Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area A, Nanaimo’s region trails the typical Canadian town by 1.7 years: life expectancy 79.8
The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 47%, behind the 50% for British Columbia. For Electoral Area A, Nanaimo itself the measure is access, and it lags: 11 km to the nearest hospital, where 3.7 km is typical. Health gives Electoral Area A, Nanaimo a grade of B−, #201 of 254 in British Columbia and #2,065 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo
Fewer years than its deprivation would give
At 79.8 years, Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s region trails the 81.7 that regions scoring 2.8 on the index typically reach. For its deprivation ↓
Hospital care at a distance
Distance is Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s own health question: 0% of residents live beyond 30 km of a hospital, and the trip from its centre is 12 km. Getting care ↓
Less upbeat about their health
Even once age is allowed for, 5.1 points fewer adults here call their health very good or excellent than in the typical town’s region (44% as answered). Health survey ↓
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 A, Nanaimo 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: #201 of 254 in British Columbia and #2,065 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.
Shorter lives than deprivation would give: 1.9 years behind the trend
Every town shares its health region’s figures, so this compares 102 regions; the one holding Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s lies below the line.
Where residents average 2.8 on the index, regions tend to reach 81.7 years (correlation −0.83, 102 regions); the one Electoral Area A, Nanaimo belongs to trails at 79.8. Each of the 10 regions scored most like it does better, with a median of 81.3.
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.
From Electoral Area A, Nanaimo, a hospital is 11 km away on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Electoral Area A, Nanaimo, weighted by who lives there.
Electoral Area A, Nanaimo is further out than the provincial norm of 4.4 km in British Columbia, and than 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.
Self-rated health trails British Columbia: 44% very good or excellent, against 50%
How adults in the health region answered the survey, not adjusted for age; the tick marks the province.
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Fewer adults here report very good or excellent mental health than across British Columbia (46% against 49%), while 22% call most days stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
High blood pressure for 23% of adults in the region, diabetes for 6.9%
What the survey finds on conditions, weight and habits for the region, the province as the tick.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
Habits · 2023/2024
Obesity runs higher than in the province, at 32% of adults against 25% for British Columbia. Heavy drinking runs above the province, 22% to 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.
Longest and shortest lives among the 16 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
Among the 16 regions in British Columbia, from 76.6 to 86.8 years, this one is 10th.
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; Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s 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.
Electoral Area A, Nanaimo is 28th of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (7,694 to 7,958 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 6.1 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central St. Boniface MB B+ | 7,772 | 0.8 km | 52% |
| 2 | Queen Mary Park AB B+ | 7,958 | 1.0 km | 51% |
| 3 | Killarney/Glengarry AB A+ | 7,935 | 1.1 km | 56% |
| 26 | Bienville QC A | 7,888 | 9.0 km | 55% |
| 27 | Shefford QC A | 7,704 | 10 km | 57% |
| 28 | Electoral Area A, Nanaimo BC B− | 7,825 | 11 km | 47% |
| 29 | La Broquerie MB C+ | 7,808 | 13 km | 51% |
| 30 | Augusta ON C+ | 7,767 | 13 km | 51% |
| 40 | Acton Vale QC B+ | 7,945 | 26 km | 55% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Electoral Area A, Nanaimo
Nearby places: distance to a hospital and each one’s regional figures. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | Hospital | Very good health | Life exp. | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo | 11 km | 47% | 79.8 | B− |
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley 8.3 km | 4.3 km | 47% | 79.8 | B− |
| Electoral Area B, Nanaimo 9.5 km | 12 km | 47% | 79.8 | C+ |
| Ladysmith 13 km | 1.7 km | 47% | 79.8 | B |
| Nanaimo 14 km | 4.2 km | 47% | 79.8 | B− |
| Electoral Area C, Nanaimo 16 km | 8.2 km | 47% | 79.8 | B− |
| Electoral Area G, Cowichan Valley 17 km | 5.5 km | 47% | 79.8 | B− |
Nothing in the regional columns separates Electoral Area A, Nanaimo from its neighbours; the hospital distance is what does. Ladysmith is the closest to care, 1.7 km to Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s 11 km.
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.
- What counts as a hospital. The facilities database merges provincial lists of different vintages; its hospitals include some with no emergency department, and a few are placed by postal code.
- Regional figures. Statistics Canada reports the survey and life expectancy by health region, not by town: Electoral Area A, Nanaimo shares them with its neighbours, while the distances are measured for it alone.
- Deprivation is context. Statistics Canada’s 2021 deprivation index describes the town’s own areas for context only, with no index for the territories.
- 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. They run from where residents live, not along roads, so they understate a drive; each dissemination area counts by its 2021 population.
Questions about health in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo
How is Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’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 A, Nanaimo’s homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Electoral Area A, Nanaimo?
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 16%.
What is the life expectancy in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 82.6 for women, 77.1 for men around Electoral Area A, Nanaimo (2022/2024).
How far is Electoral Area A, Nanaimo from a hospital?
Beyond the hospital, the average home in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo is 10 km from a clinic and 3.1 km from 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).