Photo: Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.0Lives run shorter around Abbotsford: 80.0 years, 1.5 below the typical Canadian town’s region
The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 47%, behind the 50% for British Columbia. The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of Abbotsford live 3.6 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km. Abbotsford grades B for health, #168 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,870 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Abbotsford
Less upbeat about their health
Even once age is allowed for, 4.3 points fewer adults here call their health very good or excellent than in the typical town’s region (48% as answered). Health survey ↓
Pharmacies on every corner
A typical home in Abbotsford has 20 pharmacies within 3 km, the nearest 1.2 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.
Abbotsford 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: #168 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,870 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.
Fewer people rate their health highly here than in British Columbia: 48% to 50%
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Mental wellbeing sits at the provincial level, 48% very good or excellent against 49% for British Columbia; stress is a daily matter for 23%.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
The nearest hospital is 3.6 km from the average home in Abbotsford
Straight-line distances from each part of Abbotsford, weighted by who lives there.
Abbotsford is near the provincial norm, 4.4 km for the typical town in British Columbia, with the typical Canadian town at 3.7 km.
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.
Shorter lives than deprivation would give: 1.5 years behind the trend
Compared region with region (102 health regions, each figure shared by all its towns); Abbotsford’s region is below the line.
Where residents average 2.8 on the index, regions tend to reach 81.5 years (correlation −0.83, 102 regions); the one Abbotsford belongs to trails at 80.0. Set beside its 10 nearest neighbours on the index, it trails the majority, 9 of 10; their median is 81.2 years. Households here earn around $88,000, more than in most regions, but the region still lives less long than most; across regions income barely tracks life expectancy (correlation 0.14).
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 8.9%
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
At 35%, self-reported obesity is above British Columbia’s 25%.
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.
Life expectancy across the 16 health regions in British Columbia
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in British Columbia, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
This region is 9th longest-lived of 16 in British Columbia, on a scale from 76.6 to 86.8 years.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
These four scores average the national quintile of the areas where Abbotsford’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.
Among 40 towns its size, Abbotsford is 18th nearest a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (105,925 to 243,107 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 3.8 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Catharines ON C+ | 153,865 | 2.6 km | 49% |
| 2 | Niagara Falls ON C+ | 113,983 | 2.7 km | 49% |
| 3 | Saanich BC A+ | 126,011 | 2.7 km | 55% |
| 16 | Red Deer AB C+ | 115,409 | 3.5 km | 52% |
| 17 | Saguenay QC A | 151,972 | 3.6 km | 66% |
| 18 | Abbotsford BC B | 175,358 | 3.6 km | 47% |
| 19 | Sherbrooke QC A+ | 184,135 | 3.7 km | 57% |
| 20 | Barrie ON B+ | 174,469 | 3.8 km | 54% |
| 40 | Terrebonne QC B+ | 126,872 | 9.7 km | 56% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Abbotsford
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | 3.6 km | 47% | 80.0 | B |
| Mission 11 km | 3.3 km | 47% | 80.0 | B |
| Electoral Area G, Fraser Valley 14 km | 10 km | 47% | 80.0 | B− |
Abbotsford and all of these places belong to one health region: the regional figures repeat, the hospital distances don’t. Residents of Electoral Area G, Fraser Valley live further from a hospital, at 10 km against 3.6 km in Abbotsford.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Deprivation is shown to set the scene and doesn’t count toward the grade; Statistics Canada left the territories out of the index.
- 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 Abbotsford’s own.
- 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.
- 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 Abbotsford
How is Abbotsford’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 Abbotsford’s homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Abbotsford?
Most of the region’s figures sit on the less healthy side of the typical Canadian town’s, though not all. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 17%.
What is the life expectancy in Abbotsford?
Women in Abbotsford’s region live to 82.9 on average and men to 77.2, Statistics Canada’s 2022/2024 estimate.
How far is Abbotsford from a hospital?
Residents of Abbotsford have a clinic 2.2 km away on average and a pharmacy 1.2 km away, in straight lines.
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).