Location and Life Expectancy
Social factors associated with where people live can play a crucial role in shaping their health and well-being. Wealthier and more educated people, for example, tend to live longer than those who are poorer or less educated.
The 2021 Healthiest Communities rankings assess nearly 3,000 U.S. counties and county-equivalents across 84 factors that shape and show the health of a community and its residents, in categories including the economy, equity, public safety, food and nutrition, and housing. The fourth annual project from U.S. News also allows comparisons between communities across these dozens of metrics, which include life expectancy.
These are the counties with the longest average life expectancies at birth for the period 2016-2018, based on data obtained from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program and incorporated into the Healthiest Communities analysis. Also included are the margin of error for the life expectancy measurements, as well as communities’ overall Healthiest Communities scores, rankings, and population health category scores. The population figures listed are taken from 2019 Census Bureau estimates.
Scores are out of 100 points, and you can learn more about how communities were ranked and scored in their methodology by clicking here.
The 25 Counties Within America With The Longest Life Expectancy:
25: Judith Basin County, Montana
Population: 2,007
Life expectancy: 85.29
Error margin: 81.3-89.3
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
Overall rank: N/A*
24: Fairfax County, Virginia
Population: 1.1 million
Life expectancy: 85.3
Error margin: 85.1-85.5
Population Health score: 96.6
Overall score: 86.1
Overall rank: 14
23: Marin County, California
Population: 258,826
Life expectancy: 85.4
Error margin: 85.0-85.7
Population Health score: 90.5
Overall score: 80.4
Overall rank: 49
22: San Juan County, Washington
Population: 17,582
Life expectancy: 85.5
Error margin: 83.9-87.1
Population Health score: 87.1
Overall score: 84.5
Overall rank: 21
21: Hudspeth County, Texas
Population: 4,886
Life expectancy: 85.7
Error margin: 79.8-91.6
Population Health score: 33.0
Overall score: 23.5
Overall rank: Not ranked
20: Grand County, Colorado
Population: 15,734
Life expectancy: 86.0
Error margin: 83.1-88.8
Population Health score: 76.9
Overall score: 71.7
Overall rank: 191
19: Collier County, Florida
Population: 384,902
Life expectancy: 86.1
Error margin: 85.7-86.4
Population Health score: 69.5
Overall score: 54.9
Overall rank: Not ranked
18: Blaine County, Idaho
Population: 23,021
Life expectancy: 86.2
Error margin: 84.5-87.9
Population Health score: 73.7
Overall score: 74.2
Overall rank: 136
17: Kidder County, North Dakota
Population: 2,480
Life expectancy: 86.598
Error margin: 81.9-91.3
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
Overall rank: N/A*
16: Frontier County, Nebraska
Population: 2,627
Life expectancy: 86.604
Error margin: 82.2-91.0
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
Overall rank: N/A*
15: Golden Valley County, North Dakota
Population: 1,761
Life expectancy: 87.58
Error margin: 80.4-94.8
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
Overall rank: N/A*
14: Williamsburg, Virginia
Population: 14,954
Life expectancy: 87.65
Error margin: 85.5-89.8
Population Health score: 75.2
Overall score: 56.7
Overall rank: Not ranked
13: Stanley County, South Dakota
Population: 3,098
Life expectancy: 88.0
Error margin: 80.2-95.9
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
12: Liberty County, Montana
Population: 2,337
Life expectancy: 88.7
Error margin: 83.7-93.7
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A
11: Oliver County, North Dakota
Population: 1,959
Life expectancy: 89.1
Error margin: 81.9-96.3
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
Overall rank: N/A*
10: Presidio County, Texas
Population: 6,704
Life expectancy: 89.2
Error margin: 85.0-93.3
Population Health score: 39.1
Overall score: 19.6
Overall rank: Not ranked
9: Teton County, Wyoming
Population: 23,464
Life expectancy: 89.5
Error margin: 87.3-91.7
Population Health score: 84.8
Overall score: 86.1
Overall rank: 13
8: Jeff Davis County, Texas
Population: 2,274
Life expectancy: 89.7
Error margin: 83.5-95.8
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
Overall rank: N/A*
7: Eagle County, Colorado
Population: 55,127
Life expectancy: 90.1
Error margin: 87.8-92.4
Population Health score: 83.0
Overall score: 78.3
Overall rank: 68
6: Aleutians East Borough, Alaska
Population: 3,337
Life expectancy: 91.1
Error margin: 82.1-100+
Population Health score: N/A*
Overall score: N/A*
Overall rank: N/A*
5: Manassas Park, Virginia
Population: 17,478
Life expectancy: 92.5
Error margin: 83.2-100+
Population Health score: 73.1
Overall score: 67.1
Overall rank: 352
4: Pitkin County, Colorado
Population: 17,767
Life expectancy: 93.4
Error margin: 89.5-97.3
Population Health score: 90.9
Overall score: 88.2
Overall rank: 7
3: Mono County, California
Population: 14,444
Life expectancy: 96.5
Error margin: 89.5-100+
Population Health score: 81.8
Overall score: 74.6
Overall rank: 129
2: Summit County, Colorado
Population: 31,011
Life expectancy: 96.8
Error margin: 90.2-100+
Population Health score: 85.2
Overall score: 83.1
Overall rank: 26
1: San Miguel County, Colorado
Population: 8,179
Life expectancy: 100+
Error margin: 83.3-100+
Population Health score: 82.6
Overall score: 89.2
Overall rank: 6
