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CDC: US experiences largest drop in life expectancy since WWII in 2020

According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy fell across the United States in 2020 by 1.8 years.

In 2019, the life expectancy at birth was 78.8 years. In 2020, it dropped to 77.0, the biggest drop since World War II, according to Bloomberg. The CDC said that the decline was mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in unintentional injuries, which were primarily drug overdoses.

Most Southern states in 2020 had the lowest life expectancies while Northeastern and Western states had the highest, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Rank, State and Life expectancy at birth for 2020

1. Hawaii — 80.7 18. Virginia — 77.6 35. North Carolina — 76.1
2. Washington — 79.2 19. Florida — 77.5 36. Michigan — 76.0
3. Minnesota — 79.1 20. New Jersey — 77.5 37. Georgia — 75.6
4. California — 79.0 21. Iowa — 77.5 38. Ohio — 75.3
5. Massachusetts — 79.0 22. North Dakota — 76.9 39. District of Columbia — 75.3
6. New Hampshire — 79.0 23. Montana — 76.8 40. Missouri — 75.1
7. Vermont — 78.8 24. Maryland — 76.8 41. Indiana — 75.0
8. Oregon — 78.8 25. Pennsylvania — 76.8 42. South Carolina — 74.8
9. Utah — 78.6 26. Illinois — 76.8 43. New Mexico — 74.5
10. Connecticut — 78.4 27. Delaware — 76.7 44. Oklahoma — 74.1
11. Idaho — 78.4 28. South Dakota — 76.7 45. Arkansas — 73.8
12. Colorado — 78.3 29. Alaska — 76.6 46. Tennessee — 73.8
13. Rhode Island — 78.2 30. Texas — 76.5 47. Kentucky — 73.5
14. Maine — 77.8 31. Kansas — 76.4 48. Alabama — 73.2
15. New York — 77.7 32. Wyoming — 76.3 49. Louisiana — 73.1
16. Nebraska — 77.7 33. Arizona — 76.3 50. West Virginia — 72.8
17. Wisconsin — 77.7 34. Nevada — 76.3 51. Mississippi — 71.9

New York had the biggest decline, with the life expectancy dropping from 80.7 in 2019 to 77.7 the following year. Hawaii, the state with the highest life expectancy, only dropped from 80.9 to 80.7.

According to the WSJ, the data used final mortality statistics, population estimates from the 2010 census and 2020 Medicare data.

In 2020, heart disease and cancer continued to be the leading cause of death in the country. COVID-19, with roughly 351,00 deaths attributed to the virus that year, was the third-highest.