Differences in lifestyle and other factors are associated with a large gap in life expectancy between residents of different US states, according to 2020 data published in the journal National Vital Statistics Reports.

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Hawaii has the highest life expectancy at birth, at 80.7 years in 2020, and Mississippi, the lowest, at 71.9 years, said researchers from the Vital Statistics Division of the Center for US disease control and prevention.

Most of the differences were regional: Americans living in Hawaii, the Northwest, California, and the Northeast live the longest. Residents of the Southeast tended to have the shortest life expectancy.

The top ten states with the highest life expectancy in years are:

  • Hawaii - 80.7
  • Washington - 79.2
  • Minnesota - 79.1
  • California - 79
  • Massachusetts - 79
  • New Hampshire - 79
  • Vermont -- 78.8
  •  Oregon -- 78.8
  •  Utah -- 78.6
  • Connecticut - 78.4

The states in the bottom ten in terms of life expectancy in years are as follows:

  1. Mississippi - 71.9
  2. West Virginia - 72.8
  3. Louisiana - 73.1
  4. Alabama - 73.2
  5. Kentucky - 73.5
  6. Tennessee - 73.8
  7. Arkansas - 73.8
  8. Oklahoma - 74.1
  9. New Mexico - 74.5
  10. South Carolina - 74.8

As seen in other national life expectancy data, the pandemic has played a big role in reducing American life expectancy.

From 2019 to 2020, life expectancy at birth has declined in all states and the District of Columbia, the experts noted.

Some states have been hit harder than others: for example, in New York during the pandemic, life expectancy was reduced by three years, and in Louisiana by 2.6 years.

On the other hand, Hawaii appears to have been relatively unaffected, with the state of Aloha seeing a reduction in life expectancy of just 0.2 years between 2019 and 2020. In New Hampshire, the decline was only 0.4 years.

Women continue to outperform men: in 2020, they will live an average of 5.7 years longer than their male counterparts.