Arizona's Life Expectancy Fell An 'Extraordinary' Amount
By Ginny Reese
August 25, 2022
Arizona saw one of the nation's steepest drops in life expectancy in 2020. Cronkite News reported that the state saw one of the sharpest declines in life expectancy since World War II.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Arizona's life expectancy fell 2.5 years from 78.8 in 2019 to 76.3 in 2020. Arizona's life expectancy fell below the national average for the first time since 2006.
Although the state's life expectancy is lower than the national average, it wasn't nearly the lowest in the country. The state ranked number 33, having a longer life expectancy than 17 other states and the District of Columbia.
The national average fell 1.8 years from 78.8 to 77 years.
Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, said, "It just is extraordinary to see that kind of drop in life expectancy."
Nine states across the nation saw a drop in life expectancy of at least 2.1 to 3 years, which was the largest margin calculated. Those states include Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.
You can see the full report about each state's life expectancy on the CDC's website.