Photo: Benlarhome · CC BY-SA 4.0Few places match Renfrew for health: it beats 96% of Canadian towns
In the health survey, 56% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, more than Alberta’s 53%. The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of Renfrew live 3.0 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km. Health gives Renfrew a grade of A+, #67 of 474 in Alberta and #202 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Renfrew
Fewer smokers
Around Renfrew, only 6.2% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate lower than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
A long-lived region
Renfrew’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 ↓
Upbeat about their health
Adjusted for age, the region’s share in very good or excellent health is 4.8 points above the typical Canadian town’s; as answered, it is 57%. Health survey ↓
Plenty of pharmacies
The average resident of Renfrew can reach 16 pharmacies inside 3 km; the closest is 0.9 km off. 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.
Renfrew 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.
17% of the region’s adults have high blood pressure and 6.7% diabetes
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
Obesity runs lower than in the province, at 27% of adults against 32% for Alberta.
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
Regional life expectancy in Alberta, then the town’s place on the national deprivation index.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
This is the longest-lived of the 5 regions in Alberta, 4.7 years ahead of the last at 78.3.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
The index is context and never graded: it describes Renfrew’s own areas, averaged over residents, on each of its four dimensions.
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
Stress touches 23% of adults on most days; mental health is rated very good or excellent by 54%, the province 52% (Alberta).
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
The nearest hospital is 3.0 km from the average home in Renfrew
Measured from where the town’s residents live, so this part is Renfrew’s own, not the region’s.
Residents of Renfrew travel about as far as most of the province: the typical town in Alberta is 3.1 km from a hospital, the typical Canadian town 3.7 km. Few clinics are listed in Alberta, so the distance to one reads longer than it is.
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
Compared region with region (102 health regions, each figure shared by all its towns); Renfrew’s region is near the line.
Placed among 102 regions by deprivation (correlation −0.83), the region Renfrew belongs to lives about as long as its score of 2.3 predicts: 83.0 years, the trend 83.2. Set beside its 10 nearest neighbours on the index, it outlives the majority, 7 of 10; their median is 82.8 years.
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, Renfrew is 19th nearest a hospital
Ordered by residents’ distance to a hospital: 40 Canadian towns of 6,551 to 6,819 people, median 3.5 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Humboldt SK C− | 6,551 | 0.7 km | 49% |
| 2 | Centre QC A | 6,627 | 0.8 km | 55% |
| 3 | Stipeley ON B | 6,572 | 0.8 km | 53% |
| 17 | Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde QC A | 6,671 | 2.6 km | 55% |
| 18 | Glenwood MB B+ | 6,617 | 2.8 km | 52% |
| 19 | Renfrew AB A+ | 6,685 | 3.0 km | 56% |
| 20 | Elmhurst MB B+ | 6,600 | 3.5 km | 52% |
| 21 | Old Tuxedo MB B+ | 6,812 | 3.5 km | 52% |
| 40 | Barrington NS D− | 6,720 | 36 km | 44% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Renfrew
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renfrew | 3.0 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Crescent Heights 1.0 km | 2.3 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Bridgeland/Riverside 1.1 km | 2.4 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Winston Heights/Mountview 1.5 km | 3.9 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Tuxedo Park 1.7 km | 3.6 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Downtown East Village 1.9 km | 1.5 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Eau Claire 2.1 km | 1.2 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
Every place around Renfrew shares its health region, so their survey figures match; only the distance to care differs.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Deprivation is context. Deprivation is shown to set the scene and doesn’t count toward the grade; Statistics Canada left the territories out of the index.
- Adjusted for age. Because older people report more illness, the grade uses age-standardised shares; the charts above show the unadjusted answers.
- Who the survey asks. Not everyone is in the survey’s sample: reserves, the Canadian Forces, institutions and two northern Québec regions are left out.
- Distances are straight lines. Roads, rivers and ferries aren’t in it: the figure is a straight line from where people live, averaged over residents.
- What counts as a hospital. A “hospital” here is whatever the provinces listed as one in Statistics Canada’s database, which can mean a site without an emergency department.
- Regional figures. The survey figures and life expectancy are published for the health region, so every town in it shares them and only the distances are Renfrew’s own.
Questions about health in Renfrew
How is Renfrew’s Health Grade worked out?
Not so far; the grade arrives with Canada’s grading run and will set the region’s figures, plus Renfrew’s own distance to care, against the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Renfrew?
Self-rated health, chronic conditions, smoking and life expectancy all come out ahead of the typical Canadian town. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 16%.
What is the life expectancy in Renfrew?
Statistics Canada publishes it for Renfrew’s health region only: 85.0 years for women and 80.9 for men (2022/2024).
How far is Renfrew from a hospital?
A pharmacy is 0.9 km from the average resident of Renfrew, as the crow flies; clinic lists here are too thin to measure.
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).