Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainLife expectancy around Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay is 79.5 years, 2.0 less than for the typical Canadian town
The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 55%, ahead of the 50% for British Columbia. Measured from where Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s residents live, the nearest hospital is 25 km away, beyond the typical 3.7 km. Health gives Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay a grade of B, #160 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,762 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay
Hospital care at a distance
Residents of Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay live much further from a hospital than in the typical Canadian town (26 km from its centre of population), and 17% are more than 30 km away. Getting care ↓
Less chronic illness
For its ages, the region carries less long-term illness than most: high blood pressure for 19% of adults, diabetes for 5.5%. Conditions and habits ↓
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.
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay 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: #160 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,762 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.
From Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay, a hospital is 25 km away on average
Measured from where the town’s residents live, so this part is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s own, not the region’s.
Compared with 4.4 km for the typical town in British Columbia and 3.7 km for the typical Canadian town, Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay is on the far side.
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.
In the region, high blood pressure (19%) and diabetes (5.5%)
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 28%, self-reported obesity is above British Columbia’s 25%. Heavy drinking is commoner too (28% against 19%).
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.
1.4 fewer years of life than regions as deprived
The comparison runs between 102 health regions, each shared by its towns; Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s region’s dot is under the line.
Deprivation accounts for much of the spread between regions (correlation −0.83 over 102), but not for all of Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s region’s: 79.5 years where the line expects 80.9 at 3.0. Most of the 10 regions with the nearest deprivation scores outlive it (8 of 10, median 80.3 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.
Longest and shortest lives among the 16 regions in British Columbia
Regional life expectancy in British Columbia, then the town’s place on the national deprivation index.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
Life expectancy in British Columbia runs from 76.6 to 86.8; this region sits 11th of the 16.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
The index is context and never graded: it describes Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’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.
53% in the region call their health very good or excellent, more than in British Columbia (50%)
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
The region’s 48% in very good or excellent mental health is within reach of British Columbia’s 49%, with 22% reporting stressful days.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay is 38th of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
Ordered by residents’ distance to a hospital: 40 Canadian towns of 3,827 to 4,007 people, median 3.3 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City Park SK A− | 3,827 | 0.4 km | 49% |
| 2 | Stinson ON B+ | 3,969 | 0.6 km | 53% |
| 3 | Leila North MB B+ | 3,966 | 0.7 km | 52% |
| 36 | Cap-Santé QC A | 3,885 | 20 km | 62% |
| 37 | Colchester County, Subdivision A NS D− | 3,891 | 25 km | 42% |
| 38 | Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay BC B | 3,915 | 25 km | 55% |
| 39 | Pasadena NL D | 3,930 | 26 km | 47% |
| 40 | Forty Mile County No. 8 AB C | 3,927 | 29 km | 52% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay | 25 km | 55% | 79.5 | B |
| Castlegar 6.1 km | 21 km | 55% | 79.5 | B |
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay 12 km | 25 km | 55% | 79.5 | B |
| Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary 14 km | 8.3 km | 55% | 79.5 | A− |
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay and all of these places belong to one health region: the regional figures repeat, the hospital distances don’t. Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary is the closest to care, 8.3 km to Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s 25 km.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Adjusted for age. Standardising for age lets a retirement region and a young one be set side by side; the charts keep the raw answers, the grade the standardised ones.
- Who the survey asks. The survey’s frame skips reserves and other Indigenous settlements, institutions, the Forces and two Québec regions, so their figures come from elsewhere or not at all.
- 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.
- 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.
- Regional figures. Statistics Canada reports the survey and life expectancy by health region, not by town: Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay shares them with its neighbours, while the distances are measured for it alone.
- 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.
Questions about health in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay
How far is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay from a hospital?
Residents of Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay have a clinic 35 km away on average and a pharmacy 4.2 km away, in straight lines.
What is the life expectancy in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
Statistics Canada publishes it for Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s health region only: 82.8 years for women and 76.5 for men (2022/2024).
How is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’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 Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
The region does better than the typical Canadian town on most regional measures, with at least one exception. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 14%.
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).