Life expectancy in the U.S. has officially rebounded to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released in early 2026. The average life span across the entire population reached 79.0 years as of 2024.
While this number might seem impressive, life expectancy varies based on numerous factors, from genetics to air quality to economic opportunities—some of which are also connected to where you live and your ethnicity. An April 2025 study determined that while life expectancy improved dramatically from 1900 to 2000, average life span barely budged in certain states, particularly in the South. Meanwhile, independent health policy researchers KFF reported in March 2026 that life expectancy can vary by as much as 15 years between different ethnic groups.
Historically, the groups with the lowest average life expectancy in the U.S. have been Black Americans living in nonmetropolitan and low-income counties in the South and American Indian or Alaska Native individuals in the western part of the country. Asian Americans have been the group with the highest average life expectancy.
To investigate where specifically in the U.S. people live the longest, Stacker used data from the 2023 County Health Rankings to determine the 25 states with the highest average life expectancy. The 2023 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2018-2020 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. 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. The two exceptions on this list are Utah (0.5%) and Hawai'i (7.0%).
Keep reading to see if your home state made the list of areas where people live the longest.
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1 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.6
- Total seniors in the state: 297,101 (21.7% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #12
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.0
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.2% male, 53.8% female
--- Breakdown by race: 95.4% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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2 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.6
- Total seniors in the state: 1,003,383 (16.3% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #13
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.1
--- Breakdown by sex: 43.7% male, 56.3% female
--- Breakdown by race: 63.2% White, 25.0% Black or African American, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 5.8% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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3 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.6
- Total seniors in the state: 2,103,309 (16.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #27
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.0
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.5% male, 55.5% female
--- Breakdown by race: 74.9% White, 11.4% Black or African American, 7.9% Hispanic or Latino, 4.8% Asian, 0.3% Native American or Alaska Native
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4 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.7
- Total seniors in the state: 567,581 (17.8% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #23
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.1
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.8% male, 54.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 94.8% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
5 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.8
- Total seniors in the state: 123,840 (16.0% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #20
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.0
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.8% male, 53.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 95.4% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian, 1.9% Native American or Alaska Native
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6 / 25- Average life expectancy: 78.9
- Total seniors in the state: 1,054,247 (17.9% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #10
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.3% male, 53.7% female
--- Breakdown by race: 92.4% White, 3.1% Black or African American, 2.0% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% Native American or Alaska Native
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7 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.0
- Total seniors in the state: 322,833 (16.4% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #21
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.9
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.8% male, 54.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 91.5% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% Asian, 0.4% Native American or Alaska Native
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8 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.1
- Total seniors in the state: 1,333,985 (18.3% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #32
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.4
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.4% male, 53.6% female
--- Breakdown by race: 79.7% White, 2.5% Black or African American, 13.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% Asian, 2.1% Native American or Alaska Native
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9 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.1
- Total seniors in the state: 1,406,480 (16.3% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #31
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.0
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.8% male, 55.2% female
--- Breakdown by race: 73.7% White, 16.2% Black or African American, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 5.1% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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10 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.2
- Total seniors in the state: 314,010 (16.5% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #34
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 47.6% male, 52.4% female
--- Breakdown by race: 91.6% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Native American or Alaska Native
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11 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.4
- Total seniors in the state: 200,201 (18.3% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #4
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.4
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.3% male, 55.7% female
--- Breakdown by race: 86.4% White, 3.2% Black or African American, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock
12 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.5
- Total seniors in the state: 1,563,621 (16.9% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #25
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.2
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.0% male, 56.0% female
--- Breakdown by race: 70.6% White, 10.0% Black or African American, 11.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
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13 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.6
- Total seniors in the state: 267,741 (19.3% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #10
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.7
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.5% male, 53.5% female
--- Breakdown by race: 95.0% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 1.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian, 0.0% Native American or Alaska Native
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14 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.7
- Total seniors in the state: 133,173 (20.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #18
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.6
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.9% male, 53.1% female
--- Breakdown by race: 95.9% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
15 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.7
- Total seniors in the state: 388,120 (11.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #33
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.7
--- Breakdown by sex: 47.2% male, 52.8% female
--- Breakdown by race: 89.9% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% Asian, 0.6% Native American or Alaska Native
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16 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.7
- Total seniors in the state: 789,896 (18.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #29
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.8
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.1% male, 53.9% female
--- Breakdown by race: 88.2% White, 1.0% Black or African American, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 3.0% Asian, 0.6% Native American or Alaska Native
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17 / 25- Average life expectancy: 79.7
- Total seniors in the state: 4,598,996 (21.1% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #38
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.9
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.5% male, 54.5% female
--- Breakdown by race: 73.7% White, 8.9% Black or African American, 16.1% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
Canva
18 / 25- Average life expectancy: 80.0
- Total seniors in the state: 880,167 (15.1% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #9
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.5
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.5% male, 53.5% female
--- Breakdown by race: 83.6% White, 2.7% Black or African American, 10.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% Asian, 0.7% Native American or Alaska Native
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19 / 25- Average life expectancy: 80.1
- Total seniors in the state: 649,172 (18.0% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #3
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.4
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.5% male, 55.5% female
--- Breakdown by race: 82.5% White, 6.7% Black or African American, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
20 / 25- Average life expectancy: 80.2
- Total seniors in the state: 1,216,447 (17.4% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #2
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.2
--- Breakdown by sex: 44.2% male, 55.8% female
--- Breakdown by race: 84.5% White, 4.3% Black or African American, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 4.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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21 / 25- Average life expectancy: 80.2
- Total seniors in the state: 1,251,640 (16.2% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #15
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.7
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.1% male, 53.9% female
--- Breakdown by race: 83.2% White, 2.1% Black or African American, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 0.8% Native American or Alaska Native
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22 / 25- Average life expectancy: 80.3
- Total seniors in the state: 3,477,337 (17.5% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #6
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.3
--- Breakdown by sex: 43.9% male, 56.1% female
--- Breakdown by race: 68.0% White, 11.8% Black or African American, 12.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 0.3% Native American or Alaska Native
Canva
23 / 25- Average life expectancy: 80.4
- Total seniors in the state: 959,272 (16.8% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #1
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 72.9
--- Breakdown by sex: 46.2% male, 53.8% female
--- Breakdown by race: 91.9% White, 2.4% Black or African American, 1.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.2% Asian, 0.4% Native American or Alaska Native
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24 / 25- Average life expectancy: 81.1
- Total seniors in the state: 5,964,526 (15.2% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #8
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.1
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.1% male, 54.9% female
--- Breakdown by race: 55.8% White, 5.1% Black or African American, 21.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 0.8% Native American or Alaska Native
Canva
25 / 25- Average life expectancy: 82.3
- Total seniors in the state: 282,567 (19.6% of state population)
- Health care for seniors rank: #22
- Senior demographics:
--- Median age: 73.5
--- Breakdown by sex: 45.9% male, 54.1% female
--- Breakdown by race: 27.2% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 51.7% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native
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