Life expectancy is one of the most direct measures of a community's overall health. It reflects the cumulative effect of healthcare access, lifestyle, environment, and socioeconomic conditions. We analyzed life expectancy data for over 3,100 US counties to find where Americans live the longest — and where lives are cut shortest.
The gap between the highest and lowest life expectancy counties exceeds 20 years. The top 25 counties average 86.7 years, while the bottom counties fall below 70.
Counties with the Longest Life Expectancy
Pitkin County, CO has the longest life expectancy in America at 94.22 years. These counties cluster in Colorado, California, Minnesota, and Hawaii — states known for outdoor lifestyles, strong healthcare systems, and higher-than-average incomes.
| Rank | County | State | Life Expectancy | Health Score | Uninsured Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pitkin County | CO | 94.22 | 91.4 | 6.99% |
| 2 | Mono County | CA | 93.55 | 71.8 | 10.27% |
| 3 | Summit County | CO | 92.42 | 79.3 | 10.42% |
| 4 | Oliver County | ND | 92.2 | 91.4 | 5.6% |
| 5 | Eagle County | CO | 89.67 | 75.3 | 11.77% |
| 6 | Manassas Park city | VA | 88.91 | 50.8 | 14.05% |
| 7 | Denali Borough | AK | 88.59 | 73 | 12.61% |
| 8 | Teton County | WY | 87.58 | 71.4 | 15.22% |
| 9 | San Juan County | WA | 87.43 | 79.7 | 9.89% |
| 10 | San Miguel County | CO | 86.54 | 88 | 7.55% |
| 11 | Aleutians West Census Area | AK | 85.92 | 57.4 | 16.7% |
| 12 | Ouray County | CO | 85.44 | 94.8 | 5.82% |
| 13 | Blaine County | ID | 85.26 | 70.4 | 14.53% |
| 14 | Golden Valley County | ND | 85.26 | 81.1 | 7.21% |
| 15 | Liberty County | MT | 84.68 | 41 | 16.72% |
| 16 | Fairfax County | VA | 84.54 | 88.3 | 7.61% |
| 17 | Marin County | CA | 84.32 | 97.6 | 5.11% |
| 18 | Concho County | TX | 84.2 | 38.3 | 16.51% |
| 19 | San Mateo County | CA | 84.09 | 96.6 | 4.64% |
| 20 | Collier County | FL | 84.03 | 56.1 | 18.58% |
| 21 | Summit County | UT | 84.01 | 84.1 | 8.91% |
| 22 | Arlington County | VA | 83.94 | 97 | 4.81% |
| 23 | Grand County | CO | 83.91 | 80.4 | 10.26% |
| 24 | Loudoun County | VA | 83.82 | 95.9 | 5.59% |
| 25 | Storey County | NV | 83.8 | 63.8 | 13.85% |
Counties with the Shortest Life Expectancy
At the other extreme, these five counties have the shortest life expectancies in the nation — a reflection of compounding health, economic, and social challenges:
| Rank | County | State | Life Expectancy | Health Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo County | SD | 53.98 | 9.6 |
| 2 | Dewey County | SD | 56.66 | 5.7 |
| 3 | Oglala Lakota County | SD | 56.93 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Corson County | SD | 58.71 | 17.4 |
| 5 | Todd County | SD | 58.75 | 8.8 |
Important
Life expectancy data reflects conditions over many years and is not a prediction for any individual. It is an aggregate measure of community health conditions.
Methodology
Life expectancy data comes from CDC County Health Rankings (2024 release), which uses mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Life expectancy at birth represents the average number of years a person born in that county would live if current mortality patterns remained constant.
Data sources: CDC County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (2024), a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program, and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2019-2023). All figures are estimates and may differ from other published analyses due to methodology differences. This content is informational only and does not constitute medical advice.