With the exception of the last two years, when it dropped largely because of spikes in opioid deaths, life expectancy in the United States has generally been increasing.

According to the latest available data, a baby born in 2016 in the United States can be expected to live 78.6 years on average, more than seven years longer than a baby born in 1980. The increase in life expectancy at birth, as well as the likelihood of living a long life, vary considerably across the United States.

To identify the states where people are expected to live the longest, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed life expectancy at birth figures for 2010-2015 obtained from the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

Life expectancy in some states increased by just three years since 1980, and by as much as nine years in others. These variations are closely related to differences in a host of factors. For example, long-standing research has found that Americans with lower socioeconomic status tend to have lower life expectancies than more affluent Americans.

Click here to see the states where people live the longest.
Click here to read our detailed findings and methodology.