North Carolina, South Carolina Cities Named Worst for Life Expectancy

It's always interesting to see new life expectancy rates. I'm always curious if I live in an area with a high or low expectancy, because that's obviously an indicator of an overall healthy environment. Well, as it turns out, some North Carolina and South Carolina cities have been named the worst for life expectancy in the United States.

A new report is out via Finance.yahoo.com. It looks at 40 cities with the lowest expectancy rates in the United States. According to the study, "Average lifespan in the US climbed from just 47 years in 1900 to nearly 79 in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic struck. After that, it saw a decline for two consecutive years, driven by increased cases of drug overdose and effects of Covid-19 according to a report by Harvard University." They add that life expectancy in the United States went way down to 77 years in 2020. Then, it went down to 76 years in 2021. The good news, though, is that in 2022, expectancy rebounded to 77.5 years. Those numbers are via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The worst city in America for life expectancy is Jackson, Mississippi. So, what about our state? Spartanburg, South Carolina is No. 9 on the tally. Life expectancy is 75.9. "There is immense disparity in life expectancy in Spartanburg, where people living in affluent neighborhoods live up to 85 years, whereas in some poorer localities, the average lifespan plummets to as low as 67 years," the study clarifies. "Spartanburg is among cities with the lowest life expectancy in the US." Also included is Greenville-Anderson, South Carolina, at No. 14, with an expectancy at 76.2. "Cancer is the leading cause of premature death in the Greenville metropolitan area," they explain. It impacts about 116 persons per 100,000 people, followed by heart diseases at second," they state. Augusta-Richmond County is No. 23 at 76.5 years, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is No. 29 with an expectancy of 77.1. Find the full list here.