Photo: Qyd · CC BY 2.5For health, Sunalta is ahead of 98% of Canadian towns
Across the region, 56% of adults say their health is very good or excellent; Alberta as a whole manages 53%. Measured from where Sunalta’s residents live, the nearest hospital is 0.9 km away, under the typical 3.7 km. The Health grade for Sunalta is A+, #8 of 474 in Alberta and #79 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Sunalta
A region that smokes less
Around Sunalta, 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
Born around Sunalta, a child can expect 1.5 more years than in the typical Canadian town’s region; at 65, another 21.7 (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
Self-rated health runs high
Even once age is allowed for, 4.8 points more adults here call their health very good or excellent than in the typical town’s region (57% as answered). Health survey ↓
Near a hospital
Measured from where people live, Sunalta is among the nearest towns to hospital care; its centre is 0.7 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.
Sunalta 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: #8 of 474 in Alberta and #79 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
Long-term conditions and habits as the region’s adults reported them; the tick marks the province.
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.
Longest and shortest lives among the 5 regions in Alberta
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
These four scores average the national quintile of the areas where Sunalta’s residents live; they carry no weight in the grade.
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%
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
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 0.9 km from the average home in Sunalta
Straight-line distances from each part of Sunalta, weighted by who lives there.
Sunalta is closer in than the provincial norm of 3.1 km in Alberta, and than the typical Canadian town at 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.
About as long-lived as regions this deprived, if slightly less
Every town shares its health region’s figures, so this compares 102 regions; the one holding Sunalta’s lies near the line.
The line through 102 regions (correlation −0.83) gives a score of 2.3 about 83.2 years; Sunalta’s region’s 83.0 is within a year of it. Among the 10 regions closest to it on the index, shorter lives win out: 7 of the 10, around a median of 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.
Closer to a hospital than most towns its size: Sunalta comes 2nd of 40
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (4,089 to 4,210 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% |
| 4 | Kirkfield MB B+ | 4,100 | 1.4 km | 52% |
| 40 | Lac-Etchemin QC B | 4,089 | 31 km | 59% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Sunalta
The places around, with the distance to a hospital and their regions’ figures. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | Hospital | Very good health | Life exp. | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunalta | 0.9 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Bankview 0.8 km | 0.8 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Lower Mount Royal 1.2 km | 1.1 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| South Calgary 1.3 km | 1.2 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Downtown West End 1.4 km | 1.3 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Upper Mount Royal 1.5 km | 1.5 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
| Richmond 1.5 km | 0.8 km | 56% | 83.0 | A+ |
Same region, same survey: Sunalta’s neighbours differ only in how far they are from a hospital.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Who the survey asks. The health survey leaves out people living on reserves, full-time Canadian Forces members, people in institutions, and Nunavik and the Cree lands of James Bay.
- 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.
- Adjusted for age. The grade’s three survey shares are age-standardised to Canada’s adults, so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, while the survey charts show answers as given.
- 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.
- 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.
- Regional figures. Statistics Canada reports the survey and life expectancy by health region, not by town: Sunalta shares them with its neighbours, while the distances are measured for it alone.
Questions about health in Sunalta
How healthy is Sunalta?
The region beats the typical Canadian town on each of its four survey and life-expectancy figures. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 16%.
What is the life expectancy in Sunalta?
Statistics Canada publishes it for Sunalta’s health region only: 85.0 years for women and 80.9 for men (2022/2024).
How far is Sunalta from a hospital?
Beyond the hospital, the average home in Sunalta is 1.0 km from a pharmacy; clinics are too sparsely listed in the province to say.
How is Sunalta’s Health Grade worked out?
Canada’s grades haven’t been set, so Sunalta has none yet; when they are, Health will set its region and its hospital distance against the typical Canadian town.
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).