Where you live has a significant impact on how long you live. In Washington, life expectancy varies by up to 11 years depending on your county of residence, according to a new report.
San Juan County, a picturesque cluster of islands in the north Puget Sound, had the longest life expectancy among Washington’s 39 counties. San Juan County residents have an impressive average life expectancy of 86.3 years, according to the 2024 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report, released Wednesday by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute.
That’s easily the longest life expectancy in Washington and is among the longest of any county in the country. San Juan tied with Aleutians West County, Alaska, as the 10th longest-lived counties in the U.S. Mono County, Calif., ranked No. 1, with an astounding average life expectancy of 98.9 years.
King County’s average life expectancy, 81.6 years, tied for second longest in Washington with Skamania County, which is in southwestern Washington and where Mount St. Helens is located.
Sparsely-populated Pend Oreille County, in the northeast corner of Washington, had the lowest life expectancy in the state, an average of 74.9 years, a little more than 11 years shorter than the average in San Juan.
No Washington County was anywhere near the bottom nationally for life expectancy. Buffalo County, S.D., was lowest at just 55.9 years.
The life expectancy figures in the report were calculated using data from 2019-21. The report does not address the effect of COVID on life expectancy, though the pandemic, of course, affected health during part of this time frame.
The report also includes a calculation on premature death rate for U.S. counties. This data point estimates the number of years of life lost to deaths of people under age 75, per 100,000 people.
Here again, San Juan County stands out. The county had the lowest rate of premature death in Washington, with a rate of 3,542 years of potential life lost per 100,000. And Pend Oreille was again at the other end of the spectrum, with a rate of 11,672 years of potential life lost per 100,000.
King County had the second lowest rate, at 5,119 years per 100,000.
Health outcomes such as average life expectancy and the premature-death rate are not simply a matter of chance. There are many factors that contribute, such as health behaviors, access to care, environment and social and economic factors.
The report includes data on some of these factors that contribute to health outcomes. In many of these, King County ranked at or near the top among Washington counties.
For example, only 12% of King County residents described their health as poor or fair, which tied with San Juan County as the lowest in the state. In Adams County, 25% reported their health as poor or fair.
And King County residents had the lowest average number of physically unhealthy days per month, at three, and tied with Kitsap County for the lowest average number of mentally unhealthy days, at 4.9.
There were a number of other metrics where King County stood out, such as the lowest rates of adults who smoke cigarettes (9%) and adult obesity (23%). King tied with San Juan for percentage of adults who reported being physically inactive outside of work, at 14%.
Counties in Eastern Washington had the highest rates of smokers, adult obesity and physically-inactive residents.
Only 6% of people under age 65 in King County had no health insurance, tied with Spokane County as the lowest rate in the state. King also had high per capita rates of doctors, dentists and mental health providers, especially compared with Washington’s more rural counties.
King County didn’t shine when it comes to alcohol abuse. Nineteen percent of adults in the county reported binge drinking or excessive consumption of alcohol, which was toward the high end among Washington counties. Whatcom County, home to Western Washington University, had the highest rate of adults who drink excessively, at 20%.
Social and economic factors play a role in the health of a community, and King County ranked highly along many of these metrics compared with the rest of the state. For example, King County had a high percentage of residents who’ve attended college and low rates of unemployment and poverty.
There were some social and economic factors for which King County didn’t rank as highly. King had relatively high rates of income inequality and severe housing problems, which includes high housing costs, overcrowding and inadequate facilities. King was also in the bottom third among the state’s counties for air quality and for the share of drive-alone commuters who commute more than 30 minutes each way.
But at least we’re sleeping well. King tied with San Juan and Chelan Counties for the lowest share of residents getting fewer than seven hours of sleep on average, at 27%. Folks in Grays Harbor County get the worst sleep in the state, with 37% not getting seven hours on a typical night.
