Where Americans Live the Longest, and Why

Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the United States ranks 37th in life expectancy, according to the World Health Organization’s most recent longevity report. While the reasons for this are debated, one thing is clear: How much you earn appears to affect how long you live.

There are some startling geographic trends in longevity in this country. A report released by BioMed Central, entitled “Falling behind: life expectancy in US counties from 2000 to 2007” details the average life expectancy of Americans by county. The central southern portions of the U.S. have a unusually high concentration of short lifespans, while coastal areas in the west, the north, and the northeast, have the longest-lived populations. The contrast is dramatic. In Holmes County, Mississippi, a man born today is projected to live to 65.9, just past the standard age of retirement. In Collier County, Florida, women are projected to live to be 86. That is more than a difference of two decades between people living in the same country.

The variance in lifespan among Americans – and the extent to which this disparity follows regional lines – is alarming. A look at lifespan by county, when compared to other demographic data, demonstrates how much the long-lived share in common.  The relationship between healthy living and a long life span is well known. What is less well-known is that people with higher incomes tend to live substantially longer than those without.

• Read: The Ten Counties Where Americans Live the Longest

Healthy living includes things like exercise, well balanced diet, low alcohol consumption and not smoking. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent data on physical inactivity shows the highest concentration of active lifestyles in the counties and states where people live the longest. Residents in the South have among the highest levels of physical inactivity. In Colorado, nearly every county has less than a 20% rate of inactive adults. California, which has the second-lowest rate of smoking in the country, has four of the ten longest-lived counties in the U.S.

Click Here For Larger Image of Longevity By County

The obesity epidemic continues to spread throughout the country. Less than 15 years ago, there were no states with a rate higher than 20%. Three out of the ten longest-lived counties are in Colorado, and every county on our list has a rate less than 25%. Holmes County, Mississippi, which has the lowest life expectancy in the U.S., has the third-highest obesity rate – 42.2% David Satcher,  the former U.S. Surgeon General, describes obesity as “one of the greatest threats to child and adult health that we are facing today.”

Our analysis demonstrates that residents of wealthier counties live longer. Nearly every single county in the top ten longest-lived also happen to be the wealthiest in the country. The #1 and #2 counties in Colorado in terms of median household income are on our list, as are three of the top five in California. The second wealthiest county in the United States is also the fourth longest-lived. Conversely, Mississippi, which is home to the six shortest-lived counties in the country, has the lowest average median income in the country.

24/7 Wall st. examined the longevity estimates from the study, weighting the lifespans of both men and women equally. These are the ten counties with the longest-lived populations in the United States.

10. Orange County, California
> Male Life Expectancy: 79.3
> Female Life Expectancy: 83.6
> Population: 3,010,232
> Median Household Income: $71,735
> Obesity: 18.8%

Orange County is home to several wealthy towns and retirement communities for the current and former residents of Los Angeles. The city of Anaheim is located within the county. Orange County has become more well known as a result of T.V. shows such as “The O.C.,” and “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” Both of these programs showcase the area’s affluence. The county has the fifth-highest median income in the state. California, which generally performs well in longevity, has the ninth-highest median household income in the country.

Click for Larger Image of Median Household Income By County

9. Douglas County, Colorado
> Male Life Expectancy: 80.3
> Female Life Expectancy: 83.5
> Population: 285,465
> Median Household Income: $100,447
> Obesity: 16%

Douglas County is located between Colorado’s major cities – Denver and Colorado Springs. It was one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, whose population jumped 60% between 2000 and 2010. The area is rapidly becoming a suburban haven as the region’s ranches continue to disappear. Douglas had a median household income in 2009 of more than $100,000, double the national average.  American City Business Journals rated the county as having the fourth highest quality of life in the county.

8. Pitkin County, Colorado
> Male Life Expectancy: 80
> Female Life Expectancy: 84.2
> Population: 17,148
> Median Household Income: $69,352
> Obesity: 13.7%

Much of Colorado is composed of poor, rural towns.  The presence of the Rocky Mountains, however, have created one of exceptions to this. The counties that are home to ski resorts have residents that are more affluent and healthier than in other regions.  Pitkin County is no exception. The area is home to Aspen, one of the wealthiest cities in the country, which represents about a third of the county’s population.   In 2000, Pitkin had the fourth-highest median income in the country. While its wealth has dropped recently, it still has the fifth-highest median income in Colorado. The county has the ninth-longest longevity for men and the seventh-longest for women.

7. Gunnison County, Colorado
> Male Life Expectancy: 80
> Female Life Expectancy: 84.2
> Population: 13,956
> Median Household Income: 45,711
> Obesity: 14.9%

Colorado is the only state in the county with an obesity rate below 20%. While it was the case in Pitkin and Counties that wealth and health went hand in hand, Gunnison County actually has a median income of just $45,000, less than both the state and national averages. However, the area has a very low rate of physical inactivity, and an obesity rate of less than 15% – the 12th lowest rate for a county in the U.S. According to James O. Hill,  director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Denver, in Colorado “People value lifestyle, they value physical activity, they value healthy eating. We have an environment that’s conducive to that. It’s a wonderful place for physical activity.”

Click for Larger Image of Obesity By County

6. San Mateo County, California
> Male Life Expectancy: 79.8
> Female Life Expectancy: 84.5
> Population: 718,451
> Median Household Income: $84,678
> Obesity: 19.4%

Like Orange County, San Mateo represents a particularly affluent suburban region that serves San Fransisco, one of the wealthiest cities in the country. San Mateo, which makes up part of the Silicon Valley, is home to many major corporations, and has a particularly high number of successful professionals. San Mateo has the third-highest median income in the state, at roughly $85,000. It is among the 20 most affluent counties in the country.

5. Santa Clara County, California
> 2007 Male Life Expectancy: 80.6
> 2007 Female Life Expectancy: 83.9
> Population: 1,781,642
> Median Household Income: $84,990
> Obesity: 20.2%

Santa Clara is the second-wealthiest county in the state, and evidence of its healthy living residents are essentially the same as its neighbor, San Mateo. While San Mateo forms part of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, featuring the City of San Jose, is at its heart. The county serves as headquarters to the who’s who of American tech companies,  including Apple, eBay, Facebook and Google. The area boasts the tenth longest expected lifespan for males, 79.8 years, and the second longest for women, at 84.5 years.

Click For Larger Image of Diabetes By County

4. Fairfax County, Virginia
> Male Life Expectancy: 81.1
> Female Life Expectancy: 83.8
> Population: 1,081,726
> Median Household Income: $102,325
> Obesity: 22.7%

Fairfax County is located in Northern Virginia and is home to some to wealthy suburbs of Washington D.C. Fairfax has a median household income of $102,000, the second-highest in the state and the country, behind only neighboring county Loudon. Fairfax has the 11th longest life expectancy for women (82.3 years) and the longest life expectancy for men (81.1 years). The county GDP, roughly $95 billion by last estimate, is greater than that of the entire country of Iraq.  Residents of Virginia, like most of the South, have relatively short life spans. The northernmost metropolitan region of Virginia is an exception to an otherwise impoverished, unhealthy, and short-lived state.

3. Collier County, Florida
> Male Life Expectancy: 80.2
> Female Life Expectancy: 86
> Population: 321,520
> Median Household Income: $53,934
> Obesity: 21.2%

While healthy behavior and wealth are a common feature of areas where people live long lives, this is not always the case. Collier County, located in Southwest Florida, has one of the largest populations of retirees in the nation. According to the 2010 Census, 26.8% of the county’s population is over the age of 65 – double the U.S. average of 12.9%. Nearly one in every four households have at least one person over the age of 65. Collier County is not particularly wealthy, with a median household income around the national average. However, its obesity rate – 21.8% – is below average. Likely one of the biggest reasons for the region’s long-lived population is simply that most of the retirees are from other regions where people tend to live longer lives.

Click For Larger Image of Physical Inactivity By County

2. Montgomery County, Maryland
> Male Life Expectancy: 80.7
> Female Life Expectancy: 84.5
> Population: 971,777
> Median Household Income: $93,774
> Obesity: 19.3%

Montgomery County is an affluent D.C. suburban region. The county has the highest rate of residents with post-graduate degrees in the country, at more than one in four. The county also has the second highest median household income in the state, at nearly $94,000. The county has an obesity rate of just 19.4%. It is the southernmost county in the country east of the Mississippi to have an obesity rate less than 20%.

1. Marin County, California
> Male Life Expectancy: 80.8
> Female Life Expectancy: 84.5
> Population: 252,409
> Median Household Income: $86,658
> Obesity: 16.3%

Marin County, California, is the longest-lived county in the United States. It is also the third suburb of San Fransisco to make our list. Located across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Fransisco, Marin had the lowest unemployment rate in California last year. It is the most affluent county in California, with a median household income of roughly $86,000. Men live the second-longest in the country, at 80.8 years, and women live to be 84.8, the fourth longest.

Michael B. Sauter