Life Expectancy

Life expectancy is a key indicator of health status worldwide. Women generally have a longer life expectancy than men, but their quality of life at older ages may be affected by disability from chronic conditions or diseases.

What is the average life expectancy for women?1

Women in Japan have the highest life expectancy (82.9 years), and the Report Card uses this benchmark to grade the states and the nation [World Health Organization, "The World Health Report," 2003, available at http://www.who.int/whr/2003/en/Annex4-en.pdf.

Data Source: Life Expectancy (years), 1989-1991

EXPLANATION:

This measure is women’s life expectancy at birth (in years) for 1989-1991. The life tables (in the NCHS report, as explained below) are current life tables based on age-specific death rates for the period 1989-1991. With the exception of those people age 95 and older, the death rates were calculated using state data from the 1990 Census for the years 1989-1991 and were based on residency at the time of death. Because state life tables are not currently produced on an annual basis, the decennial life tables are the only source of state life expectancy data available at the National Center for Health Statistics. Although more recent data at the national level are available, the Report Card uses national level data that are consistent with the data years available at the state level. The updated national figure is 80.4 years.

SOURCE:

National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Decennial Life Tables for 1989-1991 Vol. II, State Life Tables, Alabama No. 1 (Hyattsville: National Center for Health Statistics, 1998), 4.

  State Overall Data State Grade State Rank
ALABAMA 77.6 F 46
ALASKA 78.6 F 30
ARIZONA 79.6 U 21
ARKANSAS 78.1 F 40
CALIFORNIA 79.2 U 25
COLORADO 80.0 U 9
CONNECTICUT 80.0 U 11
DELAWARE 77.7 F 45
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 74.2 F 51
FLORIDA 79.6 U 20
GEORGIA 77.5 F 47
HAWAII 81.3 S- 1
IDAHO 79.9 U 12
ILLINOIS 78.3 F 36
INDIANA 78.6 F 29
IOWA 80.5 U 5
KANSAS 80.0 U 10
KENTUCKY 78.0 F 42
LOUISIANA 76.9 F 50
MAINE 79.6 U 19
MARYLAND 78.1 F 40
MASSACHUSETTS 79.8 U 13
MICHIGAN 78.2 F 38
MINNESOTA 80.9 S- 3
MISSISSIPPI 77.1 F 49
MISSOURI 78.8 F 27
MONTANA 79.5 U 22
NEBRASKA 80.2 U 7
NEVADA 77.8 F 44
NEW HAMPSHIRE 79.8 U 14
NEW JERSEY 78.5 F 32
NEW MEXICO 79.3 U 23
NEW YORK 78.3 F 35
NORTH CAROLINA 78.3 F 37
NORTH DAKOTA 81.0 S- 2
OHIO 78.5 F 34
OKLAHOMA 78.5 F 32
OREGON 79.7 U 18
PENNSYLVANIA 78.7 F 28
RHODE ISLAND 79.8 U 14
SOUTH CAROLINA 77.3 F 48
SOUTH DAKOTA 80.8 S- 4
TENNESSEE 78.2 F 39
TEXAS 78.9 F 26
UTAH 80.4 U 6
VERMONT 79.7 U 17
VIRGINIA 78.6 F 31
WASHINGTON 79.7 U 16
WEST VIRGINIA 77.9 F 43
WISCONSIN 80.0 U 8
WYOMING 79.3 U 24
 
S (Satisfactory): 0  
S- (Satisfactory Minus): 4  
U (Unsatisfactory): 21  
F (Fail): 26  
  • 1. Because more current state data are not available, the state and national data from the 2004 Report Card have not been updated.