Photo: Tango7174 · CC BY-SA 4.0Spaniard's Bay scores below 95% of Canadian towns for health
Across the region, 44% of adults say their health is very good or excellent; Newfoundland and Labrador as a whole reaches 52%. Closer to home, a hospital is 12 km from the average resident of Spaniard's Bay, further than the usual 3.7 km. Spaniard's Bay grades D− for health, #27 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador and #2,555 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Spaniard's Bay
More chronic illness
Arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure are commoner here than in the typical town’s region, even for its ages: 36% report high blood pressure and 15% diabetes. Conditions and habits ↓
Life expectancy below the norm
Spaniard's Bay’s region sits 2.9 years below the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 18.9 years ahead (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
More smokers
The age-standardised smoking rate around Spaniard's Bay is well above the typical town’s; 13% of adults are daily smokers. Conditions and habits ↓
Self-rated health runs low
Adjusted for age, the region’s share in very good or excellent health is 7.4 points below the typical Canadian town’s; as answered, it is 42%. Health survey ↓
Survey and life expectancy: the health region (Statistics Canada). Distances and deprivation: the town’s own areas.
Spaniard's Bay grades D− 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: #27 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador and #2,555 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.
36% of the region’s adults have high blood pressure and 15% diabetes
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
Self-reported obesity, 48%, tops Newfoundland and Labrador (42%).
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight.
Life expectancy across the 5 health regions in Newfoundland and Labrador
Regional life expectancy in Newfoundland and Labrador, then the town’s place on the national deprivation index.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
Ranked 3rd of 5 in Newfoundland and Labrador: the regions span 77.1 to 80.2 years at birth.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
Context only: each bar is the residents’ average quintile on one dimension of Statistics Canada’s index, for Spaniard's Bay’s own areas.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
Fewer people rate their health highly here than in Newfoundland and Labrador: 42% to 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
Neither ahead nor behind Newfoundland and Labrador on mental health (56% to 54%), the region has 15% of adults stressed most days.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Life expectancy about where the region’s deprivation puts it, a shade above
Compared region with region (102 health regions, each figure shared by all its towns); Spaniard's Bay’s region is near the line.
At 3.7 on the index, regions tend to reach 78.3 years (correlation −0.83, 102 regions), and the one Spaniard's Bay belongs to reaches 78.6. The 10 regions scored most like it mostly do worse (6 of 10), with a median of 78.2.
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.
Getting to hospital from Spaniard's Bay: 12 km on average
Measured from where the town’s residents live, so this part is Spaniard's Bay’s own, not the region’s.
Spaniard's Bay is further out than the provincial norm of 8.5 km in Newfoundland and Labrador, 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.
Further from a hospital than most towns its size: Spaniard's Bay comes 26th of 40
Ordered by residents’ distance to a hospital: 40 Canadian towns of 2,629 to 2,702 people, median 8.3 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanna AB B− | 2,665 | 0.5 km | 52% |
| 2 | Berwick NS C− | 2,631 | 0.9 km | 44% |
| 3 | Outlook SK B+ | 2,629 | 0.9 km | 54% |
| 24 | Waterville QC A | 2,643 | 11 km | 57% |
| 25 | Macamic QC B− | 2,698 | 12 km | 57% |
| 26 | Spaniard's Bay NL D− | 2,664 | 12 km | 44% |
| 27 | Kinburn ON A | 2,639 | 13 km | 56% |
| 28 | Grey MB C+ | 2,655 | 13 km | 51% |
| 40 | Tumbler Ridge BC D | 2,663 | 75 km | 43% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Spaniard's Bay
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spaniard's Bay | 12 km | 44% | 78.6 | D− |
| Bay Roberts 3.6 km | 16 km | 44% | 78.6 | D− |
| Upper Island Cove 6.3 km | 8.5 km | 44% | 78.6 | D |
| Harbour Grace 8.5 km | 4.9 km | 44% | 78.6 | D |
| Clarke's Beach 11 km | 22 km | 44% | 78.6 | D− |
| Carbonear 14 km | 1.4 km | 44% | 78.6 | D |
| Victoria 17 km | 5.1 km | 44% | 78.6 | D |
Only the hospital column is local here: Spaniard's Bay and its neighbours share one health region’s survey. Residents of Carbonear live nearer a hospital, at 1.4 km against 12 km in Spaniard's Bay.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Regional figures. Every place in the health region carries the same survey and life-expectancy figures; what is measured for Spaniard's Bay itself is the trip to care.
- Deprivation is context. Statistics Canada’s 2021 deprivation index describes the town’s own areas for context only, with no index for the territories.
- 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.
- Who the survey asks. Not everyone is in the survey’s sample: reserves, the Canadian Forces, institutions and two northern Québec regions are left out.
- Adjusted for age. Because older people report more illness, the grade uses age-standardised shares; the charts above show the unadjusted answers.
- 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 Spaniard's Bay
How is Spaniard's Bay’s Health Grade worked out?
No letter yet for Spaniard's Bay: Canada is graded in one run, and Health will then compare its region and its access to care with the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Spaniard's Bay?
Self-rated health, chronic conditions, smoking and life expectancy all come out behind the typical Canadian town. Chronic conditions there average 24% across arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
What is the life expectancy in Spaniard's Bay?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 80.8 for women, 76.4 for men around Spaniard's Bay (2022/2024).
How far is Spaniard's Bay from a hospital?
Beyond the hospital, the average home in Spaniard's Bay is 29 km from a clinic and 5.5 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).