Life Expectancy in Texas Over

Life Expectancy in Texas

Over the years: life expectancy in Texas

While we never actually know how long our lives might be, there are ways to calculate our life expectancy. According to Wikipedia, life expectancy is defined as the projected number of years of life left at a given age (Sullivan and Sheffrin). On the Internet, life expectancy calculators abound, provided by a wide range of organizations and for a variety of uses, from insurance and healthcare to retirement planning. This research paper focuses on the life expectancy, at birth, of individuals living in north Texas in 1934, 1954, and 1972. However, during the research process, it was difficult to find statistics for those exact years and region. Therefore, the closest dates were provided along with information specific to the entire state of Texas

To calculate life expectancy on the Society of Certified Senior Advisors Website, a number of personal questions must be answered. By inputting a north Texas zip code as the region, 1934 as the birth year, and providing general answers specific to a healthy lifestyle, the calculator estimated that a man born in that year could live up to age 90. Using the same region, birth year and healthy lifestyle responses, a woman could live to age 94.

In 1930, the average life expectancy for an American was 59.7 years old and from 1939-1941, life expectancy was 61.07 years old for men and 65.96 years old for women (Ancestry.com and Dublin).

Over time, the life expectancy statistics included more detail, and in 1959-1961, the statistics were defined by race -- white and nonwhite. Based on the Texas State Life Tables for these years, a white male could live to 70.12 years of age and a nonwhite male could live to 62.30 years of age, while a white woman could live to 67.79 years old and a nonwhite woman could live to 67.33 years old.

Statistics for Texas residents born between 1969 and 1971 included white males with a life expectancy of 67.85 years and white women with a life expectancy of 75.88 years, and nonwhite men with a life expectancy of 61.71 years of age and nonwhite women with a life expectancy of 69.47 years (National Center for Health Statistics).

Since then, life expectancy has increased dramatically. "For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years," (CBS News). In 2006, Texas was ranked 30th out of the 50 states with an average life expectancy of 76.7 years (BusinessWeek).

According to a recent article by the Associated Press on KBTX.com, there are some Texas counties that have a higher life expectancy than others. Hidalgo and Cameron counties, which are primarily Hispanic counties along the Texas-Mexico border, ranked first and second in Texas residents and life expectancy, living up to 80.2 and 80.1 years of age. Williamson and Collin counties tied for third with an average life span of 79.7 years of age and Starr county ranked fifth, with 79.6 years as the average life expectancy.