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

Can you name the ten states with the lowest life expectancy?
2020 data. Source.
Try the opposite: Top 10 States with Highest Life Expectancy
Quiz by Stewart
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: September 30, 2022
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First submittedAugust 20, 2017
Times taken42,403
Average score70.0%
Rating4.76
Quiz and answer stats >>
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Years
State
71.9
Mississippi
72.8
West Virginia
73.1
Louisiana
73.2
Alabama
73.5
Kentucky
Years
State
73.8
Arkansas
73.8
Tennessee
74.1
Oklahoma
74.5
New Mexico
74.8
South Carolina
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61 Comments
Stewart
+9
Level 68
Sep 29, 2022
Updated with the latest data from the CDC. Interestingly, it seems the pandemic has already taken affect, since many of these are 2-3 years lower than they were in 2018/19.
GeographyGeek42
+6
Level 66
Nov 26, 2018
I took the quiz with highest life expectancy and I overlooked Oklahoma, which I guessed for the other quiz. 9/10
Stewart
+5
Level 68
Apr 1, 2020
Updated with latest figures, there's now a tie for 10th place, meaning this is technically "Top 11" not "Top 10", but don't complain :)
Xandog
+3
Level 43
Jun 27, 2020
I mean it WAS april fools sooooo
iRDM
+2
Level 79
Jan 23, 2023
he gets a pass on his tomfoolery
mf3
+79
Level 89
Apr 1, 2020
A red state clean sweep!
WT2008
+21
Level 77
Apr 2, 2020
go figure . . .
lousemouse333
+1
Level 23
Jun 15, 2024
Yes, shocking. Who would've thought the Federal government would shaft states with the highest minority populations (Black and Native American) AND rural populations?

Just kidding. I'm being sarcastic like you, except I'm not gloating about death rates for divisive political purposes. I understand this is a trend that is universal among rural ag communities in countries throughout the world. Not to mention (sadly) areas with minorities, as well.

What IS shocking is users finding reasons to celebrate mortality rates when it's pretty obvious it's not a political issue at all. And people wonder why everyone is fleeing South (despite even dying more, apparently).

Hatman
+17
Level 48
Apr 3, 2020
I'm shocked, shocked! Well...not that shocked.
kalbahamut
+6
Level 81
May 1, 2020
Ohio is a swing state
shortyoh
+14
Level 83
Jul 10, 2020
We're not really a swing state anymore. The GOP has been in firm control of the state for awhile.
kalbahamut
+18
Level 81
Jul 10, 2020
The last three polls for the 2020 election in Ohio are Trump +3, Biden +2, and Biden +1 ... and in the last 8 presidential elections Ohio has gone red, blue, blue, red, red, blue, blue, red... seems pretty swingy
Danem20
+7
Level 85
Sep 30, 2022
2020 was the first time in 50 years that Ohio voted more red than Texas. It's a safe red state nowadays.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 81
Jan 22, 2023
that has far more to do with changes in Texas than it does changes in Ohio.
nerdalert
+30
Level 87
May 1, 2020
I wish my beliefs were so simple that I felt an online quiz validated them.
kalbahamut
+12
Level 81
Jul 10, 2020
or even simpler so that someone's comment on an online quiz validated them?
kinjapan
+11
Level 72
Jul 10, 2020
So much winning.
queenfanfran
+20
Level 39
Apr 24, 2021
remember: poverty, voter suppression, and systemic oppression some large causes for the problems of the south... simply blaming the problems of these states on their voting patterns is reductive and does not get at the root of the problem! Love, an Arkansan communist
bestanford
+7
Level 72
Oct 24, 2022
Haha yeah it sure is funny that those people you don't like are poor and have less access to healthcare and die sooner, man that's funny
MasterKenobi
+4
Level 62
Feb 1, 2023
Nope. New Mexico is a solid blue state. And West Virginia is mostly red now but was reliably blue for decades until very recently. One of their two current US senators is a Democrat. Also some of the top 10 highest-life-expectancy states are solid red, so what's your point exactly?
lousemouse333
+1
Level 23
Jun 15, 2024
Except it's not (New Mexico) and it's mostly just a list of states with the most minorities. Southern Black and Native American states.

Proving A) The federal government doesn't care as much about them and B) Corporations (McDonald's, Coke, Phillip Morris, liquor companies) target them to absurd levels causing all kinds of cancer, heart, and diabetes deaths.

Lastly, in rural areas all citizens have a harder time accessing healthcare, cleaner water, transportation, and jobs. This is true in every country on Earth as it's just the nature of ag communities (that are typically conservative).

It's crazy some Americans squirrel themselves away in their all-White (D) Northeastern villas (courtesy of old money), and then finger-wag others who have to deal with all sorts of multicultural and economic issues. Then instead of showing any compassion they blame it on their rival's politics, usually call them racists (while talking to all their all White friends), and somehow feel good about it.

Malbaby
+6
Level 70
Apr 12, 2020
Those 'Grits' will do it every time.
BobIsACoprophage
+22
Level 61
May 1, 2020
I'm sensing a pattern here...
MrNoRide
+10
Level 33
May 1, 2020
Those life expectancies still aren’t that bad. Over 70 years old is pretty good.
JWatson24
+16
Level 71
May 2, 2021
Debatable. West Virginia's and Mississippi's life expectancies are in the same ballpark as Bangladesh and Nicaragua. Those numbers are impressive for developing countries but pretty embarrassing for a developed country like America (which itself lags behind Colombia and Peru on the national level). Also, a lot of times the thing that drags life expectancy down most is infant mortality. I don't know if that's the case in these states, but if it is that's a cause for alarm.
pejoo
+2
Level 54
Jun 7, 2021
I would say anything below 80 is bad, at least for European standards
hasanabdi
+6
Level 69
Oct 24, 2022
montenegro, croatia, serbia, albania, bosnia and herzegovina, (kosovo), slovakia, czech republic, ukraine, russia, belarus, poland, romania, moldova, hungary, estonia, lithuania, latvia, bulgaria, north macedonia. at least 20 countries are below 80. that would be a lot of bad countries if your standards are that high
TheCaptain
+24
Level 62
May 3, 2020
Most of these states consistently vote for a certain party...
MasterKenobi
+3
Level 62
Feb 1, 2023
Most of these states are in the South, which consistently voted for the OTHER party from its inception in the early 19th century all the way into the 1980s. Your point?
ducklingpanda1245
+2
Level 54
Jun 26, 2020
Maybe a bit more time.
Tomtrific
+3
Level 82
Jul 10, 2020
Hmmm.........must be the humidity down South.
determinedtobeatthis
+20
Level 68
Jul 10, 2020
Or the fact that they fry everything, and drink sweet tea that is basically syrup... (It's delicious, but not exactly a healthy diet.)
scrumpyone
+5
Level 45
Jul 10, 2020
'Gators
SpacemanSpiff
+10
Level 66
Jul 10, 2020
Before any one lumps the Republicans all together, consider that that southern states never fully recovered from the Civil War and are still fairly poor. Only Ohio surprised me here.
bkemp2001
+14
Level 60
Jul 10, 2020
They're the South of the North.
JesseFromThe6
+3
Level 69
Jul 10, 2020
Country roads...
rcshelton23
+9
Level 56
Jul 10, 2020
The Southern diet is something else lol
undeadwarrior
+1
Level 65
Jul 11, 2020
Take me home, country roads!
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 70
Feb 18, 2021
SC for South Carolina?
Milsk
+4
Level 17
Apr 20, 2021
Hm there seems to a pattern here.
bibohbi
+4
Level 60
Jun 25, 2021
I'm starting to see why west virginia is the only state to have lowered in population since 1960
Koopa
+8
Level 82
Dec 24, 2021
My mother has family in the south, my brother married a southerner, and my sister moved there for the weather. I've been down there dozens of times (and in multiple states), and in my experience, I would say their diet has a lot to do with this. They also don't abide by a lot of traffic laws, or seem to have much concern for routine dental/medical visits. I see a lot of obesity and smoking. The overall mindset seemed to be that no authority (gov't, science, health professionals, etc.) is going to tell them how to live--or in this quiz's case--how to die.
WillemLAif
+2
Level 76
Sep 30, 2022
Isn't it great that people have options based on how they want to live? I think it is. Win-win for everyone.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 91
Oct 1, 2022
The potential number of quizzes with these same answers does seem endless.
Quagga50
+9
Level 82
Dec 13, 2022
In this comment section: people who definitely understand correlation vs causation.
RuthlessCosmo
+6
Level 75
Jan 21, 2023
Here are the states that have rejected the generous Medicaid expansion subsidies under ACA as of late 2022:

Alabama

Florida

Georgia

Kansas

Mississippi

North Carolina

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Wisconsin

Wyoming

https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/. Not total overlap with low longevity, but still....

rebryant
+2
Level 54
Jan 21, 2023
The South Shall Rise Again.

Haha!

workie
+2
Level 67
Jan 21, 2023
Brit here. Are these states where gangs of young men frequently kill other? Perhaps this is bringing down the average, many young men getting shot at a young age.
Jiaozira
+7
Level 71
Jan 21, 2023
Violent deaths are not a heavy contribution to the life expectancy in most countries. The big factors on this quiz are health-related such as obesity or alcoholism.
rabble
+1
Level 68
Jan 21, 2023
I wouldn't be surprised if it accounted for >1 year, just by looking at a map
driehoek25
+3
Level 68
Jan 21, 2023
Isn't the south know for it greasy food? Because this could be a major factor in why so many southern states are in this list.
JWatson24
+4
Level 71
Jan 21, 2023
People are pointing to diet and obesity, which is fair, but also access to healthcare is a huge issue in many of these states, and is definitely also a contributing factor.
WanderLust
+2
Level 97
Jan 21, 2023
None of these states are surprising to me...except for New Mexico. I wonder what is up there? If anything, I would have thought Arizona would be Top 10, not NM.
Freestatebear
+11
Level 86
Jan 21, 2023
They have the third-highest poverty rate in the nation (after Louisiana and Mississippi). About 30% on NM's children live in poverty, which is significantly higher than the national average. They also have the second greatest percentage of Native Americans (after Alaska), a community which has unfortunately long suffered from high rates of alcoholism.
WanderLust
+1
Level 97
Jan 21, 2023
Didn't know all of that, thanks for this info.
gonzit
+2
Level 72
Jan 21, 2023
Funny how states with no big cities don't have to deal with pollution or high crime rates and they still have the lowest life expectancies. They just suck in every other way
DannyDecagon
+2
Level 51
Jan 23, 2023
this is the red wave everyone was worried about last election lol
Myles980
+1
Level 22
Mar 25, 2023
Nice quiz Stewart!
Alexquiz17
+1
Level 92
Mar 27, 2024
Whistling Dixie!

New Mexico being the outlier, the rest of these have a heavily confederate feel to them. Mind you, perhaps we should prioritise quality over quantity - so good on them heavy drinking, smoking, fried-chicken eating southern dudes!

teggy
+1
Level 54
Sep 27, 2024
Great quiz, 9/10 forgot Arkansas existed
etfdyhw
+1
Level 26
Dec 17, 2024
I literally just had to guess mostly rural countries
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