The New York Times reports a study published Monday in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that while rich Americans live longer no matter where they live, for poor Americans, geography can shave a few years off their lives.
The life expectancy for 40-year-olds with household incomes below $28,000 in Miami is 81.2 years. In Orlando, it’s 80.2 years and in Tampa, it’s 78.8 years, slightly better than the worst area in Florida, Jacksonville at 78.7 years. In the Pecos area of Texas, the life expectancy went as low as 75.6 years.
“The gap in life spans between rich and poor widened from 2001 to 2014,” the Times writes. “The top 1 percent in income among American men live 15 years longer than the poorest 1 percent; for women, the gap is 10 years. These rich Americans have gained three years of longevity just in this century. They live longer almost without regard to where they live. Poor Americans had very little gain as a whole, with big differences among different places.”
This article appears in Apr 6-12, 2016.