Hawaii Has America's Highest Life Expectancy, West Virginia The Lowest

Life expectancy varies widely across the U.S., with clear regional patterns emerging in the latest data.

States in the Northeast and on the West Coast tend to have higher life expectancies, while many in the South and Appalachia rank lower.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, shows these differences using data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, based on 2022 life tables published in December 2025, the latest publicly available state-level figures as of March 2026.

The CDC’s report uses period life tables, which estimate how long a hypothetical group would live if it experienced the death rates observed in 2022 at every age. In other words, the measure captures current mortality conditions in each state, not a forecast for babies born there today.

Where Americans Live the Longest, and the Shortest

Among the 50 states and D.C., Hawaii had the highest life expectancy at birth in 2022 at 80.0 years. Massachusetts followed at 79.8, with New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut close behind.

The data table below shows the life expectancy of every U.S. state and D.C.:

Rank	State	Life Expectancy (Years)
1	Hawaii	80.0
2	Massachusetts	79.8
3	New Jersey	79.6
4	New York	79.5
5	Connecticut	79.4
6	California	79.3
7	Minnesota	79.3
8	Rhode Island	79.2
9	Utah	79.0
10	New Hampshire	78.7
11	Colorado	78.5
12	Idaho	78.4
13	Washington	78.4
14	Nebraska	78.3
15	Vermont	78.3
16	Wisconsin	78.1
17	North Dakota	77.9
18	Iowa	77.9
19	Florida	77.9
20	Maryland	77.8
21	Oregon	77.7
22	Illinois	77.5
23	Virginia	77.5
24	Pennsylvania	77.3
25	South Dakota	77.3
26	Montana	77.3
27	Texas	77.1
28	Wyoming	76.8
29	Michigan	76.8
30	Arizona	76.7
31	Maine	76.6
32	District of Columbia	76.6
33	Delaware	76.5
34	Kansas	76.5
35	Nevada	76.4
36	Georgia	75.9
37	North Carolina	75.9
38	Alaska	75.8
39	Ohio	75.6
40	Indiana	75.4
41	Missouri	75.2
42	South Carolina	75.1
43	New Mexico	74.5
44	Arkansas	73.9
45	Oklahoma	73.8
46	Tennessee	73.8
47	Alabama	73.8
48	Louisiana	73.8
49	Kentucky	73.6
50	Mississippi	72.6
51	West Virginia	72.2

On the other end of the ranking, West Virginia came in last at 72.2 years, behind Mississippi at 72.6 and Kentucky at 73.6.

The broad pattern is regional: the Northeast and West Coast have higher life expectancies, while many Southern and Appalachian states cluster at the bottom.

Why the National Average Misses the State Divide

While the national average is 77.5 years, only 21 states cleared that mark. Illinois and Virginia matched it exactly, and the remaining 28 states came in below it.

The CDC also found that females had higher life expectancy than males in every state and D.C., but the size of that gender gap varied widely. States on the lower end of life expectancy tended to have larger divides, while higher-ranked states had smaller gaps.

For example, New Mexico (ninth-lowest life expectancy at 74.5) recorded the largest female-male gap at 6.9 years, while Utah (ninth-highest at 79 years) had the smallest at 3.6 years.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Why Living Longer Isn’t Always Living Healthier on Voronoi.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/01/2026 - 20:55