their residents; income: 2021 Census median household income, averaged the same way. The averages and the line are TownRatings calculations.
Among 40 towns its size, Patterson is 16th nearest a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (4,103 to 4,237 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 4.7 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Pocatière QC A | 4,206 | 0.9 km | 60% |
| 2 | Sunalta AB A+ | 4,151 | 0.9 km | 56% |
| 3 | Balfour ON B | 4,171 | 1.0 km | 53% |
| 14 | Jackson Heights AB B | 4,195 | 2.8 km | 51% |
| 15 | Ozerna AB B | 4,216 | 2.8 km | 51% |
| 16 | Patterson AB A+ | 4,169 | 2.9 km | 56% |
| 17 | Calder AB B | 4,221 | 3.6 km | 51% |
| 18 | Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine BC D | 4,153 | 4.2 km | 42% |
| 40 | Northern Lights County AB D− | 4,115 | 25 km | 48% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Patterson
Nearby places: distance to a hospital and each one’s regional figures. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | Hospital | Very good health | Life exp. | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patterson | 2.9 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Coach Hill 0.7 km | 3.4 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Strathcona Park 1.4 km | 3.9 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Montgomery 1.6 km | 2.2 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Wildwood 1.9 km | 1.4 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Westgate 2.0 km | 2.6 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| West Springs 2.2 km | 5.0 km | 56% | 83.0 | A |
Every place around Patterson shares its health region, so their survey figures match; only the distance to care differs.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Regional figures. Only the distances on this page belong to Patterson alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
- Who the survey asks. People on reserves and in institutions, full-time military members and the residents of Nunavik and Eeyou Istchee aren’t interviewed by the survey.
- Deprivation is context. The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (2021) is context, never graded, and the territories have none.
- Adjusted for age. Self-rated health, chronic conditions and smoking enter the grade adjusted to Canada’s adult age mix, though the survey block prints them as people answered.
- What counts as a hospital. Facility locations come from Statistics Canada’s open database; records without coordinates sit at their postal code, and not every hospital has an emergency room.
- Distances are straight lines. Each small census area is measured as the crow flies to the nearest facility and weighted by its 2021 residents, so real trips run longer.
Questions about health in Patterson
How is Patterson’s Health Grade worked out?
It will once Canada’s single grading run is done, measured on the region’s survey and life expectancy and on how far Patterson’s homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Patterson?
All four of the region’s figures sit on the healthier side of the typical Canadian town’s. Its chronic-condition figure, age-standardised, is 16%.
What is the life expectancy in Patterson?
There is no figure for Patterson alone; its health region’s is 85.0 for women and 80.9 for men in 2022/2024.
How far is Patterson from a hospital?
For everyday care, Patterson’s residents are 1.8 km from a pharmacy on average.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (13-10-0972) · Statistics Canada, life expectancy 2022/2024 (13-10-0988) · Statistics Canada, health regions 2023 (82-402-X) · Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · pharmacies © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation 2021. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).