Life expectancy in Ohio lower than in most of U.S.

(The Center Square) – Life expectancy is one of the most important and commonly cited indicators of population health – and in the United States, life expectancy is falling at a historic rate. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy at birth declined by 1.5 years in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II.

The CDC attributes the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic and 93,000 drug overdose deaths – an all-time one-year high. Homicide, diabetes and liver disease were also contributing factors. Here is a look at the states with the most drug overdose deaths in 2020.

While the national trend is alarming, there are considerable regional variations in life expectancy across the country.

As of 2019, the most recent available year of state-level data, life expectancy at birth in Ohio is 77.0 years, the eighth lowest among states and lower than the comparable national average of 79.2 years.

Both at an individual and population level, life expectancy is closely linked to certain behavioral factors. For example, smoking is the leading cause of death in the United States, and adults in Ohio are more likely to smoke than average. An estimated 21.4% of the 18 and older population in the state are smokers – meaning they smoke every day or most days and have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. Nationwide, 16.6% of the adult population are smokers.

Data on average life expectancy at birth is from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program's 2021 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report. Additional data is from both CHR and the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey.

Rank	State	Life expectancy at birth (yrs.)	Adults who smoke (%)	Median household income ($)	Poverty rate (%)
1	Hawaii	82.3	14.4	83,102	9.3
2	California	81.7	11.5	80,440	11.8
3	New York	81.4	13	72,108	13
4	Connecticut	80.9	12.5	78,833	10
4	Minnesota	80.9	15.5	74,593	9
32	Pennsylvania	78.5	17.9	63,463	12
40	Indiana	77.1	21.7	57,603	11.9
42	Ohio	77	21.4	58,642	13.1
47	Kentucky	75.6	24.1	52,295	16.3
50	West Virginia	74.8	26.9	48,850	16