Photo: Quinn Desilets · CC BY-SA 4.0Nelson scores better for health than 86% of Canadian towns
The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 55%, ahead of the 50% for British Columbia. Closer to home, a hospital is just 1.3 km from the average resident of Nelson, nearer than the usual 3.7 km. Health gives Nelson a grade of A, #120 of 254 in British Columbia and #877 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Nelson
Shorter lives in the region
Nelson’s region sits 2.0 years below the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 19.9 years ahead (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: 19% report high blood pressure and 5.5% diabetes. Conditions and habits ↓
Hospital care on the doorstep
Few Canadian towns live as close to a hospital as Nelson; from its centre of population the trip is 0.3 km. 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.
Nelson 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: #120 of 254 in British Columbia and #877 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.
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
Among the 16 regions in British Columbia, from 76.6 to 86.8 years, this one is 11th.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
These four scores average the national quintile of the areas where Nelson’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.
High blood pressure for 19% of adults in the region, diabetes for 5.5%
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
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.
From Nelson, a hospital is 1.3 km away on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Nelson, weighted by who lives there.
From Nelson that is nearer than the 4.4 km of the typical town in British Columbia, and the 3.7 km of the typical Canadian town.
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.
1.4 fewer years of life than regions as deprived
The comparison runs between 102 health regions, each shared by its towns; Nelson’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 Nelson’s region’s: 79.5 years where the line expects 80.9 at 3.0. The 10 regions scored most like it mostly do better (8 of 10), with a median of 80.3.
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.
Self-rated health beats British Columbia: 53% 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
Mental health reads like the rest of British Columbia: 48% against 49%, and 22% under quite a bit of stress most days.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Nelson is 4th of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (11,870 to 12,384 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 5.3 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DT Hospital ON A− | 12,384 | 0.4 km | 49% |
| 2 | Weyburn SK C− | 11,871 | 0.9 km | 49% |
| 3 | Woodbine Corridor ON A | 12,283 | 1.0 km | 50% |
| 4 | Nelson BC A | 12,126 | 1.3 km | 55% |
| 5 | Elliot Lake ON C− | 12,317 | 1.7 km | 46% |
| 6 | Royal Oak AB A+ | 12,343 | 1.7 km | 56% |
| 40 | Mont-Tremblant QC A− | 11,879 | 25 km | 60% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Nelson
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson | 1.3 km | 55% | 79.5 | A |
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay 3.2 km | 17 km | 55% | 79.5 | B+ |
| Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay 4.8 km | 10 km | 55% | 79.5 | A− |
Same region, same survey: Nelson’s neighbours differ only in how far they are from a hospital. Residents of Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay live further from a hospital, at 17 km against 1.3 km in Nelson.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. Roads, rivers and ferries aren’t in it: the figure is a straight line from where people live, averaged over residents.
- 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.
- 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. Only the distances on this page belong to Nelson alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
Questions about health in Nelson
What is the life expectancy in Nelson?
Women in Nelson’s region live to 82.8 on average and men to 76.5, Statistics Canada’s 2022/2024 estimate.
How healthy is Nelson?
The region does better than the typical Canadian town on most regional measures, with at least one exception. Its chronic-condition figure, age-standardised, is 14%.
How far is Nelson from a hospital?
A clinic is 0.8 km from the average resident of Nelson and a pharmacy 1.0 km, as the crow flies.
How is Nelson’s Health Grade worked out?
Not so far; the grade arrives with Canada’s grading run and will set the region’s figures, plus Nelson’s own distance to care, 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).