Douglas scores better for health than 90% of Canadian towns
Across the region, 50% of adults say their health is very good or excellent, much as in British Columbia (50%). Measured from where Douglas’ residents live, a hospital is 4.0 km away, near the 3.7 km most towns see. Health gives Douglas a grade of A, #75 of 254 in British Columbia and #586 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Douglas
Smoking runs low
Smoking is rarer around Douglas than in the typical Canadian town’s region, and 5.6% of adults smoke every day. Conditions and habits ↓
A long-lived region
Douglas’ region sits 1.7 years above the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 22.1 years ahead (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
Fewer households under strain
On the index’s situational vulnerability, which follows housing, income and education, Douglas’ neighbourhoods average 1.0 out of 5, among the least deprived fifth of the country. The wider area ↓
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 6.7% diabetes. Conditions and habits ↓
Survey and life expectancy: the health region (Statistics Canada). Distances and deprivation: the town’s own areas.
Douglas 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: #75 of 254 in British Columbia and #586 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.
High blood pressure for 16% of adults in the region, diabetes for 6.7%
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
The region comes 5th 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
Higher means more deprived: the bars average the quintiles of the areas Douglas’ 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.
About as long-lived as regions this deprived, if slightly less
Every town shares its health region’s figures, so this compares 102 regions; the one holding Douglas’ lies near the line.
At 2.3 on the index, regions tend to reach 83.4 years (correlation −0.83, 102 regions), and the one Douglas belongs to reaches 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.
The nearest hospital is 4.0 km from the average home in Douglas
Measured from where the town’s residents live, so this part is Douglas’ own, not the region’s.
For distance to care Douglas is ordinary: 4.4 km is the typical figure in British Columbia, 3.7 km for 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.
About as many rate their health highly here as in British Columbia: 50% and 50%
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Stress touches 23% of adults on most days; mental health is rated very good or excellent by 51%, the province 49% (British Columbia).
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Douglas is 20th of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
Ordered by residents’ distance to a hospital: 40 Canadian towns of 4,473 to 4,640 people, median 4.4 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Country Hills ON A | 4,561 | 0.5 km | 53% |
| 2 | Eastmount ON B+ | 4,496 | 0.6 km | 53% |
| 3 | Centennial MB B+ | 4,483 | 0.7 km | 52% |
| 18 | Parkridge SK B+ | 4,518 | 3.7 km | 49% |
| 19 | Horning ON B | 4,587 | 3.8 km | 53% |
| 20 | Douglas BC A | 4,555 | 4.0 km | 50% |
| 21 | Crossroads ON A | 4,525 | 4.8 km | 51% |
| 22 | Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley BC B− | 4,482 | 5.3 km | 47% |
| 40 | Casselman ON C− | 4,535 | 32 km | 49% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Douglas
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas | 4.0 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Grandview 4.2 km | 3.1 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| White Rock 4.4 km | 1.1 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Semiahmoo Town Centre 4.5 km | 1.2 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Sunnyside 5.3 km | 2.2 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| South Surrey 7.1 km | 3.3 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
| Morgan Creek 7.2 km | 4.1 km | 50% | 83.2 | A |
Only the hospital column is local here: Douglas and its neighbours share one health region’s survey.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Because older people report more illness, the grade uses age-standardised shares; the charts above show the unadjusted answers.
- 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. Only the distances on this page belong to Douglas alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
- 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.
- 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 Douglas
What is the life expectancy in Douglas?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 85.8 for women, 80.7 for men around Douglas (2022/2024).
How healthy is Douglas?
Taken together the region leans healthier than the typical Canadian town, but the picture is mixed. Chronic conditions there average 15% across arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
How is Douglas’ Health Grade worked out?
Canada’s grades haven’t been set, so Douglas has none yet; when they are, Health will set its region and its hospital distance against the typical Canadian town.
How far is Douglas from a hospital?
For everyday care, Douglas’ residents are 1.0 km from a pharmacy and 4.5 km from a clinic on average.
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).