Life expectancy by state: all 50 states ranked
How long people live, on average, in every US state and DC. Shown for everyone, for women and men, and for people who reach 65.
Hawaii has the longest life expectancy in the US at 80.0 years. West Virginia has the shortest at 72.2 years. That’s a gap of almost 8 years depending on where you live. The US average in the same data was 77.5 years. These are the latest state numbers from the CDC, for 2022.
Source: CDC, National Vital Statistics Reports Vol. 74 No. 12, U.S. State Life Tables, 2022.
longevityclinicshub.comWhat the map shows
The longest lives are mostly in the Northeast, the upper Midwest and the West. Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut make up the top five. The shortest lives cluster in the South and in Appalachia. West Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana and Alabama make up the bottom five.
Life expectancy works like a weather forecast for a whole state. It tells you what the average day looks like, not what your day will be. Plenty of people in West Virginia live to 95, and plenty of people in Hawaii don’t reach 70. The number describes a place, not a person.
Every state, ranked
Click any column to sort. States with a LongevityClinicsHub city guide have a link to the clinics there.
| · | United States | 77.5 | +1.1 |
| 1 | Hawaii | 80.0 | +0.1 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 79.8 | +0.2 |
| 3 | New Jersey | 79.6 | +0.6 |
| 4 | New York | 79.5 | +0.5 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 79.4 | +0.2 |
| 6 | California | 79.3 | +1.0 |
| 7 | Minnesota | 79.3 | +0.5 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 79.2 | +0.7 |
| 9 | Utah | 79.0 | +0.8 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 78.7 | +0.2 |
| 11 | Colorado | 78.5 | +0.8 |
| 12 | Idaho | 78.4 | +1.2 |
| 13 | Washington | 78.4 | +0.2 |
| 14 | Nebraska | 78.3 | +0.5 |
| 15 | Vermont | 78.3 | -0.1 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 78.1 | +0.3 |
| 17 | North Dakota | 77.9 | +0.3 |
| 18 | Iowa | 77.9 | +0.2 |
| 19 | Florida | 77.9 | +1.8 |
| 20 | Maryland | 77.8 | +0.6 |
| 21 | Oregon | 77.7 | +0.3 |
| 22 | Illinois | 77.5 | +0.4 |
| 23 | Virginia | 77.5 | +0.7 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | 77.3 | +0.9 |
| 25 | South Dakota | 77.3 | +0.7 |
| 26 | Montana | 77.3 | +1.5 |
| 27 | Texas | 77.1 | +1.7 |
| 28 | Wyoming | 76.8 | +1.8 |
| 29 | Michigan | 76.8 | +1.1 |
| 30 | Arizona | 76.7 | +1.7 |
| 31 | Maine | 76.6 | -0.1 |
| 32 | District of Columbia | 76.6 | +1.3 |
| 33 | Delaware | 76.5 | +0.2 |
| 34 | Kansas | 76.5 | +0.5 |
| 35 | Nevada | 76.4 | +1.3 |
| 36 | Georgia | 75.9 | +1.6 |
| 37 | North Carolina | 75.9 | +1.0 |
| 38 | Alaska | 75.8 | +1.3 |
| 39 | Ohio | 75.6 | +1.1 |
| 40 | Indiana | 75.4 | +0.8 |
| 41 | Missouri | 75.2 | +0.6 |
| 42 | South Carolina | 75.1 | +1.6 |
| 43 | New Mexico | 74.5 | +1.5 |
| 44 | Arkansas | 73.9 | +1.4 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 73.8 | +1.1 |
| 46 | Tennessee | 73.8 | +1.4 |
| 47 | Alabama | 73.8 | +1.8 |
| 48 | Louisiana | 73.8 | +1.6 |
| 49 | Kentucky | 73.6 | +1.3 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 72.6 | +1.7 |
| 51 | West Virginia | 72.2 | +1.2 |
*At 65: how many more years, on average, a person who reaches 65 can expect to live.
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Women outlive men in every state
Across the US, women lived 5.4 years longer than men (80.2 vs 74.8). The gap was smallest in Utah (3.6 years) and largest in New Mexico (6.9 years).
How far we’ve come
In 1900, the average American could expect to live about 47 years. Today it’s 79. That’s more than 30 extra years in a little over a century, and most of it came from clean water, vaccines, antibiotics and better care for babies and new mothers.
Go back further and the numbers drop again. Estimates for the 1880s put US life expectancy at around 39 years. That doesn’t mean people died at 39. So many children died young that it pulled the average way down. Adults who made it through childhood often lived into their 60s and 70s.
Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics (1900 to 2024). 1880 and 1890 are research estimates (Zijdeman et al., via Our World in Data), shown dashed.
longevityclinicshub.comThe line isn’t always smooth. The 1918 flu pandemic knocked almost 12 years off in a single year. COVID-19 pulled it down by about 2.4 years between 2019 and 2021. Both times, it bounced back.
How the US compares to other countries
Americans live longer than ever, but not as long as people in many other wealthy countries. People in Japan and South Korea live about 5 years longer on average. France and the UK are ahead too. The US sits closer to China than to Western Europe.
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024 (via Our World in Data). The UN’s US estimate (79.3) differs slightly from the CDC’s (78.4 for 2023) because they use different methods.
longevityclinicshub.comWhy states differ
No single thing explains the gap. Researchers point to a mix of factors that vary from state to state, like smoking, obesity and diabetes rates, income, and how easy it is to see a doctor and get routine checkups. Many of these build up quietly for years before they show up as a diagnosis.
Where you live isn’t your destiny
A state average can’t tell you how long you’ll live. Your own health numbers come much closer. Things like blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and fitness can be checked, tracked and improved at any age.
That starts with your regular doctor and the checkups they recommend. Longevity care can add to that, with deeper testing and a plan to stay strong for more years. If you’re curious what’s near you, see clinics by city or read what longevity medicine is.
Cite or share this page
You’re welcome to use this map and data. It’s free to use with a link back to this page.
LongevityClinicsHub. (2026, October). Life expectancy by state: all 50 states ranked. https://longevityclinicshub.com/learn/life-expectancy-by-state/ (Data: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. State Life Tables, 2022.) Common questions
Which state has the highest life expectancy?
Hawaii, at 80.0 years. Massachusetts (79.8), New Jersey (79.6), New York (79.5) and Connecticut (79.4) round out the top five.
Which state has the lowest life expectancy?
West Virginia, at 72.2 years, followed by Mississippi (72.6) and Kentucky (73.6).
What is the average life expectancy in the US?
77.5 years in the 2022 state data. The CDC’s newer national number, for 2024, is 79.0 years. State numbers take longer to come out, which is why this page uses 2022.
What was life expectancy in 1900?
About 47 years in the US, according to the CDC. Today it’s 79, more than 30 years longer.
How does the US compare to other countries?
The US (79.3 in the UN’s 2023 estimates) trails Japan (84.7), South Korea (84.3), France (83.3) and the UK (81.3). It’s ahead of China (78.0) and Russia (73.2).
Why is this data from 2022?
Building life tables for each state takes the CDC about three years. This page uses the newest state data available, and we’ll update it when the 2023 tables are published.
Do women live longer than men in every state?
Yes. In 2022, women lived longer than men in all 50 states and DC, by 3.6 to 6.9 years.
Prepared by the LongevityClinicsHub editorial team. How we research and source these guides.
Enter your ZIP code and we’ll point you at the nearest city we’ve researched.
Sources
- Arias E, Xu J, Tejada-Vera B, Bastian B. U.S. State Life Tables, 2022. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 74 No. 12. CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, December 4, 2025.
- CDC, FastStats: Life Expectancy (US 2024 figure).
- CDC NCHS, Death rates and life expectancy at birth, 1900 to 2018, plus NCHS data briefs for 2019 to 2024.
- United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024, and Zijdeman et al. (2015), via Our World in Data.
This guide is independent editorial content, written to orient, not to diagnose. It is not medical advice, and it is no substitute for a conversation with a licensed physician who knows your history. Where we describe what clinics claim, the claim belongs to the clinic.
Educational reading, not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own health.