According to the CDC, life expectancy has declined overall in the U.S. during the last three years, now standing at an average of 76 compared to 78 in 2019. However, this decline is happening more rapidly in certain areas than others.
A new report by research platform American Inequality found a correlation between money and life expectancy. Americans living in wealthier countries live an average of twenty years longer than those residing in poorer areas – marking the widest gap in life expectancy seen over nearly forty years.
Oglala Lakota County located in South Dakota had the lowest life expectancy rate across America with just an average age of survival being recorded as only sixty-six point eight (66.8) where its inhabitants earn around thirty thousand dollars ($30,347). On contrast, Summit County situated within Colorado boasts having one of the highest life expectancies nationwide with residents averaging eighty-six point nine (86.9) years old while earning seventy-seven thousand five hundred eighty-nine dollars ($77,589).
The disparity could be attributed to healthcare costs which have almost doubled over two decades posing financial burdens on many Americans per this report.
The other two counties that reported low-life expectancies were Union County based out Florida recording an average lifespan of sixty-seven point six (67.6), along with Todd County from South Dakota where the average lifespan is sixty-eight point five (68.5) years old with an average income of twenty-four thousand two hundred fifty-seven dollars ($24,257).
After Summit County, Colorado’s Pitkin and Eagle Counties were ranked second and third in having the highest life expectancies at eighty-six point five (86.5) and eighty-five point nine (85.9), respectively, both earning seventy-one thousand two hundred forty-four dollars ($71,244) and eighty-four thousand six hundred eighty-five dollars ($84,685), respectively.
