Regions in the United States with a life expectancy lower than that of North Korea

Nearly 700 US counties have a lower life expectancy than North Korea, startling new data reveals. 

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin – Madison analyzed Census data from over 3,100 counties in the United States to establish the average life expectancy in each region.

The research revealed that slightly over 20% of the country has a life expectancy of 72.6 years or less, which is equivalent to the average lifespan of a North Korean individual based on the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) statistics.

And nine counties have life expectancies under 60, mirroring some of the world’s most impoverished nations like Syria, Sudan and Lesotho. 

The findings come despite the US spending more on healthcare per capita than any other country in the world.

Buffalo County, South Dakota, was identified as having the lowest life expectancy, with residents living an average of only 54 years, a contrast of over two decades compared to the national average.

Following close behind were five other counties in South and North Dakota, where the average life expectancy ranges from 57 to 60. 

All of the counties with a life expectancy at or below 60 are home to Native American reservations, which have long been plagued by high rates of poverty, alcoholism, suicide, addiction and depression, all of which raise the risk of dying early. 

Pictured above is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. A new report found 700 US counties have lower life expectancies than North Korea, a country long plagued by war and starvation

The startling data comes as North Korea has been plagued by starvation. 

The World Health Organization states North Korea’s average life expectancy is 72.6, though it’s unclear exactly what’s driving that. 

North Korea is also notoriously secretive about releasing data, so it’s possible this figure either hasn’t been updated or is inaccurate.  

The average life expectancy in the US is 77.  

Of the 3,147 counties analyzed in the Wisconsin University report, 688 meet or fall behind North Korea’s reported life expectancy of 72.6. 

Buffalo County, South Dakota, sits at the bottom of the list with an average life expectancy of 54. 

Dewey County, Oglala Lakota County, Corson County and Todd County, which are all in South Dakota, followed behind, with the average life expectancy ranging from 56.7 to 58.7. 

Sioux County, North Dakota, Benson County, North Dakota, and Roosevelt County, Montana, all hovered around 60. All three counties are also home to large Native American reservations.

The 326 federally recognized Native American reservations in the US have long had significantly lower life expectancies than the rest of the country. 

According to advocacy group The Red Road, one in four people living on reservations falls below the poverty line, more than twice the national average of 11 percent.

In Todd County, for example, 59 percent of residents live below the poverty line, the highest in the nation.    

This limits access to health insurance and healthier, more expensive foods.

Mountains of research also show the Indian Health Service, a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services meant to provide care for Native Americans, is consistently underfunded and understaffed, limiting healthcare for people living on reservations.

According to 2016-2020 data from the Indian Health Service, 52 per 100,000 Native Americans die from alcohol-related diseases, such as liver failure, compared to the national rate of 12 per 100,000. 

The low life expectancy on reservations may also be linked to suicide, as Indigenous people have a 91 percent higher chance of dying by suicide than the general US population, according to the CDC.

Nationwide, America has a life expectancy of 77.5 years, according to the latest estimates from the CDC

Pictured above is a family living on Standing Rock Reservation between North and South Dakota. The latest data shows people living on reservations live up to 20 years less than the average American, largely due to high rates of poverty, chronic health conditions, alcoholism and suicide

All of these nine counties fell just short of the life expectancies of the world’s shortest-lived countries. 

The African nations Chad, Nigeria and Lesotho all have the world’s lowest life expectancies of 53, which the WHO attributes to high levels of diseases like HIV and tuberculosis, which are mostly treatable in the US. 

Rounding out the top 10 shortest lived counties was Kingman County, Kansas, a rural area of 7,000 residents. The average resident lives to just 61, 

Neighboring Edwards County, Kansas, with just under 3,000 residents, has a life expectancy of 63.6. 

Also ranking below North Korea was Union County, Florida, with a life expectancy of 68. The county of 15,000 also has the nation’s highest rate of cancer, including prostate and early-onset colon cancer. 

It has also historically led the nation in lung, oral and skin cancers. 

Health officials believe this could be due to high smoking rates and a lack of health care funding in the area, as well as one in six residents living in poverty. 

USDA data shows the average household income in the area is about $55,000, about a quarter below the national average of $75,000.