Photo: Visit-World. com Author: www.visit-world.com · CC BY-SA 3.0For health, Gibsons is ahead of 96% of Canadian towns
Across the region, 59% of adults say their health is very good or excellent; British Columbia as a whole manages 50%. Measured from where Gibsons’ residents live, the nearest hospital is 19 km away, beyond the typical 3.7 km. The Health grade for Gibsons is A+, #46 of 254 in British Columbia and #229 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Gibsons
Fewer smokers
Smoking is rarer around Gibsons than in the typical Canadian town’s region, and 3.7% of adults smoke every day. Conditions and habits ↓
Life expectancy above the norm
Born around Gibsons, a child can expect 2.8 more years than in the typical Canadian town’s region; at 65, another 22.6 (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
A long way to hospital
Residents of Gibsons live much further from a hospital than in the typical Canadian town (19 km from its centre of population), and 0% are more than 30 km away. Getting care ↓
A lighter load of 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 4% diabetes. 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.
Gibsons 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: #46 of 254 in British Columbia and #229 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 4% 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
At 23%, self-reported obesity is near British Columbia’s 25%. At 23%, 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
The region comes 3rd of 16 in British Columbia, where life expectancy runs from 76.6 to 86.8 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; Gibsons’ 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.
The nearest hospital is 19 km from the average home in Gibsons
Straight-line distances from each part of Gibsons, weighted by who lives there.
Compared with 4.4 km for the typical town in British Columbia and 3.7 km for the typical Canadian town, Gibsons 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.
Shorter lives than deprivation would give: 1.4 years behind the trend
The comparison runs between 102 health regions, each shared by its towns; Gibsons’ region’s dot is under the line.
The trend through 102 regions (correlation −0.83) gives a region scored 1.7 about 85.7 years of life. Gibsons’ region falls short of it, at 84.3. Among the 10 regions closest to it on the index, shorter lives win out: 6 of the 10, around a median of 83.5 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.
More people rate their health highly here than in British Columbia: 59% 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
On mental health the region is ahead of British Columbia, 55% very good or excellent to 49%; 22% describe most days as quite a bit stressful.
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: Gibsons comes 37th of 40
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (5,016 to 5,174 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 3.7 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Alexander MB B+ | 5,161 | 0.5 km | 52% |
| 2 | Heritage SK B+ | 5,172 | 0.5 km | 49% |
| 3 | Nipawin SK C− | 5,033 | 0.9 km | 47% |
| 35 | Kneehill County AB C | 5,129 | 17 km | 52% |
| 36 | Electoral Area D, Peace River BC C− | 5,100 | 19 km | 43% |
| 37 | Gibsons BC A+ | 5,090 | 19 km | 59% |
| 38 | Saint-Donat QC B | 5,087 | 29 km | 56% |
| 39 | Electoral Area F, Cariboo BC C− | 5,016 | 33 km | 48% |
| 40 | Big Lakes County AB D− | 5,106 | 53 km | 48% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Gibsons
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibsons | 19 km | 59% | 84.3 | A+ |
| Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast 2.3 km | 17 km | 59% | 84.3 | A+ |
| Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast 4.0 km | 20 km | 59% | 84.3 | A+ |
| Roberts Creek 8.6 km | 9.9 km | 59% | 84.3 | A+ |
| Bowen Island 12 km | 15 km | 59% | 84.3 | A+ |
Every place around Gibsons shares its health region, so their survey figures match; only the distance to care differs.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. Statistics Canada reports the survey and life expectancy by health region, not by town: Gibsons shares them with its neighbours, while the distances are measured for it alone.
- Deprivation is context. The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (2021) is context, never graded, and the territories have none.
- 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.
Questions about health in Gibsons
How is Gibsons’ Health Grade worked out?
Not so far; the grade arrives with Canada’s grading run and will set the region’s figures, plus Gibsons’ own distance to care, against the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Gibsons?
On every regional measure, the region does better than the typical Canadian town. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 12%.
How far is Gibsons from a hospital?
Beyond the hospital, the average home in Gibsons is 1.5 km from a clinic and 1.0 km from a pharmacy.
What is the life expectancy in Gibsons?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 86.3 for women, 82.3 for men around Gibsons (2022/2024).
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).