Very good or excellent health for 51% of adults in Walker’s health region
Statistics Canada puts the region’s life expectancy at 81.2, women 83.6 and men 78.8 (2022/2024). Measured from where Walker’s residents live, the nearest hospital is 4.9 km away, beyond the typical 3.7 km. Walker grades B for health, #327 of 474 in Alberta and #1,715 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
Walker grades B 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: #327 of 474 in Alberta and #1,715 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.
Life expectancy close to where deprivation puts it, a shade under
One dot per health region, 102 in all, since life expectancy and the index are published for regions; Walker’s dot is marked, close to the line.
Deprivation explains most of the gap between regions (correlation −0.83 over 102), and Walker’s region is a typical case: 81.2 years at a score of 2.8, where the trend says 81.4. Half the 10 regions scored most like it do better (4) and half worse (4), around a median of 81.2.
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.
High blood pressure for 19% of adults in the region, diabetes for 7.4%
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
About as many adults report obesity as across Alberta: 33%, 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.
Getting to hospital from Walker: 4.9 km on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Walker, weighted by who lives there.
Residents of Walker travel further than most of the province: the typical town in Alberta is 3.1 km from a hospital, the typical Canadian town 3.7 km. 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.
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
This region is 2nd longest-lived of 5 in Alberta, on a scale from 78.3 to 83.0 years.
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; Walker’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.
52% in the region call their health very good or excellent, close to Alberta (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
Asked about their mental health, 51% of adults here said very good or excellent; across Alberta it was 52%, and 24% reported most days stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Among 40 towns its size, Walker is 29th nearest a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (13,146 to 13,630 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 3.2 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Queen West ON A | 13,599 | 0.4 km | 50% |
| 2 | Durand ON B+ | 13,338 | 0.7 km | 53% |
| 3 | Vanier QC A+ | 13,494 | 0.8 km | 62% |
| 27 | Centennial Scarborough ON A− | 13,453 | 4.6 km | 50% |
| 28 | Huntington Hills AB A | 13,184 | 4.6 km | 56% |
| 29 | Walker AB B | 13,388 | 4.9 km | 51% |
| 30 | L'Aéroport QC A+ | 13,630 | 5.3 km | 62% |
| 31 | Pine Grove ON A− | 13,302 | 5.3 km | 51% |
| 40 | Bonnyville No. 87 AB D | 13,265 | 16 km | 48% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Walker
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walker | 4.9 km | 51% | 81.2 | B |
| Charlesworth 0.9 km | 3.9 km | 51% | 81.2 | B |
| Ellerslie 1.7 km | 4.2 km | 51% | 81.2 | B |
| Summerside 1.7 km | 5.2 km | 51% | 81.2 | B |
| The Orchards At Ellerslie 2.1 km | 6.5 km | 51% | 81.2 | B |
| Anthony Henday South East 2.2 km | 2.7 km | 51% | 81.2 | B |
| Sakaw 2.6 km | 2.2 km | 51% | 81.2 | B+ |
One health region covers Walker and every place in the table, so the survey and life-expectancy columns read the same.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What counts as a hospital. Hospitals and clinics come from Statistics Canada’s facilities database, built from provincial lists of different dates, and a listed hospital may have no emergency department.
- Regional figures. Only the distances on this page belong to Walker alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
- Deprivation is context. None of the four deprivation scores enters the grade; they come from the 2021 index, which skips the territories.
- Distances are straight lines. A straight line from each neighbourhood’s centre to the nearest facility, weighted by who lives there, is shorter than any drive.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about health in Walker
How is Walker’s Health Grade worked out?
Not so far; the grade arrives with Canada’s grading run and will set the region’s figures, plus Walker’s own distance to care, against the typical Canadian town.
What is the life expectancy in Walker?
Statistics Canada publishes it for Walker’s health region only: 83.6 years for women and 78.8 for men (2022/2024).
How healthy is Walker?
On every regional measure, the region does worse than the typical Canadian town. The three chronic conditions the grade counts average 18% of adults.
How far is Walker from a hospital?
For everyday care, Walker’s residents are 0.7 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).