States with the highest life expectancy

[chris08876]

I guess us NJ folks are all a bunch of Ginny Sacks having 90-pound mole surgery.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I was sort of surprised at first by Hawaii because of all the poverty one sees when driving outside of the touristy areas. Then again, Hawaii has a very good health care system.

?

Hawaii is one of the states with the least poverty. At least according to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...y_poverty_rate

I don't recall seeing really poor areas in Hawaii. I'll admit I've only been to 2 of the islands (Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii) but nothing struck me as being "poverty-stricken," and I explored those 2 islands like crazy.

I mean, around Honolulu, you do see these kinds of neighborhoods: https://www.google.com/maps/@21.2929...4!8i8192?hl=en

But I don't consider that "dirt-poor." I mean, you see similar-looking but more run-down places like that around Phoenix. Or LA's San Fernando Valley.

[JManc]

Some of the worst instances of poverty I've seen around the US (outside Native reservations) was in Hawai'i. There's loads of wealth..because Hawai'i...but the visible poverty esp. outside Honolulu is pretty stark. I'm sure on par with some of the poorest parts of the deep south.

[badrunner]

Hawaii used to be a plantation colony like a prettier Cuba or Hispaniola so that doesn't surprise me. Even with all the new wealth and the tourism economy, some people get left behind.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Not surprised by California being in the Top 5. People here like to get outside, enjoy the outdoors (the weather allows for it basically year round), stay physically active, eat healthy (lots of access to fresh produce and organic foods). Just overall very health conscious. Highly educated (good health literacy), high vaccination rates, tech savvy (high usage of health apps), excellent healthcare systems and safety net hospitals, public health depts, etc etc.

California also ranks very high on the happiness index. Who ranks the lowest? Probably those people outside California who are always talking about California's problems

[destroycreate]

Originally Posted by JManc

Some of the worst instances of poverty I've seen around the US (outside Native reservations) was in Hawai'i. There's loads of wealth..because Hawai'i...but the visible poverty esp. outside Honolulu is pretty stark. I'm sure on par with some of the poorest parts of the deep south.

Not surprised to hear that tbh. I've also heard that the majority of people actually from the state are pretty rough around the edges--lots of meth, drugs, very crappy education system, insular mindset and a lot of racism. Plus, there are virtually no well paying jobs to speak of there, yet COL is sky high.

[SFBruin]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

I'm going to assume that WA is in the top 10, without actually reading the list.

Finally read the list.

I have to say, I am proud to live in a state where the life expectancy is 40 days longer than that of #3 on the list.

[202_Cyclist]

I was also surprised to see Hawaii among the top ten but it has very low numbers of traffic fatalities and gun deaths. Both of these take the lives of more than 40,000 Americans each year (despite the claims that guns don’t kill people, people kill people or that more guns make us safer).

[202_Cyclist]

And with the Maui wowie, perhaps deaths related to alcoholism are less?

[chris08876]

My research seems to be wrong as this indicates that some of the highest life expectancy are in states with terrible drivers. I always thought life expectancy decreased as a function of Life = (LLH/sq-mile)^N which is a function of left lane hoggers per square mile to the "Nth" power, where N increases depending if they are driving a minivan or SUV but appears the trends indicate not.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

?

Hawaii is one of the states with the least poverty. At least according to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...y_poverty_rate

I don't recall seeing really poor areas in Hawaii. I'll admit I've only been to 2 of the islands (Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii) but nothing struck me as being "poverty-stricken," and I explored those 2 islands like crazy.

I mean, around Honolulu, you do see these kinds of neighborhoods: https://www.google.com/maps/@21.2929...4!8i8192?hl=en

But I don't consider that "dirt-poor." I mean, you see similar-looking but more run-down places like that around Phoenix. Or LA's San Fernando Valley.

I've seen the run down Honolulu neighborhoods. And my sister lives on the Big Island. There are big areas in the uplands of the Big Island where the back roads are lined with shacks, debris, tents, etc.. Miles and miles of it, all away from the main highways. It's out of sight, out of mind I guess.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Not surprised to hear that tbh. I've also heard that the majority of people actually from the state are pretty rough around the edges--lots of meth, drugs, very crappy education system, insular mindset and a lot of racism. Plus, there are virtually no well paying jobs to speak of there, yet COL is sky high.

Correct. What the tourists see and what's a big part of the Hawaiian reality are two different things.

[BG918]

Minnesota is somewhat surprising at #3. I guess many people are active there with the lakes and things like snowmobiling and ice fishing in the winter.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

I was surprised to see Hawaii but I think Asian Americans are mostly pretty healthy and have longer life expectancies.

https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/b...lvl=4&lvlid=55

Yeah. Isn't Hawaii like 50% native Japanese at this point? I mean these folks are eating fish for virtually every meal.

I'm sorta surprised to not see Colorado in the top ten, if not at the very top.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by chris08876

I guess us NJ folks are all a bunch of Ginny Sacks having 90-pound mole surgery.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by chris08876

I guess us NJ folks are all a bunch of Ginny Sacks having 90-pound mole surgery.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I've seen the run down Honolulu neighborhoods. And my sister lives on the Big Island. There are big areas in the uplands of the Big Island where the back roads are lined with shacks, debris, tents, etc.. Miles and miles of it, all away from the main highways. It's out of sight, out of mind I guess.

My sister used to live in Hawaii, first in Honolulu "proper," then in Pearl City. She lived there for about 10 years before moving back to California. Anyway, visiting her and doing all the touristy stuff when she first moved there, some time later I spent a few weeks with her later, staying at her house, doing the regular day-to-day things, like errands, grocery shopping, etc. We went through a lot of non-touristy areas, but again, they didn't strike me as particularly poverty-stricken. You did see houses that can qualify as "shack"-looking, but it was more because of the smaller size and the building materials (cinderblock, even corrugated tin roofs); they were modest, obviously lower income, but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary, not like it was a cardboard box with no electricity or running water or anything. Granted, she and her family moved back to California in 2011-ish, so a lot might have changed since then?

Hehe her biggest complaint when she lived there was that they didn't have a lot of the stores she was used to. It seemed EVERYONE shopped at Walmart. When I was helping her put away her kids' toys, I noticed some Container Store bins, and I said "Oh, I didn't know they had Container Store in Hawaii." And she said in a very annoyed voice, "NO, they DON'T have Container Store here in Hawaii." Haha!

[Sam Hill]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

The states on the list are mostly affluent and/or highly educated. The only surprise is that Colorado isn't in the top-10, as it is a highly educated state and many people move there to enjoy the outdoors.

I was surprised too at first (although #12 aint bad) but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. It seems I always see Colorado way up at number 1 or 2 on every good-health/least-obesity list, but I also always see it way up at number 1 or 2 on every most-drinking/most-partying list. I think all the drugs and alcohol are knocking us down a few notches.

[Sam Hill]

The one that surprised me the most was New Mexico all the way down at 42. Based on what I’ve experienced on my few visits, that state has a culture more similar to Colorado than any other state (although California is pretty close as well). I assumed they’d at least be in the top 20. What gives? Too much cheese? lol

Most of my time spent in NM was spent in Santa Fe. I’m starting to think maybe Santa Fe is not very representative of the rest of NM.

[chris08876]

^^^

Probably the meth, alcohol and cocaine habits. Aside from popular culture shows, there's a big problem down there.


https://www.nmhealth.org/data/view/substance/2067/

Some good reading material. Some of the Top 10 causes of deaths are due to alcohol and/or drug usage.

Page 19 onward for data. Few years old but for the sake of concept.

I'd also imagine that might be a reason for say life expectancy in West Virginia.

The pandemic and post-pandemic probally accelerated drug and alcohol trends for many states. All that will eventually lead to life expectancy if we account for the total sum of residents in a state. Either direct or indirect effects I'd imagine.