City With the Longest Life Expectancy in Every State
May 17, 2018 by Thomas FrohlichLife expectancy is considered a measure of progress in a society. In the United States, with life expectancy steadily rising since at least 1900, there is likely an expectation that people will live increasingly longer lives.
In 2015, however, the first drop in U.S. life expectancy was reported since 1993. The typical American born in 2015 could expect to live 78.8 years, down slightly from 78.9 years in 2014. Furthermore, there is great variation among cities in the concentration of certain advantages that can help the population live longer, healthier lives. In some U.S. cities, residents enjoy among the highest life expectancy in the world.
To highlight variations in life expectancy by geography, even within a state, 24/7 Wall St. listed the city with the longest life expectancy at birth in every state. Looking at all U.S. metro areas, life expectancy is highest in Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida, at 83.4 years. In contrast, life expectancy at birth in Gadsden, Alabama is nearly 10 years shorter, at 73.9 years.
Click here to see city with the longest life expectancy in every state.
The association between wealth and longevity is not fully understood but well established. For a variety of reasons, including access to higher quality medical care, less financial-related stress, and living in better-served high income areas, wealthier individuals tend to be healthier, and poorer individuals less healthy.
Adults living in poverty are nearly five times more likely to report being in poor or fair health than more affluent American adults. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the richest 1% of Americans live on average nearly 15 years longer than the poorest 1%.
The cities on this list tend to have higher household incomes and a smaller share of residents living in poverty than metro areas with shorter life expectancies. This is also the case when comparing each metro area to the respective state poverty rates — the cities with the longest life expectancies have lower poverty rates than the state as a whole. In the national context, poverty rates in 21 of the cities on this list are lower than the national poverty rate of 15.5%.
Another common trend among the cities with the longest life expectancy in their state is the tendency to report more healthy behaviors than among cities with shorter life expectancies. In cities with longer life expectancies, exercise and healthy eating habits contribute to lower obesity rates. Obesity is associated with higher risk of life-shortening diseases. Obesity rates in the majority of cities with the longest life expectancy in their state are lower than the state and national obesity rates.
Similarly, smoking rates in these metro areas almost always trail the statewide adult smoking rates. And compared to the 18% of adults who report a smoking habit nationwide, only 12 cities report a higher smoking rate.
To determine the metropolitan areas in each state where people live the longest, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2014 county-level life expectancy at birth figures provided by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a global research center affiliated with the University of Washington. The data came from the report, “United States Life Expectancy Estimates by County 1985-2014.” Using death records data from the National Center for Health Statistics, researchers estimated age-specific mortality rates for U.S. counties from 1985 to 2014.
To obtain metro area life expectancy estimates, we mapped the counties to their corresponding metro areas and calculated the average life expectancy across all counties in a given metro area. County estimates were weighted by 5-year population figures from the 2014 American Community Survey (ACS)
Metro-level median household income came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey. Obesity rates came from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
1. Alabama
> Metro area: Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL
> Life expectancy: 78.1 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 75.7 years (2nd lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 27.4%
> Metro area median household income: $50,254
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2. Alaska
> Metro area: Fairbanks, AK
> Life expectancy: 79.4 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.4 years (18th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 28.1%
> Metro area median household income: $71,068 (top 10%)
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3. Arizona
> Metro area: Yuma, AZ
> Life expectancy: 80.7 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.6 years (17th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 30.5%
> Metro area median household income: $40,743 (bottom 10%)
4. Arkansas
> Metro area: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO
> Life expectancy: 78.5 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 76.2 years (6th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 30.4%
> Metro area median household income: $49,147
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5. California
> Metro area: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
> Life expectancy: 83.1 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.8 years (3rd highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 19.6% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $95,405 (top 10%)
6. Colorado
> Metro area: Fort Collins, CO
> Life expectancy: 81.7 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.2 years (8th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 18.7% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $59,805 (top 25%)
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7. Connecticut
> Metro area: Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
> Life expectancy: 81.8 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.6 years (4th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 21.4% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $84,233 (top 10%)
8. Delaware
> Metro area: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
> Life expectancy: 78.6 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.7 years (21st lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 27.4%
> Metro area median household income: $62,513 (top 10%)
9. Florida
> Metro area: Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL
> Life expectancy: 83.4 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.5 years (21st highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 19.5% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $57,452 (top 25%)
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10. Georgia
> Metro area: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
> Life expectancy: 78.6 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 77.4 years (10th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 28.3%
> Metro area median household income: $57,000 (top 25%)
11. Hawaii
> Metro area: Urban Honolulu, HI
> Life expectancy: 81.4 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 81.2 years (the highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 22.3% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $74,460 (top 10%)
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12. Idaho
> Metro area: Logan, UT-ID
> Life expectancy: 81.8 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.5 years (20th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 22.7% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $50,300
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13. Illinois
> Metro area: Champaign-Urbana, IL
> Life expectancy: 80.0 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.0 years (25th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 25.5% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $48,323
14. Indiana
> Metro area: Bloomington, IN
> Life expectancy: 79.7 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 77.7 years (11th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 23.6% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $42,725 (bottom 25%)
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15. Iowa
> Metro area: Ames, IA
> Life expectancy: 82.1 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.7 years (16th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 27.1%
> Metro area median household income: $50,438
16. Kansas
> Metro area: Manhattan, KS
> Life expectancy: 81.0 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.7 years (22nd lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 25.6% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $48,158
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17. Kentucky
> Metro area: Lexington-Fayette, KY
> Life expectancy: 78.0 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 76.3 years (7th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 28.6%
> Metro area median household income: $50,921
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18. Louisiana
> Metro area: New Orleans-Metairie, LA
> Life expectancy: 76.7 years (bottom 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 75.8 years (3rd lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 32.8% (top 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $47,163
19. Maine
> Metro area: Portland-South Portland, ME
> Life expectancy: 80.3 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.3 years (23rd highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 24.7% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $58,584 (top 25%)
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20. Maryland
> Metro area: California-Lexington Park, MD
> Life expectancy: 78.8 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.2 years (25th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 32.0%
> Metro area median household income: $86,987 (top 10%)
21. Massachusetts
> Metro area: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
> Life expectancy: 80.8 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.4 years (5th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 23.5% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $75,389 (top 10%)
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22. Michigan
> Metro area: Ann Arbor, MI
> Life expectancy: 81.1 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.3 years (16th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 24.4% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $61,003 (top 25%)
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23. Minnesota
> Metro area: Rochester, MN
> Life expectancy: 82.0 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.9 years (2nd highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 26.1% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $64,897 (top 10%)
24. Mississippi
> Metro area: Hattiesburg, MS
> Life expectancy: 76.0 years (bottom 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 74.9 years (the lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 34.0% (top 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $42,062 (bottom 25%)
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25. Missouri
> Metro area: Columbia, MO
> Life expectancy: 79.8 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 77.7 years (12th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 28.4%
> Metro area median household income: $49,899
26. Montana
> Metro area: Missoula, MT
> Life expectancy: 79.7 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.9 years (24th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 22.2% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $46,164
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27. Nebraska
> Metro area: Lincoln, NE
> Life expectancy: 80.4 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.6 years (17th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 26.2% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $52,177
28. Nevada
> Metro area: Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
> Life expectancy: 78.3 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.1 years (15th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 27.8%
> Metro area median household income: $51,575
29. New Hampshire
> Metro area: Manchester-Nashua, NH
> Life expectancy: 80.1 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.2 years (9th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 28.5%
> Metro area median household income: $71,244 (top 10%)
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30. New Jersey
> Metro area: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
> Life expectancy: 80.9 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.0 years (10th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 23.6% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $67,296 (top 10%)
31. New Mexico
> Metro area: Santa Fe, NM
> Life expectancy: 81.1 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.4 years (17th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 13.7% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $54,315
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32. New York
> Metro area: Ithaca, NY
> Life expectancy: 81.2 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.4 years (6th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 25.3% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $52,624
33. North Carolina
> Metro area: Raleigh, NC
> Life expectancy: 80.3 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 77.9 years (13th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 26.7%
> Metro area median household income: $63,363 (top 10%)
34. North Dakota
> Metro area: Bismarck, ND
> Life expectancy: 80.4 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.0 years (12th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 30.3%
> Metro area median household income: $63,836 (top 10%)
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35. Ohio
> Metro area: Canton-Massillon, OH
> Life expectancy: 78.5 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 77.9 years (14th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 31.0%
> Metro area median household income: $47,132
36. Oklahoma
> Metro area: Oklahoma City, OK
> Life expectancy: 76.7 years (bottom 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 76.1 years (5th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 31.7%
> Metro area median household income: $51,461
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37. Oregon
> Metro area: Corvallis, OR
> Life expectancy: 82.1 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.4 years (22nd highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 21.6% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $49,802
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38. Pennsylvania
> Metro area: State College, PA
> Life expectancy: 81.9 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.8 years (23rd lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 26.6%
> Metro area median household income: $52,186
39. Rhode Island
> Metro area: Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
> Life expectancy: 79.6 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.8 years (15th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 27.5%
> Metro area median household income: $56,849 (top 25%)
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40. South Carolina
> Metro area: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC
> Life expectancy: 80.9 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 76.9 years (9th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 24.0% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $53,631
41. South Dakota
> Metro area: Sioux Falls, SD
> Life expectancy: 80.4 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.6 years (19th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 28.2%
> Metro area median household income: $57,889 (top 25%)
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42. Tennessee
> Metro area: Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN
> Life expectancy: 77.5 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 76.3 years (8th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 31.3%
> Metro area median household income: $54,047
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43. Texas
> Metro area: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
> Life expectancy: 81.0 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.5 years (19th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 34.4% (top 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $34,782 (bottom 10%)
44. Utah
> Metro area: St. George, UT
> Life expectancy: 81.4 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.9 years (13th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 23.7% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $50,774
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45. Vermont
> Metro area: Burlington-South Burlington, VT
> Life expectancy: 80.9 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.2 years (7th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 21.8% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $63,255 (top 10%)
46. Virginia
> Metro area: Harrisonburg, VA
> Life expectancy: 80.6 years (top 25%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.2 years (24th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 25.8% (bottom 25%)
> Metro area median household income: $48,305
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47. Washington
> Metro area: Bellingham, WA
> Life expectancy: 81.0 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 80.0 years (11th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 23.1% (bottom 10%)
> Metro area median household income: $53,145
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48. West Virginia
> Metro area: Morgantown, WV
> Life expectancy: 78.7 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 76.0 years (4th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 30.5%
> Metro area median household income: $45,317
49. Wisconsin
> Metro area: Appleton, WI
> Life expectancy: 80.9 years (top 10%)
> Statewide life expectancy: 79.8 years (14th highest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 30.4%
> Metro area median household income: $60,809 (top 25%)
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50. Wyoming
> Metro area: Cheyenne, WY
> Life expectancy: 78.9 years
> Statewide life expectancy: 78.6 years (20th lowest)
> Metro area obesity rate: 29.7%
> Metro area median household income: $60,706 (top 25%
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