Top 10 U.S. States with the Highest Life Expectancy

Can you name the ten states with the highest life expectancy?
Quiz by Stewart
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Last updated: September 30, 2022
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First submittedMarch 29, 2016
Times taken37,619
Average score70.0%
Rating4.34
1:30
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Years
State
80.7
Hawaii
79.2
Washington
79.1
Minnesota
79.0
New Hampshire
79.0
Massachusetts
79.0
California
78.8
Vermont
78.8
Oregon
78.6
Utah
78.4
Idaho | Connecticut
+11
Level 82
Nov 7, 2017
Got them all except Utah.
+3
Level ∞
Apr 1, 2020
Sadly Utah is now tied for 11.
+5
Level 68
Apr 1, 2020
Perhaps surprisingly, along with 3 other states!
+2
Level 82
May 1, 2020
Funny... 3 years later I took this and got everything, but was ready to come to the comments section and say I was surprised to not see Utah. hm... well I was. Also surprised that Florida beats out some other places like Rhode Island, Vermont, and Oregon.
+6
Level 51
May 1, 2020
I lived in Oregon for three years. It's not as healthy as you'd think. There's definitely health conscious people in the I-5 corridor of Portland, Salem, and Eugene, but a lot of poverty and obesity on the coast, and in the South and East. A bit surprised that Vermont and Rhode Island didn't make the cut as well.
+1
Level 81
May 1, 2020
More and more people from New England retiring to Florida and from other states? I'm not sure that's the way the statistic is calculated though, just a guess.
+2
Level 82
Oct 24, 2022
Well looks like Florida is off, Vermont and Oregon are on, and Utah is back with this update... still no Rhode Island.
+5
Level 73
Nov 7, 2017
6/10. Always been bad at those states quizzes. Didn't expect Hawaii to top the list though.
+1
Level 57
Nov 7, 2017
Wow, actually got them all. Some of them were just blatantly guessing.
+10
Level 75
Nov 7, 2017
New Jersey kept popping into my head but I kept thinking, "No, not Jersey," and I always passed it over.
+1
Level 76
Dec 5, 2018
Don't they have the world famous Italian(...) diet over there? It's all the rage in health circles.
+2
Level ∞
Apr 1, 2020
New Jersey fell off the list :(
+2
Level 68
Apr 1, 2020
Are you sure? It's right there at joint 8th! :P
+3
Level 76
Apr 2, 2020
Please notice the date that comment was uploaded.
+4
Level 92
Apr 3, 2020
April 1, 2020. Two days ago. The same day as the reply.
+3
Level 68
Oct 24, 2022
April Fools Day…
+10
Level 82
May 1, 2020
Highly urbanized state. Contrary to popular belief rural living is not especially good for your health. Probably mostly has to do with money, health insurance, and access to good hospitals though.
+11
Level 73
May 1, 2020
rural jobs are considerably more dangerous also
+8
Level 75
May 1, 2020
Access to good doctors is a problem. It takes months to get in to see a specialist. Hospitals in my area have to offer all kinds of crazy perks to get doctors to move here. I also see attitudes of rugged individualism - "I'm too busy to worry about that spot on my skin - if I keep working hard enough it will probably go away. I don't need to waste money on a doctor visit."
+3
Level 63
Nov 7, 2017
New England ftw baby.
+1
Level 37
May 11, 2023
Yes, Hawaii, Washington, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Utah, Idaho. My favorite states in New England.
+2
Level 45
Nov 7, 2017
Notice that the majority of these states have four seasons with usually cold winters, while only two do not.
+17
Level 82
Nov 7, 2017
That doesn't much help Afghanistan or Mongolia. They have pretty cold winters. Careful about implying causality.
+27
Level 64
Nov 7, 2017
Three out of the four states with 'New' in their name are all in the top ten (excepting New Mexico). Therefore renaming ones state with the word 'New' should raise the life expectancy.

A resident of New Kansas.

+1
Level 60
Dec 1, 2023
New California Republic >
+12
Level 61
Nov 8, 2017
also, naming your state "Hawaii" is apparently good for life expectancy.
+8
Level 82
Oct 5, 2018
At a glance I'd say it's a combination of affluence, urban living, moderate climate, liberal politics/adequate health care/healthy living, and Mormons.
+2
Level 87
Apr 1, 2020
New Hampshire fell off the list!
+2
Level 82
Oct 24, 2022
back on
+2
Level 67
Oct 24, 2022
There are other factors you have to consider, like HDI. For example, Singapore has a high life expectancy but is in the tropics.
+3
Level 32
Nov 7, 2017
north east
+1
Level 25
Nov 16, 2018
I guessed as many random states as I could think of and got 6/10.
+2
Level 62
Dec 29, 2019
I guess being Japanese helps
+6
Level 87
Apr 1, 2020
Since 9/10 of these are blue states, while 10/10 of the lowest life expectancy states are red, this would seem to forecast that Florida will switch sides in 2020.
+6
Level 74
Apr 1, 2020
I suspect that Florida is a unique case, and makes the list primarily because so many people retire there when they are already older, many of whom come from those very states with longer life expectancy. It'd be interesting to find stats that correct for that and look at life expectancy of the native Floridian population.
+4
Level 77
Apr 2, 2020
Basically this is the red state/blue state game.
+5
Level 93
Apr 1, 2021
This is more of just a: which are the most popular retirement states. People would rather retire in Colorado or California than Kansas or Kentucky.
+1
Level 59
Feb 28, 2024
Life expectancy is calculated as "life expectancy at birth"
+5
Level 79
Oct 5, 2020
Yay politics!
+2
Level 71
Apr 12, 2020
Stay away from 'Grits' ..... that's my advice.
+2
Level 75
May 1, 2020
But I love grits - with lots of cheese, butter, and bacon. What's unhealthy about that? ;)
+2
Level 65
May 1, 2020
The reason states with mild climates are underrepresented could also be due to the fact that there are more states and there is more land in the northern part of America
+1
Level 67
May 1, 2020
I don't really think that has anything to do with it. How much land there is certainly isn't relevant. Population size is a factor because it's easier to swing an average with fewer citizens, but you've got very populous states like Florida, New York, and California here, as well as less populated states like Connecticut and Hawaii.The disparity in the number of states in different regions certainly doesn't account for the fact that the South is entirely absent, except for Florida, which is unique because it is where so many elderly people move from the northeast. You've got big states, small states, very populous states, not-so populous states all on this list. These states all rank low on the obesity rankings. They also tend to have better hospitals and better-educated populations in the their large urban centers that carry a disproportionate share of these state's populations. There is no single cause for dying, but you can assess all these factors and identify patterns.
+1
Level 40
Mar 11, 2021
can you accept ''NY'' for New York?
+2
Level 68
Mar 11, 2021
Is it that difficult to type "ew" and "ork"?
+1
Level 65
Jun 17, 2021
Funny,I support you,Stewart
+1
Level 65
Jun 17, 2021
Colorado and Hawaii is only 2 non-obese state in US
+1
Level 54
Dec 16, 2021
Did Florida used to be here? I am surprised as a native
+1
Level 59
Feb 28, 2024
I don't think so.
+2
Level 52
Oct 24, 2022
Surprised to see Hawaii on top. I thought pacific islands struggled with obesity issues.
+4
Level 82
Oct 24, 2022
Hawaiians generally have a much healthier diet and lifestyle than people living in Polynesian microstates. Also considerably wealthier.
+3
Level 47
Oct 24, 2022
Primarily blue states. Interesting