States Where People Live the Longest

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States where people live the longest

Based on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released in November 2023, American life expectancy increased by 1.1 years between 2021 and 2022. The average life span across the entire population is now 77.5 years. 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. A study from researchers at the University of Washington published in November 2024 found that life expectancy in the U.S. varies by 20.4 years depending on race, ethnicity, and where you live. That's a 62% increase from a 12.6-year gap in 2000.

Historically, the groups with the lowest average life expectancy in the U.S. have been Black Americans living in non-metropolitan 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 Hawaii (7.0%).

Keep reading to see if your home state made the list of areas where people live the longest.

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#25. Maine

- 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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#24. Maryland

- 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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#23. Illinois

- 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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#22. Iowa

- 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

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#21. North Dakota

- 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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#20. Wisconsin

- 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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#19. Nebraska

- 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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#18. Arizona

- 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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#17. Virginia

- 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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#16. Idaho

- 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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#15. Rhode Island

- 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

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#14. New Jersey

- 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. New Hampshire

- 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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#12. Vermont

- 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

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#11. Utah

- 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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#10. Oregon

- 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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#9. Florida

- 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

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#8. Colorado

- 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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#7. Connecticut

- 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

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#6. Massachusetts

- 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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#5. Washington

- 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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#4. New York

- 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

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#3. Minnesota

- 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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#2. California

- 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

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#1. Hawaii

- 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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