Photo: Kyle Wilson · CC BY-SA 4.0Health in Colwood beats 95% of Canadian towns
Across the region, 55% of adults say their health is very good or excellent; British Columbia as a whole manages 50%. Closer to home, a hospital is 6.3 km from the average resident of Colwood, further than the usual 3.7 km. The Health grade for Colwood is A+, #49 of 254 in British Columbia and #264 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Colwood
Fewer smokers
Around Colwood, only 3.8% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate lower than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
A lighter load of illness
High blood pressure (18%) and diabetes (5.9%) keep the region’s chronic-condition figure below the typical Canadian town’s. Conditions and habits ↓
A long-lived region
Colwood’s region sits 1.2 years above the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 21.9 years ahead (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
Pharmacies close at hand
The average resident of Colwood can reach 6.6 pharmacies inside 3 km; the closest is 0.8 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.
Colwood 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: #49 of 254 in British Columbia and #264 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.
18% of the region’s adults have high blood pressure and 5.9% 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 tracks the province: 25% of adults here, 25% across British Columbia. At 22%, heavy drinking beats the provincial 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.
How the 16 health regions in British Columbia compare on life expectancy
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
Of the 16 health regions in British Columbia, 6th place goes to this one, between a low of 76.6 and a high of 86.8.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
These four scores average the national quintile of the areas where Colwood’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.
From Colwood, a hospital is 6.3 km away on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Colwood, weighted by who lives there.
Residents of Colwood travel further than most of the province: the typical town in British Columbia is 4.4 km from a hospital, the typical Canadian town 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.
Deprivation predicts more: the region falls 1.3 years short of the trend
102 dots, 102 health regions: no town has its own life expectancy here, and Colwood’s region shows under the trend.
The trend through 102 regions (correlation −0.83) gives a region scored 2.1 about 84.0 years of life. Colwood’s region falls short of it, at 82.7. Narrow the field to the 10 regions most like it on deprivation and 9 still live longer, with 83.5 years in the middle.
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.
54% 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
Mental health trails British Columbia: 47% very good or excellent to 49%, with 25% facing stressful days.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Further from a hospital than most towns its size: Colwood comes 36th of 40
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (22,141 to 23,515 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 1.8 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Church-Wellesley ON A | 22,415 | 0.2 km | 50% |
| 2 | Moss Park ON A | 22,701 | 0.5 km | 50% |
| 3 | High Park North ON A | 22,162 | 0.7 km | 50% |
| 34 | Willowridge-Martingrove-Richview ON A− | 22,456 | 4.8 km | 50% |
| 35 | Riverview NB B− | 22,614 | 5.0 km | 43% |
| 36 | Colwood BC A+ | 22,794 | 6.3 km | 55% |
| 37 | Rivière-Blanche QC B | 23,089 | 6.9 km | 55% |
| 38 | Binbrook ON B− | 22,497 | 9.4 km | 53% |
| 40 | Saint-Lazare QC A− | 22,895 | 17 km | 55% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Colwood
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colwood | 6.3 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| Langford 3.2 km | 6.3 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| View Royal 5.3 km | 1.4 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| New Songhees 1A 5.7 km | 2.2 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| Esquimalt 6.3 km | 2.0 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| Metchosin 7.2 km | 13 km | 55% | 82.7 | A |
| Victoria 10 km | 1.5 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
Every place around Colwood shares its health region, so their survey figures match; only the distance to care differs. Metchosin is the furthest from care, 13 km to Colwood’s 6.3 km.
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.
- Adjusted for age. Self-rated health, chronic conditions and smoking enter the grade adjusted to Canada’s adult age mix, though the survey block prints them as people answered.
- 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.
- Deprivation is context. None of the four deprivation scores enters the grade; they come from the 2021 index, which skips the territories.
- Regional figures. Every place in the health region carries the same survey and life-expectancy figures; what is measured for Colwood itself is the trip to care.
- 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.
Questions about health in Colwood
What is the life expectancy in Colwood?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 84.9 for women, 80.5 for men around Colwood (2022/2024).
How healthy is Colwood?
The region beats the typical Canadian town on each of its four survey and life-expectancy figures. Its chronic-condition figure, age-standardised, is 14%.
How far is Colwood from a hospital?
For everyday care, Colwood’s residents are 0.8 km from a pharmacy and 2.0 km from a clinic on average.
How is Colwood’s Health Grade worked out?
Canada’s grades haven’t been set, so Colwood 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).