Ranking The States By Life Expectancy

February 25, 2026 | Jesse Singer

Ranking The States By Life Expectancy

The State Of Life

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the average American could expect to live to 77 years old. Women were leading the charge at 79.9 years, while men trailed slightly behind at 76.2.

But national averages only tell part of the story. What happens when you zoom in on each state? Which corners of the country are quietly stacking the most birthday candles—and how does the battle of the sexes shake out from coast to coast? Let’s dig into the numbers.

man-in-black-jacket-wearing-black-headphones Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels.com

51: Mississippi

Overall Life Expectancy: 71.9

Men: 68.6

Women: 75.2

The life expectancies for both men and women in Mississippi are the lowest for any state—and the 6.6-year gap is the second largest gap between men and women in any state.

Canoeing at LeFleur's Bluff State Park in Jackson, Mississippi Charlie Brenner, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

50: West Virginia

Overall Life Expectancy: 72.8

Men: 69.8

Women: 76.1

John Denver didn't mention that in his song.

Hiker reaching the edge of a cliff at Lindy Point Overlook in West Virginia Michael, Adobe Stock

49: Louisiana

Overall Life Expectancy: 73.1

Men: 69.9

Women: 76.4

The view at Fairview-Riverside State Park, in Madisonville, Louisiana Miguel. Adobe Stock

48: Alabama

Overall Life Expectancy: 73.2

Men: 70.1

Women: 76.4

Woman sitting on cliff edge at Cheaha State Park Mountain in Alabama Jon, Adobe Stock

47: Kentucky

Overall Life Expectancy: 73.5

Men: 70.6

Women: 76.5

Photo of a Person Kayaking on Grayson Lake Alexey Stiop, Adobe Stock

46: Tennessee

Overall Life Expectancy: 73.8

Men: 70.7

Women: 77.0

People Walking on the streets of Gatlinburg, Tennessee Don McCulley, Wikimedia Commons

45: Arkansas

Overall Life Expectancy: 73.8

Men: 71.1

Women: 76.6

People Visiting White Oak Lake State Park in Arkansas Bonita, Adobe Stock

44: Oklahoma

Overall Life Expectancy: 74.1

Men: 71.5

Women: 76.9

Family Fishing At Osage Point In Skiatook Lake, Oklahoma Cavan, Adobe Stock

43: New Mexico

Overall Life Expectancy: 74.5

Men: 71.3

Women: 77.8

Portrait Photo of A Cyclist Rides the Santa Fe River Trail Derrick Neill, Adobe Stock

42: South Carolina

Overall Life Expectancy: 74.8

Men: 71.7

Women: 78.0

People in Angel Oak Park near Charleston, South Carolina Meadering Moments, Adobe Stock

41: Indiana

Overall Life Expectancy: 75.0

Men: 72.3

Women: 77.9

A couple admiring the scenery at Brown County State Park in fall KengYang, Adobe Stock

40: Missouri

Overall Life Expectancy: 75.1

Men: 72.1

Women: 78.1

Tourists taking in view of Mississippi River in St. Louis Missouri Tom Nast, Adobe Stock

39: Washington, DC

Overall Life Expectancy: 75.3

Men: 71.7

Women: 78.7

The seven-year gap between men and women in DC is the largest gap in the country.

People Walking near The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. kmiragaya, Adobe Stock

38: Ohio

Overall Life Expectancy: 75.3

Men: 72.5

Women: 78.1

Woman in front of Columbus Ohio city skyline Amanda Hofman, Adobe Stock

37: Georgia

Overall Life Expectancy: 75.6

Men: 72.8

Women: 78.3

Main fountain in the entrance of the park in Savannah Georgia Tamara Sales, Adobe Stock

36: Michigan

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.0

Men: 73.4

Women: 78.8

Photo of People Standing near the Mackinac Bridge Les Palenik, Adobe Stock

35: North Carolina

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.1

Men: 73.3

Women: 79.0

Woman Hiker Gazes on Dry Falls Water Fall, North Carolina Brian Swanson, Adobe Stock

34: Arizona

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.3

Men: 73.4

Women: 79.5

Elderly woman in blue outfit hiking on Sedona, Arizona trail ronaldccastle, Adobe Stock

33: Nevada

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.3

Men: 73.5

Women: 79.2

Couple standing on rocks with scenic view in Mojave Desert Chris, Adobe Stock

32: Wyoming

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.3

Men: 74.0

Women: 78.9

People go boating, fishing or for fun on the Snake River in Wyoming Marco, Adobe Stock

31: Kansas

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.4

Men: 73.8

Women: 79.2

Sunny view of The Keeper of the Plains Wichita, Kansas Kit Leong, Adobe Stock

30: Texas

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.5

Men: 73.7

Women: 79.3

Photo of People walking on the streets of Austin. Texas Jonas Brodd, Adobe Stock

29: Alaska

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.6

Men: 74.3

Women: 79.2

Families take to the ice on Wasilla Lake, Alaska JT Fisherman, Adobe Stock

28: Delaware

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.7

Men: 73.9

Women: 79.5

Two surfers walk trail to beach at Herring Point, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware DanaDaglePhotography, Adobe Stock

27: South Dakota

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.7

Men: 74.2

Women: 79.4

Street Photo of Rapid City in South Dakota, USA. Cloudy Sky in the Background. malajscy, Adobe Stock

26: Illinois

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.8

Men: 73.8

Women: 79.8

Aerial view of people sitting and walking on the Chicago riverwalk Tosca66, Adobe Stock

25: Maryland

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.8

Men: 73.8

Women: 79.7

Woman jumps with an umbrella in Baltimore at Federal Hill Park MelissaMN, Adobe Stock

24: Pennsylvania

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.8

Men: 74.0

Women: 79.6

Photo of couple enjoy of view of Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania Belikova Oksana, Adobe Stock

23: Montana

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.8

Men: 74.2

Women: 79.6

Photo of Women Backpacking in Glacier National Park in Montana Alisha, Adobe Stock

22: North Dakota

Overall Life Expectancy: 76.9

Men: 74.2

Women: 80.0

North Dakota is the lowest ranking state, with women averaging in the 80s.

Portrait Photo of Bearded Hiker in Roosevelt National Park Chris, Adobe Stock

21: Florida

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.5

Men: 74.6

Women: 80.5

Active retirees enjoy the sunset on Siesta Key beach csfotoimages, Adobe Stock

20: New Jersey

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.5

Men: 74.6

Women: 80.5

An aerial view of a boardwalk amusement park in Wildwood, New Jersey kirkikis, Adobe Stock

19: Iowa

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.5

Men: 74.9

Women: 80.1

Photo of Attendees at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa. Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

18: Virginia

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.6

Men: 75.1

Women: 80.1

Aerial view of Town Point Park in Norfolk Virginia USA. Kyle, Adobe Stock

17: New York

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.7

Men: 74.8

Women: 80.7

Photo of Ice skaters having fun in New York Central Park travnikovstudio, Adobe Stock

16: Nebraska

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.7

Men: 75.2

Women: 80.3

Landscape Photo of the Platte River sand bars west of Omaha, Nebraska soupstock, Adobe Stock

15: Wisconsin

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.7

Men: 75.2

Women: 80.3

Summer sunset over the lake Mendota pier in the city of Madison Maryna, Adobe Stock

14: Maine

Overall Life Expectancy: 77.8

Men: 74.9

Women: 80.7

Maine is the highest ranking state on the list whose males average at under 75 years old.

People Sitting on Rocks above Bar Harbor in Main Stuart Monk, Adobe Stock

13: Rhode Island

Overall Life Expectancy: 78.2

Men: 75.5

Women: 80.9

People are enjoying sunshine in Providence, Rhode Island, United States edb3_16, Adobe Stock

12: Colorado

Overall Life Expectancy: 78.3

Men: 75.8

Women: 80.9

Chalk one up to that Rocky Mountain air?

Denver Colorado downtown skyline with people riding bicycles deberarr, Adobe Stock

11: Connecticut

Overall Life Expectancy: 78.4

Men: 75.6

Women: 81.3

View of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, United States Harold Stiver, Adobe Stock

10: Idaho

Overall Life Expectancy: 78.4

Men: 76.1

Women: 80.8

And the men finally get over 76 years.

Portrait Photo of Two People hiking in Hailey Idaho, Cloudy Sky in the Background Bonnie, Adobe Stock

9: Utah

Overall Life Expectancy: 78.6

Men: 76.7

Women: 80.6

Utah has the smallest gap between men and women: 3.9 years.

Enjoying skiing downhill at Park City Canyons Ski Area in Utah FashionStock, Adobe Stock

8: Vermont

Overall Life Expectancy: 78.8

Men: 76.1

Women: 81.4

Renovated traditional American brick buildings Woodstock, Vermont, USA alpegor, Adobe Stock

7: Oregon

Overall Life Expectancy: 78.8

Men: 76.3

Women: 81.3

Photo of People walking in the Portland city center jovannig, Adobe Stock

6: California

Overall Life Expectancy: 79.0

Men: 76.2

Women: 82.0

At 82 years, California women have the second highest life expectancy of women in any state.

Couple having fun riding bikes together at Santa Monica California Joshua Resnick, Adobe Stock

5: New Hampshire

Overall Life Expectancy: 79.0

Men: 76.5

Women: 81.5

Woman hiking at Artist's Bluff in autumn. View of Echo Lake. haveseen, Adobe Stock

4: Massachusetts

Overall Life Expectancy: 79.0

Men: 76.4

Women: 81.5

People sitting on a bench in front of a lake, Boston Commons JUAN, Adobe Stock

3: Minnesota

Overall Life Expectancy: 79.1

Men: 76.8

Women: 81.4

Photo of People Walking on the 7th Street, Minneapolis, USA othman, Adobe Stock

2: Washington (State)

Overall Life Expectancy: 79.2

Men: 76.9

Women: 81.6

Photo of People walking on the bridge in Poulsbo, Kitsap County Janice, Adobe Stock

1: Hawaii

Overall Life Expectancy: 80.7

Men: 77.6

Women: 83.8

The only state with men averaging over 77, women averaging over 83, and an overall number over 80.

Portrait of elderly woman playing ukulele in her garden meeboonstudio, Adobe Stock

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AUTHOR

Jesse Singer

Jesse Singer is a writer from Montreal who grew up obsessed with movies—and so it only makes sense that he graduated from McGill University with a degree in Political Science. He then put that degree to good use with a job at a video store (remember those?). He followed that up with months backpacking around Europe (a continent he’s returned to many times). And for the last couple decades he’s been writing online, and in print, for a number of different sites and publications covering everything from film & TV to website reviews, dating & culture, history, news, and sports. He’s worn many hats—which is ironic, because he loves wearing hats and has a rather sizable collection.

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Ranking The States By Life Expectancy

Ranking The States By Life Expectancy

The State Of Life

51: Mississippi

50: West Virginia

49: Louisiana

48: Alabama

47: Kentucky

46: Tennessee

45: Arkansas

44: Oklahoma

43: New Mexico

42: South Carolina

41: Indiana

40: Missouri

39: Washington, DC

38: Ohio

37: Georgia

36: Michigan

35: North Carolina

34: Arizona

33: Nevada

32: Wyoming

31: Kansas

30: Texas

29: Alaska

28: Delaware

27: South Dakota

26: Illinois

25: Maryland

24: Pennsylvania

23: Montana

22: North Dakota

21: Florida

20: New Jersey

19: Iowa

18: Virginia

17: New York

16: Nebraska

15: Wisconsin

14: Maine

13: Rhode Island

12: Colorado

11: Connecticut

10: Idaho

9: Utah

8: Vermont

7: Oregon

6: California

5: New Hampshire

4: Massachusetts

3: Minnesota

2: Washington (State)

1: Hawaii

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