Kansas' life expectancy is dropping, these counties have the shortest lives
TOPEKA (KSNT) - From 2020 and 2021, the U.S. saw the largest decline in life expectancy since 1921-1923, according to a 2022 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In 2020, the national life expectancy dropped 1.8 years and 0.9 years in 2021. The decline brought life expectancy in the U.S. to its lowest level since 1996.
Life expectancy from 2019 was largely impacted by the pandemic, according to the CDC. COVID-19 deaths contributed to 74% of the decline from 2019 to 2020 and 50% of the decline from 2020 to 2021.
In Kansas, from 2012 to 2022, the state saw a life expectancy decrease of 3.7 years from 78.9 to 75.2 years old, according to data from the CDC and DeadorKicking.com. In 2022, Kansas had approximately 87 deaths every day. The largest contributing factor to mortality was heart disease making up 19.5% of all deaths.
In 2022, the county with the highest life expectancy was Johnson County at 78.5 years old. The lowest life expectancy was Morton County with 70.2 years old. Shawnee County ranked #72 in the state with a 73.8-year-life expectancy.
“Life expectancy at birth—the estimated average number of years a given population will live—is a key measure for a community's health. However, life expectancy varies tremendously within a community by such factors as income, sex, race and even neighborhood. Communities that have more opportunities for health will generally have a longer life expectancy. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true: communities with fewer opportunities for health have shorter life expectancies. Residents with more income have more choices, which results in living in better neighborhoods, enjoying better schools, accessing better healthcare and nearby green spaces, and enduring less toxic stress," Johnson County Department of Health and Environment Director Charlie Hunt said.
Hunt said while Johnson County has a high life expectancy, there are communities only five miles apart that have over 12-year differences in life expectancy.
"There are also significant disparities in life expectancy by race and ethnicity..." Hunt said. "However, it is important to note that these disparities are not due directly to race and ethnicity as risk factors. Rather, historical injustices and structural factors that perpetuate inequities have contributed to negative outcomes."
Life expectancy by county in 2022
| County | Life Expectancy |
| Johnson | 78.5 |
| Trego | 77.8 |
| Riley | 77.5 |
| Nemaha | 77.4 |
| Douglas | 77.3 |
| Ellis | 77.2 |
| Pottawatomie | 77 |
| Washington | 76.9 |
| Haskell | 76.8 |
| Gove | 76.7 |
| Mitchell | 76.5 |
| Smith | 76.5 |
| Kiowa | 76.3 |
| Jewell | 76.1 |
| Lincoln | 76.1 |
| McPherson | 76.1 |
| Chase | 76 |
| Clay | 76 |
| Rawlins | 76 |
| Wabaunsee | 76 |
| Ellsworth | 75.9 |
| Gray | 75.9 |
| Stanton | 75.9 |
| Miami | 75.7 |
| Phillips | 75.7 |
| Seward | 75.6 |
| Greeley | 75.5 |
| Jefferson | 75.5 |
| Clark | 75.4 |
| Wallace | 75.4 |
| Doniphan | 75.3 |
| Grant | 75.3 |
| Keamy | 75.3 |
| Scott | 75.3 |
| Leavenworth | 75.2 |
| Anderson | 75.1 |
| Lane | 75.1 |
| Marshall | 75.1 |
| Norton | 75.1 |
| Osborne | 75.1 |
| Lyon | 75 |
| Marion | 75 |
| Sheridan | 74.9 |
| Coffey | 74.8 |
| Finney | 74.8 |
| Ford | 74.8 |
| Rice | 74.8 |
| Sherman | 74.8 |
| Cheyenne | 74.7 |
| Hamilton | 74.7 |
| Osage | 74.7 |
| Jackson | 74.6 |
| Morris | 74.6 |
| Rooks | 74.6 |
| Rush | 74.6 |
| Atchison | 74.5 |
| Harvey | 74.5 |
| Logan | 74.5 |
| Butler | 74.4 |
| Graham | 74.4 |
| Stevens | 74.4 |
| Franklin | 74.3 |
| Reno | 74.2 |
| Saline | 74.2 |
| Thomas | 74.1 |
| Barber | 73.9 |
| Ottawa | 73.9 |
| Republic | 73.9 |
| Barton | 73.8 |
| Decatur | 73.8 |
| Sedgwick | 73.8 |
| Shawnee | 73.8 |
| Edwards | 73.7 |
| Dickinson | 73.6 |
| Kingman | 73.6 |
| Meade | 73.6 |
| Russell | 73.6 |
| Stafford | 73.5 |
| Wichita | 73.4 |
| Cloud | 73.3 |
| Harper | 73.3 |
| Pawnee | 73.2 |
| Bourbon | 73.1 |
| Hodgeman | 73.1 |
| Labette | 73.1 |
| Ness | 73.1 |
| Pratt | 73.1 |
| Crawford | 73 |
| Woodson | 72.9 |
| Allen | 72.8 |
| Neosho | 72.8 |
| Wilson | 72.8 |
| Brown | 72.7 |
| Chautauqua | 72.7 |
| Sumner | 72.7 |
| Cowley | 72.6 |
| Elk | 72.6 |
| Greenwood | 72.6 |
| Wyandotte | 72.6 |
| Comanche | 72.4 |
| Cherokee | 72.3 |
| Linn | 72.3 |
| Geary | 71.7 |
| Montgomery | 71.7 |
| Morton | 70.2 |
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