How Long Do People Live in Kings Park?

By RYAN BONNER (Patch National Staff)

Residents of New York’s 3rd Congressional district, which includes Kings Park, can expect to live 81.9 years–good enough for 32nd highest life expectancy out of 436 Congressional districts across the country, according to a new study.

The study, called Geographies of Opportunity, was published last week by the Social Science Research Council, as part of their ongoing effort to track disparities in quality of life across America.

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.

Four of the five New York Congressional districts that cover Long Island are in the top-100 in life expectancy among districts across the country:

• 1st district- 80.6 years- ranked 108th
• 2nd district- 81.1 years- ranked 58th
• 4th district- 82.5 years- ranked 18th
• 5th district- 82.9 years- ranked 10th

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.

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

Sign up for your local daily Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts here.

More on Patch:

• Suffolk Cop Hurt After Tractor-Trailer Hits Patrol Car on LIE
• Long Island Restaurant Week Kicks Off Sunday
• Cops: Woman Drove Drunk, Crashed with Daughter in Car
• Billy Joel Will Be the Final Nassau Coliseum Performer
• The Incredible Story Behind One Man’s 7,000-Percent Tip for Waitress
• Deer Park Teen Dies After Being Hit by Car
• An EMS Dispatcher’s Hardest Day
• Police: 4 Hurt After Drunk Drivers Crash Into Each Other
• Police: Three Arrested For Selling Alcohol to Minors