Photo: UBC Micrometeorology · CC BY 2.0Delta scores better for health than 89% of Canadian towns
In the health survey, 50% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, close to British Columbia’s 50%. Measured from where Delta’s residents live, the nearest hospital is 5.2 km away, beyond the typical 3.7 km. Delta grades A for health, #87 of 254 in British Columbia and #682 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Delta
Fewer smokers
Smoking is rarer around Delta than in the typical Canadian town’s region, and 5.6% of adults smoke every day. Conditions and habits ↓
A long-lived region
Life expectancy in the region around Delta runs 1.7 years ahead of the typical Canadian town’s, and at 65 people can expect 22.1 more years (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
Less chronic illness
Arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure are rarer here than in the typical town’s region, even for its ages: 16% report high blood pressure and 6.7% diabetes. Conditions and habits ↓
Plenty of pharmacies
With 7.5 pharmacies within 3 km of the average home and the nearest 1.0 km off, Delta is well served for prescriptions. Getting care ↓
Survey and life expectancy: the health region (Statistics Canada). Distances and deprivation: the town’s own areas.
Delta 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: #87 of 254 in British Columbia and #682 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.
16% 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 is close to the province’s level, 23% of adults against 25% for British Columbia.
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
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
This region is 5th 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
Higher means more deprived: the bars average the quintiles of the areas Delta’s residents live in, and none of them counts toward Health.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
The nearest hospital is 5.2 km from the average home in Delta
Measured from where the town’s residents live, so this part is Delta’s own, not the region’s.
Delta 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.
Just under the trend for regions as deprived
Each dot is a health region, not a town, its figures shared by every town in it; Delta’s region sits on the trend line through 102 regions.
Life expectancy and deprivation move in opposite directions across 102 regions (correlation −0.83); at 2.3, the expected figure is 83.4 years, and Delta’s region matches it closely with 83.2. Narrow the field to the 10 regions most like it on deprivation and it still beats 7, with 82.9 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.
50% in the region call their health very good or excellent, close to 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 is no outlier: 51% say very good or excellent (British Columbia: 49%) and 23% live with stressful days.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Among 40 towns its size, Delta is 33rd nearest a hospital
Ordered by residents’ distance to a hospital: 40 Canadian towns of 92,124 to 167,654 people, median 3.6 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria BC A+ | 103,888 | 1.5 km | 55% |
| 2 | New Westminster BC A | 92,124 | 1.8 km | 48% |
| 3 | Airdrie AB A+ | 92,544 | 2.3 km | 56% |
| 31 | Whitby ON B | 162,413 | 5.1 km | 50% |
| 32 | Chilliwack BC B | 105,520 | 5.1 km | 47% |
| 33 | Delta BC A | 124,670 | 5.2 km | 50% |
| 34 | Kamloops BC C+ | 108,793 | 5.5 km | 48% |
| 35 | Kelowna BC B | 167,654 | 5.6 km | 52% |
| 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 Delta
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | 5.2 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Colebrook 9.0 km | 8.3 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Strawberry Hill 9.0 km | 5.5 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Tsawwassen 11 km | 6.4 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Panorama Ridge 11 km | 6.9 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Brownsville 11 km | 3.0 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| South Slope 11 km | 4.4 km | 48% | 84.4 | A |
Across a regional line, South Slope has its own figures: life expectancy 84.4, against 83.2 here. Residents of Colebrook live further from a hospital, at 8.3 km against 5.2 km in Delta.
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.
- Deprivation is context. The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (2021) is context, never graded, and the territories have none.
- 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.
- Distances are straight lines. Each small census area is measured as the crow flies to the nearest facility and weighted by its 2021 residents, so real trips run longer.
- Regional figures. Only the distances on this page belong to Delta alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
- What counts as a hospital. Facility locations come from Statistics Canada’s open database; records without coordinates sit at their postal code, and not every hospital has an emergency room.
Questions about health in Delta
What is the life expectancy in Delta?
For the health region that includes Delta, women can expect 85.8 years and men 80.7 (2022/2024).
How healthy is Delta?
Most of the region’s figures sit on the healthier side of the typical Canadian town’s, though not all. Chronic conditions there average 15% across arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
How is Delta’s Health Grade worked out?
Not yet: Health will weigh the region’s survey and life expectancy and Delta’s distance to a hospital against the typical Canadian town once Canada’s grading run happens.
How far is Delta from a hospital?
In a straight line from where people in Delta live: 3.2 km to a clinic, 1.0 km to a pharmacy.
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).