The CDC released its new life expectancy numbers late last week, with the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics looking at residents’ life expectancies in each state. It’s kind of a depressing thing to think about, but regardless, it’s interesting to look at the average life expectancy in each state, including Michigan, and compare us to other states across America.
Before we get to Michigan, let’s look at national numbers. The national average of life expectancy is 78.8 years. According to the new numbers, residents in the South have the lowest life expectancy numbers. For example, the average life expectancy in Mississippi was 74.4 years, which is more than four years below the national average.
So, where is Michigan? It appears Michigan is around the middle of the states, ranking 35th in America, so not a great number, but not terrible. The state’s average life expectancy is 78 years old, less than a year under the national average. Looking at the difference between males and females in Michigan, the life expectancy differed by 4.7, with male life expectancy at 75.6 and female life expectancy at 80.3. Michigan was ahead of two other midwestern states, Indiana and Ohio. Michigan also came in at No. 35 in life expectancy after the age of 65, according to the CDC.
The states with the lowest life expectancy numbers overall, according to the CDC, included the aforementioned Mississippi, as well as West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, South Carolina and Ohio. Residents of Hawaii had the highest life expectancy in the U.S. at 80.9 years, with women coming in at 83.9 years, followed by California. Other states with high life expectancies included New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington state, Colorado and Vermont. According to the new report, life expectancy went up for women in all states. Find the full report from the CDC here.