Life Expectancy by State: What state’s residents live the longest?

Chrissy Callahan
Updated
Swiet Productions

Hoping to live a long life?

A new study from the National Center for Health Statistics breaks down the life expectancy by state across the U.S. and offers some interesting insight into the role your surroundings can play in your health. The results were compiled based on data from 2020 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Overall, eight states and Washington, D.C., saw their average life expectancies drop by more than two years between 2019 and 2020. In this time frame, total deaths in the U.S. also spiked 19%, the largest increase in a century.

Curious to know where your state ranks? We’re breaking down the highlights.

Hawaii tops the list

Looks like living the island life can help extend your lifespan. Hawaii tops the list with an average life expectancy of 80.7. More specifically, males in the state have an average lifespan of 77.6, and females outlive them by a few years with their average of 83.8 years.

Washington is a close second

Washington state might have a vastly different climate from Hawaii, but its residents seem to be pretty hardy all the same. Its life expectancy averages were pretty close to Hawaii's, with an overall of 79.2 years, and 76.9 and 81.6 for males and females, respectively.

Minnesota, California and Massachusetts are neck and neck in the rankings

Even though they're located in three different areas of the country, Minnesota, California and Massachusetts have similar life expectancies (79.1, 79 and 79 respectively). Their male and female data is also pretty close, with 76.2 to 76.8 years on average for males and 81.4 to 82 years for females.

Several Northeast states round out the top 10

New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut also held strong and represented the Northeast in the top 10, as did Oregon and Utah.

The middle of the pack is all spread out

From Pennsylvania to Alaska and everywhere in between, the middle of the list (No. 25-31) is full of states that are spread out across the country and their life expectancies are pretty on par with each other.

  • Pennsylvania: 76.8 years

  • Illinois: 76.8 years

  • Delaware: 76.7 years

  • South Dakota: 76.7 years

  • Alaska: 76.6 years

  • Texas: 76.5 years

  • Kansas: 76.4 years

Several Southern states ranked low on the list

The following Southern states ranked towards the bottom end of the list with their average life expectancies:

  • South Carolina: 74.8 years

  • New Mexico: 74.5 years

  • Oklahoma: 74.1 years

  • Arkansas: 73.8 years

  • Tennessee: 73.8 years

  • Kentucky: 73.5 years

  • Alabama: 73.2 years

  • Louisiana: 73.1 years

  • West Virginia: 72.8 years

Mississippi took home last place

In last place was Mississippi, whose residents lived an average of 71.9 years in 2020. Males lived 68.6 years and females lived 75.2 years.

Life expectancy overall has declined since the pandemic

According to the report, the life expectancy in the U.S. also dropped by 1.8 years (from 78.8 to 77 years) between 2019 and 2020. It declined in all 50 states and D.C. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic likely played a significant role in this data.

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