By Daniel Schrager/The Bellingham Herald
Washington had the 11th-highest life expectancy in the U.S. in 2021, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Wednesday.
The report, from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System, found that life expectancy in Washington in the pandemic-affected year of 2021 was 78.2 years, compared to 79.2 years the previous year and 80.0 years in 2019. Women in Washington had a higher life expectancy than men – 80.8 years versus 75.8 years – although the gender gap was one of the lowest in the country.
Countries with the highest life expectancy
Washington came in just behind California, which had the tenth highest at 78.3 years, and 1.7 years behind Hawaii, which took the top spot. With the exception of Minnesota, which had the sixth highest life expectancy, the ten states with the highest life expectancies were all in the west or northeast of the country.
The 10 states with the highest life expectancy were:
- Hawaii (79.9)
- Massachusetts (79.6)
- Connecticut (79.2)
- New York (79.0)
- New Jersey (79.0)
- Minnesota (78.8)
- New Hampshire (78.5)
- Rhode Island (78.5)
- Vermont (78.4)
- California (78.3)
At the other end of the list, Mississippi, West Virginia and Alabama had the three lowest life expectancies at 70.9, 71.0 and 72.0 years, respectively.
Life expectancy falls nationwide during pandemic
Despite the declining life expectancy, Washington was well above the national average as average life expectancy declined across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-nine states saw life expectancy decline between 2020 and 2021, with Alaska and West Virginia seeing an average decline of about two years. Nationally, the average life expectancy in 2021 was 76.4 years, compared to 77.0 years the previous year and 78.8 years in 2019.
With the onset of the pandemic, national life expectancy fell to levels not seen since the early 2000s, according to CDC data. The country’s life expectancy in 2021 was the lowest in a single year since the late 1990s. In addition to the pandemic, drug overdoses also played a role in the decline, according to the report.
While state-by-state data is not yet available for the following year, the CDC estimates that the national median age will recover to 77.5 years in 2022.
