- Life expectancy has dropped by nearly two years in the US since the start of the pandemic.
- The national average decreased by 1.8 years in 2020, but some states saw bigger changes than others.
The average life expectancy in the US has dropped by nearly two years, marking a change from the stability of pre-pandemic years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiles life expectancy data based on age, sex, and location in an annual report. The latest National Vital Statistics Report was published Tuesday based on data from 2020, the most recent year with complete data available.
Compared to the national average life expectancy in 2019, the 2020 figured dropped by 1.8 years — a significant jump from much smaller and sometimes positive changes in years prior. As of 2020, the average American is expected to live 77 years from birth.
The decline in life expectancy can be attributed to deaths due to COVID-19 and accidental drug overdoses, according to the report authors.
Life expectancy decreased in most developed countries during the pandemic, according to a separate report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Although the US is not alone in this trend, Americans still have the lowest life expectancies among developed countries.
New York saw the biggest drop in life expectancy
Of all 50 states, New York experienced the biggest change to its average life expectancy in 2020.
The Empire State used to have one of the highest average life expectancy predictions in the US, but the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York especially hard. The state's average life expectancy dropped three years, from 80.7 in 2019 to 77.7 in 2020.
Other states and territories that saw above-average drops in life expectancy include Louisiana, New Jersey, Mississippi, Arizona, and the District of Columbia. All of these states saw their life expectancies decline by 2.5 years or more in 2020.
A handful of states stayed stable
On the more stable end of the spectrum, Hawaii maintained a relatively high life expectancy of 80.7 years, down just 0.2 from 2019. New Hampshire, Maine, Oregon, and Washington also saw their life expectancies decrease by less than a year between 2019 and 2020.
Life expectancy figures are calculated based on mortality patterns during any given year, so "life expectancy at birth" represents the average number of years that a group of infants would live if they experienced those patterns for the duration of their life. The CDC report also includes life expectancy at age 65, which takes into account risk factors affecting the older population during a given year.
Peer countries to the US saw their life expectancies increase
Although one might think that life expectancy declined everywhere in 2020, some countries maintained relatively consistent longevity estimates.
Norway, Japan, Costa Rica, Denmark, and Finland — all considered peer countries to the US — even saw their average life expectancies increase as COVID-19 spread, according to the OECD report.