Photo: Erikallen920 · CC BY-SA 4.0St. George's scores below 86% of Canadian towns for health
In the health survey, 47% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, fewer than Newfoundland and Labrador’s 52%. The town’s own part is the trip to care, and St. George's’ is long: 16 km to a hospital on average, against 3.7 km typical. Health gives St. George's a grade of D.
What stands out about health in St. George's
Shorter lives in the region
St. George's’ region sits 3.0 years below the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 18.9 years ahead (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
A long way to hospital
Distance is St. George's’ own health question: 0% of residents live beyond 30 km of a hospital, and the trip from its centre is 15 km. Getting care ↓
More smokers
Around St. George's, 12% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate higher than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
Outliving the trend for its deprivation
At 78.5 years, St. George's’ region outlives the 76.0 that regions scoring 4.3 on the index typically reach. For its deprivation ↓
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.
St. George's 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.
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.
Life expectancy across the 5 health regions in Newfoundland and Labrador
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
The region comes 4th of 5 in Newfoundland and Labrador, where life expectancy runs from 77.1 to 80.2 years.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
This is the one part of the block measured for St. George's itself, and it sets the scene rather than feeding the grade.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
Deprivation would predict shorter lives: 2.5 years more here
Every town shares its health region’s figures, so this compares 102 regions; the one holding St. George's’ lies above the line.
Use the deprivation index alone and St. George's’ region, at 4.3, should live about 76.0 years, the trend through 102 regions (correlation −0.83), and it reaches 78.5. The 10 regions scored most like it mostly do worse (5 of 10), with a median of 77.9.
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 16 km from the average home in St. George's
Straight-line distances from each part of St. George's, weighted by who lives there.
From St. George's that is further than the 8.5 km of the typical town in Newfoundland and Labrador, 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.
In the region, high blood pressure (31%) and diabetes (14%)
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
About as many adults report obesity as across Newfoundland and Labrador: 43%, the province 42%.
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.
44% in the region call their health very good or excellent, fewer than in Newfoundland and Labrador (50%)
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Mental wellbeing sits at the provincial level, 56% very good or excellent against 54% for Newfoundland and Labrador; stress is a daily matter for 19%.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Health in the places around St. George's
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. George's | 16 km | 47% | 78.5 | D |
| Stephenville Crossing 10 km | 10 km | 47% | 78.5 | C− |
| Stephenville 15 km | 2.3 km | 47% | 78.5 | C |
| Kippens 17 km | 5.2 km | 47% | 78.5 | C− |
Because the health region stops further out than these places, they all carry St. George's’ regional figures. Residents of Stephenville live nearer a hospital, at 2.3 km against 16 km in St. George's.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. Every place in the health region carries the same survey and life-expectancy figures; what is measured for St. George's itself is the trip to care.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about health in St. George's
What is the life expectancy in St. George's?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 81.1 for women, 76.0 for men around St. George's (2022/2024).
How is St. George'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 St. George's’ homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
How far is St. George's from a hospital?
For everyday care, St. George's’ residents are 10 km from a pharmacy and 206 km from a clinic on average.
How healthy is St. George's?
The region trails the typical Canadian town on each of its four survey and life-expectancy figures. Its chronic-condition figure, age-standardised, is 20%.
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).