Texas is middle of the road when it comes to life expectancy

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Texas is running in the middle of the pack when it comes to the average life expectancy at birth of Lone Star State residents.

The data from 2019 was compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics and reported by the Center for Disease Control. The statistic measures how long a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant.

Texas ranks 24th nationally with an average life expectancy of 78.6 years old. Male Texans live an average of 76.1 years and 81 years for women.

It ranks just below average for the country as a whole. The U.S. average is 78.8, with men living until 76.3 on average and women to 81.4.

The state with the highest average life expectancy is Hawaii, at 80.9 years old. Men live to 78 on average and women to 83.9. California is ranked number two with New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Colorado and Vermont rounding out the top 10.

Hawaii is top-ranked in total and women’s average life expectancy. California is number one for men.

Mississippi ranks last with an average life span of 74.4 years, with men at 71.2 years and women at 77.6 years. The bottom ten includes West Virginia at number 50 preceded by Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Ohio.

Mississippi is last in total and men’s average life expectancies, with West Virginia ranking last for women at 77.3 years old.

The largest discrepancy between men and women’s life expectancies was reported in Mississippi with a high of 6.4 years and lowest in Utah with 3.5 years. Utah ranked number 11.

The report states that, “with a few exceptions, the states with the largest sex differences
are those with lower life expectancy at birth, while the smallest sex differences are found mostly among states with higher life expectancy.”

Texas dropped in the rankings down to number 34 when looking at life expectancy for people 65 years old with an average of 19 years. Men at 65 are expected to live an additional 17.7 years and women 20.2 years — meaning people at 65 in Texas are expected to live longer overall than newborns, according to the data.