Longevity – Which states lead in life expectancy?

If you want to live the longest life, you would do well to move to the Aloha State. Hawaiian residents have a longer life expectancy than any other US state, according to a recent study by the Harvard University Global Health Initiative and the Harvard School of Public Health. At the other end of the scale, you could expect to live eight years less if you lived in the District of Columbia.

The study concluded that Hawaii’s number one ranking was due in part to its small size and population. The average Hawaiian resident can expect to live 80 years, and Hawaiian women live even longer “longer than any other state, in fact” at an average of 83.2 years.

Mild climate is not a factor in longevity

In case you’re getting ahead of the statistics and decided that a mild climate is the main factor in longevity, you might be surprised to learn that the number two state, when it comes to life expectancy, was Minnesota, where the average person you can expect to live 78.2 years. In fact, white citizens of the Midwest as a whole, which also includes North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, have a life expectancy greater than 98% of the rest of the white population in the United States: 76, 2 years for men and 81.8 for women.

However, the Midwest did not peg longevity because the study found that Utah ranked third, at 78.7 years. Morgan and Summit counties led the way, each averaging 80.8 years.

southern states

Residents of the South don’t fare as well, as the study found that the bottom four states were all located below the Mason-Dixon line. Washington, DC was ranked 51st, with its citizens having an average of only 72 years to live. Next to last on the list was Mississippi, making it the lowest of the fifty states for life expectancy, at 73.6 years. Coahoma County, Mississippi ranked 11th from the bottom in the entire United States with an average of just 70.1. With an average life expectancy of 74.2 years, Louisiana ranked third from the bottom, followed by Alabama (74.4) and South Carolina (74.8).

In a somewhat surprising conclusion after looking at all 50 US states and the District of Columbia, the researchers found that American life expectancy is less influenced than might be expected by factors such as personal income, health insurance inadequate or violence, and more by factors such as chronic illness or injury.