College Grads Live 11 Years Longer Than People Who Don’t Finish High School
Across more than 3,000 counties all over the United States, ranging from the least to most educated, those with a higher level of education had a longer lifespan, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.
The research found a large gap between the least and most educated which is only continuing to widen over time. In 2000, the gap in lifespans was eight years.
In 2019, it increased to nearly 11 years. College graduates increased their lifespans by 2.5 years to 84.2 years.
Those who completed some college increased their life expectancy by 0.7 years to 82.1 years. Meanwhile, high school graduates increased their lifespans by 0.3 years to 77.3 years.
On the other hand, those without a high school diploma saw no improvement in their life expectancy, which stayed at 73.5 years.
“In the U.S., more formal education often translates to better employment opportunities, including higher-paying jobs that have fewer health risks,” said Laura Dwyer-Lindgren, the senior author of the study and an associate professor at IHME.
“This puts people in a better position to build a healthy life and, when needed, obtain high-quality health care.”
Across counties, lifespans ranged from 68.2 to 93.2 for all education groups combined. The variation was largest for those who did not finish high school at 57.9 to 90.1 years, which is a difference of 32.2 years. The range was smallest for college graduates at 75.2 to 93.9 years, which is a difference of 18.7 years.
Overall, college graduates in the county where life expectancy was as high as 93.9 years are living 36 years longer than those who did not finish high school in the county where life expectancy was 57.9 years.
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On a global scale, the disparities in life expectancy across education levels and counties are large as well. Within the U.S., counties in the southeast region, parts of Appalachia, and parts of South Dakota had relatively low life expectancy, particularly among those who did not graduate from high school.
In several counties across Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, and northern Arizona, individuals with some college education experienced notable declines in life expectancy.
In parts of Virginia, the Carolinas, Texas, Nebraska, and Louisiana, high school graduates experienced significantly larger declines compared to most other counties.
The declines were especially large for those without a high school diploma in parts of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
However, individuals who did not finish high school in California had large increases in life expectancy, which could be related to the large immigrant population in the state.
Typically, immigrants have a longer life expectancy than their counterparts born in the U.S. due to factors that shape who is able to immigrate to the U.S.
Generally, female life expectancy was higher than that of males. For females who didn’t finish high school, their national lifespan was nearly 72 years. But for males, it was almost 68 years.
The study was published in The Lancet Public Health.
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