How Long Do People Live in Prince George's County?

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Prince George’s County residents live slightly less than the lifespan of the average American – to the age of 78.8 to be precise – while Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District is ranked as having the seventh-longest lifespan in the country.

The study, called Geographies of Opportunity, was published recently by the Social Science Research Council, as part of their ongoing effort to track disparities in quality of life across America. Study authors ranked the country by Congressional district.

According to the study, the average life expectancy in the United States is now 79.1 years, an increase of almost four years over life expectancy in 1990. But according to the researchers, some Americans, especially African Americans and some Southerners, have seen far less of an increase. A few parts of the South have seen no increase at all.

The longest life expectancy in the U.S. is in California’s 19th Congressional district, which includes San Jose and part of Santa Clara County, where people live 83.9 years on average, or roughly as long as people in Japan.

The lowest life expectancy is in rural southeastern Kentucky, where people live just under 73 years, or about as long as residents of the Gaza Strip.

Residents in Montgomery County’s Eighth Congressional District have a life expectancy of 88.3 years on average, the longest of any part of the state. Nearby Annapolis residents live to the age of 79.1 on average. The shortest life expectancy of all in Maryland was the Seventh Congressional District, at 77.1 years.

The study’s authors say a variety of factors affect life expectancy, from access to health insurance to race and employment opportunities. But the study also lists four factors it dubs the “fatal four,” which can shorten lifespan dramatically: smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and alcohol abuse.

Credit: Geographies of Opportunity, The Social Science Research Council, Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis.