Life expectancy by state

What the number means

Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a baby born in 2022 would live if the death rates at each age in that state in 2022 stayed the same for its whole life. It is a summary of one year's mortality, not a forecast for any person, and it does not depend on how old a state's population is. That makes it the fairest single number for comparing how long people live from one state to another.

The figures come from the U.S. State Life Tables, 2022, published by the National Center for Health Statistics from death certificates and Census Bureau population estimates. The median of the 51 values is 77.3 years. 21 are above the national figure of 77.5 years and 28¹, counting DC, below it; Illinois and Virginia match it exactly.

The longest-lived states

After Hawaii, the top of the ranking is mostly in the Northeast: Massachusetts, New Jersey (79.6 years), New York (79.5 years) and Connecticut (79.4 years) fill places two to five. California and Minnesota share sixth place at 79.3 years, ahead of Rhode Island (79.2 years), Utah (79.0 years) and New Hampshire (78.7 years¹).

Minnesota's figure is the longest in the Midwest. In the West, Utah's is the 3rd longest in the West¹, behind Hawaii and California.

The shortest: a Southern band

The bottom of the ranking is almost entirely in the Census Bureau's South region. From South Carolina (75.1 years) down to West Virginia, every state except New Mexico (74.5 years, the shortest in the West) is Southern. Four states tie at 73.8 years: Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Arkansas is just above them at 73.9 years¹.

West Virginia's life expectancy is shorter than every bordering state (Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia), and Mississippi's is shorter than every bordering state (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee). Kentucky's, third from the bottom, is longer than West Virginia; shorter than Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia¹.

United States77.5

Indiana75.4

Missouri75.2

South Carolina75.1

New Mexico74.5

Arkansas73.9

Alabama73.8

Louisiana73.8

Oklahoma73.8

Tennessee73.8

Kentucky73.6

Mississippi72.6

West Virginia72.2

Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. State Life Tables, 2022. Period: 2022.

Show the numbers

State	Life expectancy
United States	77.5
Indiana	75.4
Missouri	75.2
South Carolina	75.1
New Mexico	74.5
Arkansas	73.9
Alabama	73.8
Louisiana	73.8
Oklahoma	73.8
Tennessee	73.8
Kentucky	73.6
Mississippi	72.6
West Virginia	72.2

The South also has the widest range of any region. Its longest-lived state, Florida (77.9 years), is above the national figure, while West Virginia sits at the very bottom. The District of Columbia, counted in the South, has the 5th longest in the South figure, 76.6 years, 0.9 years below the US figure (77.5 years). In the other regions the gap between the first and last state is smaller: in the Northeast from 79.8 years in Massachusetts to 76.6 years in Maine, in the Midwest from 79.3 years in Minnesota to 75.2 years in Missouri, and in the West from 80.0 years in Hawaii to 74.5 years in New Mexico¹.

Men and women rank differently

Women outlive men in every state, and the two rankings do not have the same order. Nationally the figures are 80.2 years for women and 74.8 years¹ for men.

• Men live longest in Massachusetts (77.4 years), followed closely by Utah (77.3 years). Hawaii and New Jersey tie for third (77.1 years). At the bottom, West Virginia and Mississippi share last place at 69.5 years, with Louisiana next (70.6 years).
• Women live longest in Hawaii (83.0 years), 2.8 years above the US figure (80.2 years), then Massachusetts (82.2 years); California, Connecticut and New York tie for third at 82.1 years. The shortest are in West Virginia (75.1 years), Mississippi (75.7 years) and Kentucky (76.2 years¹).

Utah's two places are far apart: men there have the 2nd longest life expectancy in the nation, women only tied for 11th longest (80.9 years). Colorado moves the other way, tied for 12th longest for men and tied for 9th longest for women. In Louisiana, men have the 3rd shortest life expectancy (70.6 years) and women the 8th shortest (77.2 years¹).

Massachusetts77.4

Utah77.3

Hawaii77.1

New Jersey77.1

Minnesota77.0

New York76.9

Connecticut76.8

California76.7

Rhode Island76.6

New Hampshire76.5

Idaho76.4

Colorado76.1

Washington76.1

Nebraska76.0

Vermont75.8

Wisconsin75.7

Iowa75.6

North Dakota75.4

Florida75.2

Oregon75.2

South Dakota75.2

Maryland75.1

Virginia75.0

Illinois74.9

Montana74.9

United States74.8

Pennsylvania74.7

Texas74.6

Wyoming74.6

Michigan74.3

Kansas74.1

Nevada74.0

Maine73.9

Alaska73.7

Arizona73.7

Delaware73.6

District of Columbia73.3

Georgia73.1

North Carolina73.0

Ohio73.0

Indiana72.7

Missouri72.5

South Carolina72.2

Arkansas71.3

Oklahoma71.3

New Mexico71.2

Kentucky71.1

Tennessee70.9

Alabama70.8

Louisiana70.6

Mississippi69.5

West Virginia69.5

Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. State Life Tables, 2022. Period: 2022.

Show the numbers

State	Men
Massachusetts	77.4
Utah	77.3
Hawaii	77.1
New Jersey	77.1
Minnesota	77.0
New York	76.9
Connecticut	76.8
California	76.7
Rhode Island	76.6
New Hampshire	76.5
Idaho	76.4
Colorado	76.1
Washington	76.1
Nebraska	76.0
Vermont	75.8
Wisconsin	75.7
Iowa	75.6
North Dakota	75.4
Florida	75.2
Oregon	75.2
South Dakota	75.2
Maryland	75.1
Virginia	75.0
Illinois	74.9
Montana	74.9
United States	74.8
Pennsylvania	74.7
Texas	74.6
Wyoming	74.6
Michigan	74.3
Kansas	74.1
Nevada	74.0
Maine	73.9
Alaska	73.7
Arizona	73.7
Delaware	73.6
District of Columbia	73.3
Georgia	73.1
North Carolina	73.0
Ohio	73.0
Indiana	72.7
Missouri	72.5
South Carolina	72.2
Arkansas	71.3
Oklahoma	71.3
New Mexico	71.2
Kentucky	71.1
Tennessee	70.9
Alabama	70.8
Louisiana	70.6
Mississippi	69.5
West Virginia	69.5

Death rate by state: why it tells a different story

The death rate most often quoted, deaths per 1,000 residents, ranks the states differently from life expectancy because it depends heavily on age. A state with many older residents records more deaths per resident even when people there live as long as elsewhere.

In the year to June 2025, the Census Bureau's estimates put the death rate at 9.1 per 1,000 residents nationally. West Virginia had the highest rate (14.1 per 1,000 residents), followed by Mississippi (12.1 per 1,000 residents): in those two states the high death rate and short life expectancy point the same way. Third, though, is Maine (11.9 per 1,000 residents³), a state with a life expectancy of 76.6 years¹, well above Mississippi's. Maine has the highest share of residents aged 65 and older (24.6%⁴ on July 1, 2025).

The lowest death rate is in Utah (6.2 per 1,000 residents), which also has the lowest share of older residents (13.0%). The District of Columbia has the 2nd lowest death rate (7.0 per 1,000 residents) but a life expectancy below the national figure; its population is young. Hawaii has the longest life expectancy and the 6th highest⁴ share of residents 65 and older, and its death rate is 3% below the US figure (9.1 per 1,000 residents)³.

Health measures alongside life expectancy

Several measures published by the CDC for each state line up with the ranking at its two ends. The table below sets them side by side for the three longest-lived and the three shortest-lived states, plus New Mexico. It shows how the measures move together; it does not measure how much each one shortens or lengthens life.

• Obesity. West Virginia has the highest adult obesity rate (41.4% in 2024) and Mississippi the second highest (40.4%). Hawaii and Massachusetts, near the top of the life expectancy ranking, are both 7.2 percentage points below the US figure (34.2%).
• Smoking. 20.8% of adults in West Virginia smoke, 9.2 percentage points above the US figure (11.6%). In Utah the share is 5.7%, 5.9 percentage points below the US figure (11.6%)⁵.
• Drug overdose deaths. The rate in West Virginia was 48.9 per 100,000, age-adjusted in 2024, 112% above the US figure (23.1 per 100,000, age-adjusted). The pattern is not uniform: New Mexico's rate is 61% above the US figure (23.1 per 100,000, age-adjusted), while Mississippi's, with the second-shortest life expectancy, is 19% below the US figure (23.1 per 100,000, age-adjusted).
• Infant deaths. Deaths before age one weigh heavily on life expectancy at birth. Mississippi has the highest infant mortality rate (9.7 per 1,000 live births in 2024), 75% above the US figure (5.5 per 1,000 live births); New Hampshire has the lowest (3.0 per 1,000 live births⁶).

Each of these has its own ranking: obesity, infant mortality and uninsured rate.

Reading the ranking correctly

• The year is 2022. The values describe deaths in 2022. A state figure labelled 2025 or 2026 does not come from these tables.
• One decimal place. NCHS publishes the values to one decimal, so many states tie; the table shows tied ranks. A difference of a tenth of a year between two states is within rounding.
• Small states are less stable. In states with few deaths each year, such as Wyoming, Vermont and Alaska, the value can change more from one year to the next than in large states.
• Residence, not place of death. Deaths are assigned to the state where the person lived.
• Men, women and the total only. This page covers the three tables published for every state. Life expectancy by race and Hispanic origin, and for areas smaller than a state, is outside it; the site covers states only.
• Death rates use another source and period. The death rates above are Census Bureau estimates for July 2024 to June 2025, not NCHS life-table rates for 2022.