Photo: SimonP at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Health in Springhill trails 85% of Canadian towns
Adults here are less upbeat about their health than the province: 42% very good or excellent, against 48% in Nova Scotia. Closer to home, a hospital is 5.1 km from the average resident of Springhill, further than the usual 3.7 km. Health gives Springhill a grade of D, #58 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #2,460 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Springhill
A region that smokes more
Smoking is commoner around Springhill than in the typical Canadian town’s region, and 14% of adults smoke every day. Conditions and habits ↓
Less upbeat about their health
Even once age is allowed for, 9.6 points fewer adults here call their health very good or excellent than in the typical town’s region (41% as answered). Health survey ↓
Shorter lives in the region
Born around Springhill, a child can expect 2.2 fewer years than in the typical Canadian town’s region; at 65, another 19.2 (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
Long-term conditions run high
High blood pressure (29%) and diabetes (13%) push the region’s chronic-condition figure above the typical Canadian town’s. Conditions and habits ↓
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.
Springhill 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: #58 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #2,460 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.
In the region, high blood pressure (29%) and diabetes (13%)
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
More adults report obesity than across Nova Scotia: 43%, the province 39%.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight.
Fewer people rate their health highly here than in Nova Scotia: 41% to 47%
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Fewer adults here report very good or excellent mental health than across Nova Scotia (44% against 48%), while 24% call most days stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Life expectancy across the 4 health regions in Nova Scotia
Regional life expectancy in Nova Scotia, then the town’s place on the national deprivation index.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
The region comes 3rd of 4 in Nova Scotia, where life expectancy runs from 78.8 to 81.4 years.
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 Springhill’s own areas.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
1.4 years above the line for regions this deprived
One dot per health region, 102 in all, since life expectancy and the index are published for regions; Springhill’s dot is marked, above the line.
Use the deprivation index alone and Springhill’s region, at 3.8, should live about 77.9 years, the trend through 102 regions (correlation −0.83), and it reaches 79.3. Among the 10 regions closest to it on the index, shorter lives win out: 7 of the 10, around a median of 78.5 years.
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 5.1 km from the average home in Springhill
Measured from where the town’s residents live, so this part is Springhill’s own, not the region’s.
Springhill is closer in than the provincial norm of 9.2 km in Nova Scotia, and than the typical Canadian town at 3.7 km. Few clinics are listed in Nova Scotia, so the distance to one reads longer than it is.
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Springhill is 27th nearest a hospital
Ordered by residents’ distance to a hospital: 40 Canadian towns of 6,835 to 7,199 people, median 4.4 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raleigh ON B | 7,113 | 0.9 km | 53% |
| 2 | Perth ON B | 6,972 | 1.0 km | 51% |
| 3 | Devon AB B+ | 6,965 | 1.0 km | 51% |
| 25 | Hope ON A | 6,997 | 4.8 km | 51% |
| 26 | Gimli MB C− | 6,914 | 5.0 km | 50% |
| 27 | Springhill NS D | 7,015 | 5.1 km | 42% |
| 28 | Applewood Park AB A | 6,835 | 5.4 km | 56% |
| 29 | Cougar Ridge AB A | 7,101 | 5.6 km | 56% |
| 40 | Algoma, Unorganized, North Part ON D− | 7,008 | 25 km | 46% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Deprivation is context. Statistics Canada’s 2021 deprivation index describes the town’s own areas for context only, with no index for the territories.
- 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.
- 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.
- Regional figures. Only the distances on this page belong to Springhill alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
Questions about health in Springhill
How healthy is Springhill?
On every regional measure, the region does worse than the typical Canadian town. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 21%.
What is the life expectancy in Springhill?
Women in Springhill’s region live to 81.5 on average and men to 77.1, Statistics Canada’s 2022/2024 estimate.
How is Springhill’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 Springhill’s homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
How far is Springhill from a hospital?
For everyday care, Springhill’s residents are 19 km from a pharmacy 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).