Life Expectancy

Differences in life expectancy by race and region reflect inequities across the lifespan.

Life expectancy reflects all of the factors that can improve or harm health that individuals experience throughout their lifetimes. Life expectancy at birth is defined as the total number of years a newborn can expect to live given current death rates. From 2017-2021, the King County life expectancy was 81.6 years, which remains higher than the national average. However, we still experience stark differences in life expectancy by place and race/ethnicity in King County. 

  • Trends: Life expectancy in King County has decreased in recent years. For most of the past 10 years, life expectancy remained relatively stable, but in 2019-2021 average life expectancy declined by about half of a year among King County residents. Life expectancy for Hispanic residents has declined by over 3 years from the 2012-2014 average of 89.8 years to 86.3 years in 2019-2021. For Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, life expectancy has decreased by 6.6 years from the 2012-2014 average life expectancy of 74.3 years to 67.7 years in 2019-2021. By region, average life expectancy among South King County residents dropped to its lowest rate in nearly two decades in 2019-2021 (78.7 years).   

  • Race and ethnicity: Life expectancy is highest among Hispanic (87.5 years) residents. Among Black residents (75.5 years), life expectancy is about 6 years shorter than that of white residents (81.4 years). Gaps are even greater by race and gender, where life expectancy for Black male residents is 11 years less than white female residents (72.6 and 83.6 years, respectively). At 68.5 years, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents have the lowest life expectancy of all racial/ethnic groups across King County. 

  • Region and city/neighborhood: Residents of King County’s South Region (79.1 years) have significantly lower life expectancy than the King County average. Residents of East Region (83.8 years) and Seattle (83.1 years) both had higher life expectancies than North and South Regions. On a neighborhood level, residents of Seattle’s University District have the highest life expectancy of 89.8 years, while South Auburn residents have the lowest life expectancy of 74.8 years, a difference of about 15 years. 

  • Income: Residents living in low poverty neighborhoods (83.9 years) live an average of 5.3 years longer than those in very high poverty neighborhoods (78.6 years). 

  • Gender: Gender differences in life expectancy mirror national trends. Female (83.9 years) residents are expected to live on average 4.7 years longer than males (79.2 years). 

To understand what could be driving these differences in life expectancy, explore this visualization of the Leading Causes of Death in King County, or read this article about the impacts of the social determinants of health on life expectancy. This article addresses the impact of COVID-19 on life expectancy at the national level. 

 

Notes & Sources

Source: Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics.

To learn more about the birth and death certificate data and view their data biographies, click here (death data) and here (birth data).