Photo: C Robson · CC BY-SA 3.0More smokers around Whitehorse: 18% of adults, where the typical Canadian town has 12%
In the health survey, 55% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, close to Yukon’s 55%. Measured from where Whitehorse’s residents live, a hospital is 4.5 km away, near the 3.7 km most towns see. The Health grade for Whitehorse is B−, #2,062 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Whitehorse
A region where lives run shorter
Whitehorse’s region sits 2.3 years below the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 19.3 years ahead (2014/2016). The wider area ↓
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.
Whitehorse grades B− 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: #2,062 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.
Life expectancy in the region: 79.2 years
Regional life expectancy in Yukon, then the town’s place on the national deprivation index.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2014/2016, by health region.
In the region, high blood pressure (15%) and diabetes (6.1%)
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 tracks the province: 26% of adults here, 26% across Yukon.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight.
From Whitehorse, a hospital is 4.5 km away on average
Measured from where the town’s residents live, so this part is Whitehorse’s own, not the region’s.
That is close to the 3.7 km of the typical Canadian town. Homes are spread out: from the town’s centre of population the hospital is 1.0 km, while the average resident is 4.5 km away.
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.
Self-rated health much as in Yukon: 55% to 55%
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 21% of adults on most days; mental health is rated very good or excellent by 51%, the province 51% (Yukon).
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Whitehorse is 31st of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
Ordered by residents’ distance to a hospital: 40 Canadian towns of 31,671 to 36,594 people, median 3.0 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centretown ON A+ | 32,035 | 0.5 km | 56% |
| 2 | Sainte-Marie QC A | 33,699 | 0.7 km | 54% |
| 3 | Fairview BC A+ | 33,969 | 0.7 km | 50% |
| 29 | North Cowichan BC B− | 34,525 | 3.6 km | 47% |
| 30 | Val-d'Or QC B | 33,353 | 4.0 km | 57% |
| 31 | Whitehorse YT B− | 34,129 | 4.5 km | 55% |
| 32 | Saint-Constant QC A | 32,124 | 4.6 km | 55% |
| 33 | Arcola East SK B | 33,823 | 5.1 km | 49% |
| 40 | Parkland County AB B− | 34,286 | 15 km | 51% |
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
- Regional figures. Every place in the health region carries the same survey and life-expectancy figures; what is measured for Whitehorse itself is the trip to care.
- 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. People on reserves and in institutions, full-time military members and the residents of Nunavik and Eeyou Istchee aren’t interviewed by the survey.
- 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 Whitehorse
How is Whitehorse’s Health Grade worked out?
No letter yet for Whitehorse: Canada is graded in one run, and Health will then compare its region and its access to care with the typical Canadian town.
What is the life expectancy in Whitehorse?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 81.8 for women, 76.5 for men around Whitehorse (2014/2016).
How healthy is Whitehorse?
Most of the region’s figures sit on the healthier side of the typical Canadian town’s, though not all. Its chronic-condition figure, age-standardised, is 15%.
How far is Whitehorse from a hospital?
For everyday care, Whitehorse’s residents are 4.6 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 2014/2016 (13-10-0988) · Statistics Canada, health regions 2023 (82-402-X) · Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · pharmacies © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). 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).