Life expectancy is one of the most important and commonly cited indicators of population health — and in the United States, life expectancy is falling at a historic rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy at birth declined by 1.5 years in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II.
The CDC attributes the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic and 93,000 drug overdose deaths — an all-time one-year high. Homicide, diabetes, and liver disease were also contributing factors. Here is a look at the states with the most drug overdose deaths in 2020.
While the national trend is alarming, there are considerable regional variations in life expectancy across the country.
As of 2019, the most recent available year of state-level data, life expectancy at birth in Maryland is 79.2 years, the 24th highest among states and exactly in line with the comparable national average.
Both at an individual and population level, variations in life expectancy are closely linked to certain economic and behavioral factors. For example, risk factors such as obesity can increase the likelihood of certain deadly diseases and conditions. Meanwhile, economic factors, such as income, can impact life expectancy as higher-income Americans are better able to afford adequate health care and a range of healthy options related to diet and lifestyle.
In Maryland, the 31.6% obesity rate is higher than the 29.7% national rate. However, the median household income in the state of $86,738 is also well above the national median of $65,712.
Data on average life expectancy at birth is from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program’s 2021 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report. Additional data is from both CHR and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.
Rank State Life expectancy at birth (yrs.) Adults who smoke (%) Median household income ($) Poverty rate (%) 1 Hawaii 82.3 14.4 83,102 9.3 2 California 81.7 11.5 80,440 11.8 3 New York 81.4 13.0 72,108 13.0 4 Connecticut 80.9 12.5 78,833 10.0 4 Minnesota 80.9 15.5 74,593 9.0 6 Massachusetts 80.6 13.7 85,843 9.4 6 Colorado 80.6 14.7 77,127 9.3 8 New Jersey 80.5 13.2 85,751 9.2 9 Washington 80.4 12.1 78,687 9.8 10 Florida 80.2 14.9 59,227 12.7 11 Utah 80.1 9.1 75,780 8.9 12 Arizona 80.0 14.5 62,055 13.5 13 Oregon 79.9 15.7 67,058 11.4 14 Rhode Island 79.8 15.2 71,169 10.8 14 Vermont 79.8 14.7 63,001 10.2 16 North Dakota 79.7 19.7 64,577 10.6 16 New Hampshire 79.7 16.6 77,933 7.3 18 Nebraska 79.6 16.6 63,229 9.9 18 Virginia 79.6 15.1 76,456 9.9 20 Wisconsin 79.5 17.2 64,168 10.4 21 Illinois 79.4 15.9 69,187 11.5 21 Idaho 79.4 15.0 60,999 11.2 21 Iowa 79.4 17.4 61,691 11.2 24 Texas 79.2 14.2 64,034 13.6 24 Maryland 79.2 12.6 86,738 9.0 26 Alaska 79.0 18.5 75,463 10.1 27 Montana 78.9 18.9 57,153 12.6 27 South Dakota 78.9 20.2 59,533 11.9 27 Wyoming 78.9 19.2 65,003 10.1 30 Nevada 78.7 15.7 63,276 12.5 30 Maine 78.7 19.4 58,924 10.9 32 Pennsylvania 78.5 17.9 63,463 12.0 32 Kansas 78.5 17.9 62,087 11.4 32 Delaware 78.5 17.4 70,176 11.3 35 North Carolina 78.1 17.9 57,341 13.6 35 Michigan 78.1 20.1 59,584 13.0 37 New Mexico 78.0 15.9 51,945 18.2 38 Georgia 77.9 16.3 61,980 13.3 39 Missouri 77.3 20.1 57,409 12.9 40 South Carolina 77.1 18.7 56,227 13.8 40 Indiana 77.1 21.7 57,603 11.9 42 Ohio 77.0 21.4 58,642 13.1 43 Louisiana 76.1 21.1 51,073 19.0 43 Arkansas 76.1 23.7 48,952 16.2 43 Oklahoma 76.1 19.9 54,449 15.2 46 Tennessee 76.0 20.8 56,071 13.9 47 Kentucky 75.6 24.1 52,295 16.3 47 Alabama 75.6 20.0 51,734 15.5 49 Mississippi 74.9 21.0 45,792 19.6 50 West Virginia 74.8 26.9 48,850 16.0
This article was originally published on TheSquareCenter.com on December 28, 2021.