According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in January 2026, American life expectancy has reached an all-time high. The average lifespan across the entire population in 2024 was 79 years, an increase of 0.6 years from 2023 and surpassing the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 78.8 years in 2019.
However, those numbers don't apply equally across all racial and ethnic groups. Research published in November 2024 found sizable disparities between the life expectancies of different demographics as of 2021, with a more than 20-year difference between those who have the lowest and those who have the highest. Even more concerning, that gap has grown significantly over the past two decades—in 2000, the divide between the lowest and highest life expectancy was just 12.6 years.
In some cases, these disparities might even be underestimated. A June 2025 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the life expectancy of Native Americans has been underreported over time. Researchers determined that the actual lifespan of American Indians and Alaska Natives was just shy of 73, which is comparable to the life expectancy of individuals in developing nations.
Numerous factors can affect life expectancy, from genetics to air quality to economic opportunities. Location also plays a significant role. A 2025 study from the Yale School of Public Health looked at the average life expectancies of people born from 1900 to 2000, tracking how the numbers have changed over time. Broadly speaking, lifespan increased significantly in the last century, but Southern states like West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Kentucky barely saw the number grow at all.
Stacker used data from the 2023 County Health Rankings to determine the 25 states where people have the shortest lifespans. The 2023 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2018-2020 National Center for Health Statistics. The Census 2021 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2023 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively. Please note that in the data below, the demographics for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders were left out due to being less than 0.5% of the senior population.
Keep reading to see if your home state is one where people have the shortest average life expectancy.
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1 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.6
- Total seniors in the state: 98,410 (13.4% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #42
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 71.4
--- Breakdown by sex: 50.5% male, 49.5% female
--- Breakdown by race: 73.3% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 10.7% Native American or Alaska Native
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2 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.4
- Total seniors in the state: 3,892,411 (13.2% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #30
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.7
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.2% male, 54.8% female
--- Breakdown by race: 64.5% White, 9.4% Black or African American, 24.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.3% Asian, 0.5% Native American or Alaska Native
Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock
3 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.4
- Total seniors in the state: 217,298 (19.7% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #36
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.6
--- Breakdown by sex: 48.4% male, 51.6% female
--- Breakdown by race: 91.7% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 1.7% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% Asian, 2.6% Native American or Alaska Native
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4 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.2
- Total seniors in the state: 157,883 (17.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #39
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 47.3% male, 52.7% female
--- Breakdown by race: 92.5% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 1.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% Asian, 3.3% Native American or Alaska Native
randy andy // Shutterstock
5 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.1
- Total seniors in the state: 519,568 (16.5% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #46
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 47.4% male, 52.6% female
--- Breakdown by race: 69.0% White, 6.5% Black or African American, 12.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 1.1% Native American or Alaska Native
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6 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.1
- Total seniors in the state: 103,822 (17.9% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #43
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.1
--- Breakdown by sex: 48.7% male, 51.3% female
--- Breakdown by race: 91.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% Asian, 0.7% Native American or Alaska Native
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7 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.0
- Total seniors in the state: 2,464,903 (19.0% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #5
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.2
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.7% male, 55.3% female
--- Breakdown by race: 87.0% White, 7.2% Black or African American, 2.7% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
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8 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.0
- Total seniors in the state: 201,551 (20.1% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #35
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.5
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.1% male, 54.9% female
--- Breakdown by race: 77.8% White, 15.0% Black or African American, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% Asian, 0.3% Native American or Alaska Native
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9 / 25- Average life expectancy: 77.8
- Total seniors in the state: 489,676 (16.7% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #26
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.0
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.3% male, 54.7% female
--- Breakdown by race: 88.8% White, 4.0% Black or African American, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% Asian, 0.4% Native American or Alaska Native
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10 / 25- Average life expectancy: 77.7
- Total seniors in the state: 1,796,369 (17.0% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #37
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.0
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.2% male, 55.8% female
--- Breakdown by race: 76.4% White, 16.9% Black or African American, 2.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% Asian, 0.8% Native American or Alaska Native
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11 / 25- Average life expectancy: 77.5
- Total seniors in the state: 1,823,284 (18.1% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #17
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.9
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.4% male, 54.6% female
--- Breakdown by race: 83.9% White, 10.2% Black or African American, 2.0% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% Asian, 0.3% Native American or Alaska Native
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12 / 25- Average life expectancy: 77.3
- Total seniors in the state: 1,585,687 (14.7% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #47
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.7
--- Breakdown by sex: 43.9% male, 56.1% female
--- Breakdown by race: 67.6% White, 24.1% Black or African American, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 3.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
13 / 25- Average life expectancy: 76.9
- Total seniors in the state: 391,797 (18.5% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #24
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.2% male, 53.8% female
--- Breakdown by race: 62.5% White, 1.4% Black or African American, 33.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% Asian, 5.5% Native American or Alaska Native
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14 / 25- Average life expectancy: 76.6
- Total seniors in the state: 1,084,768 (17.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #7
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.1
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.8% male, 55.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 86.7% White, 7.7% Black or African American, 1.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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15 / 25- Average life expectancy: 76.5
- Total seniors in the state: 2,102,569 (17.8% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #14
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.9
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.8% male, 55.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 86.5% White, 8.8% Black or African American, 1.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
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16 / 25- Average life expectancy: 76.5
- Total seniors in the state: 1,115,579 (16.4% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #16
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.7
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.7% male, 55.3% female
--- Breakdown by race: 88.6% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
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17 / 25- Average life expectancy: 76.4
- Total seniors in the state: 967,223 (18.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #40
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.9
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.9% male, 55.1% female
--- Breakdown by race: 75.4% White, 19.9% Black or African American, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
18 / 25- Average life expectancy: 75.5
- Total seniors in the state: 645,174 (16.2% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #48
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.1
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.1% male, 54.9% female
--- Breakdown by race: 81.1% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% Asian, 4.7% Native American or Alaska Native
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19 / 25- Average life expectancy: 75.5
- Total seniors in the state: 525,153 (17.4% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #19
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.3
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.8% male, 55.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 83.2% White, 10.8% Black or African American, 1.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% Native American or Alaska Native
Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock
20 / 25- Average life expectancy: 75.3
- Total seniors in the state: 1,187,354 (17.0% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #41
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.8% male, 55.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 83.8% White, 11.5% Black or African American, 1.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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21 / 25- Average life expectancy: 75.2
- Total seniors in the state: 766,330 (16.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #50
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.7
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.5% male, 55.5% female
--- Breakdown by race: 68.4% White, 24.9% Black or African American, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian, 0.4% Native American or Alaska Native
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22 / 25- Average life expectancy: 75.1
- Total seniors in the state: 768,416 (17.0% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #49
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.8% male, 55.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 90.9% White, 5.4% Black or African American, 0.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock
23 / 25- Average life expectancy: 74.8
- Total seniors in the state: 885,809 (17.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #28
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.0
--- Breakdown by sex: 43.9% male, 56.1% female
--- Breakdown by race: 75.7% White, 20.3% Black or African American, 1.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% Native American or Alaska Native
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
24 / 25- Average life expectancy: 74.3
- Total seniors in the state: 368,775 (20.7% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #44
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.9
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.1% male, 53.9% female
--- Breakdown by race: 94.6% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Native American or Alaska Native
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25 / 25- Average life expectancy: 73.9
- Total seniors in the state: 496,945 (16.8% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #45
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.0% male, 56.0% female
--- Breakdown by race: 68.2% White, 27.7% Black or African American, 1.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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