In Richmond, 90 is the new 80. But in the BC Interior, life expectancies are shorter than 20 years ago. … Article written by Tyler Olsen. Residents of B.C.'s largest cities are living longer than ever — but their counterparts in the B.C. Interior are not. Twenty years of life expectancy data obtained by The Tyee reveals that the closer a community is to British Columbia's largest cities, the longer its residents tend to live. The data also shows that the life expectancy gap between B.C.'s most prosperous cities and its economically struggling areas is growing steadily larger. In parts of Metro Vancouver, life expectancies are now approaching 90. By contrast, in many Interior areas and the central Vancouver area surrounding the Downtown Eastside, projected lifespans have declined over the last two decades according to the figures, which were released to The Tyee by request but are not otherwise publicly available. The data reveals life expectancy, in jurisdictions called local health areas, between 2000 and 2024. Richmond has British Columbia's longest life expectancy, with residents born in 2024 expected to live 89.4 years on average. The second part of this Tyee series will examine why people in Richmond may live particularly long. By contrast, the small but densely populated central area surrounding Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has the province's lowest life expectancy. Life expectancy data reveals "a really important variable in public health for us to gauge how a community is doing," Fraser Health medical health officer Dr. Curtis May told The Tyee. Understanding those factors can inform health officials about challenges, and inform potential responses, May said. Access to health care is important, but one of many components. Income, education levels, housing quality, interactions with toxic drugs, and other external factors all play key roles in determining the life expectancy of broad and diverse populations. Environmental and social factors and the prevalence of healthy or risky habits also affect a community's overall health, and the length of the lives of its residents. "This is a whole-of-society story," May said. Across British Columbia, the life expectancy at birth in 2024 was 82.6 years, according to the most recent data from Statistics Canada. That's higher than in 2004, when babies could be expected to live for 80 years, on average. But the two decades of provincial life expectancy data provided to The Tyee show just how varied life expectancies are across the province. The data, which stretches from 2000 to 2024, shows significant progress in some local health areas, but decreases in other places. The areas themselves vary significantly in size and population in ways that could affect the data. Vancouver is broken into six local health areas, while Surrey — which has a similar population — is divided into two areas. Most large B.C. municipalities are covered by a single local health area. Local health areas in less-urban regions often include multiple communities. In addition to Richmond, eight other local health areas have life expectancies exceeding 85. All are in the Lower Mainland, and four are within Vancouver. The other long-lived areas include North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby and the Tri-Cities — which encompasses Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, and the two villages of Anmore and Belcarra. Life expectancies in Victoria and the Kelowna area have also continued to tick upwards, with babies in the Greater Victoria area expected to live about 83 or 84 years, and with life expectancies in the Kelowna area about 82 years and in line with the provincial average. With a few exceptions in the Kootenays and the Comox area, life expectancy recedes as one travels away from B.C.'s largest cities. In the Fraser Valley, for instance, people in Surrey are expected to live longer than those in Langley, who have longer projected lives than neighbours in Abbotsford, who live longer than those in Chill...