The U.S. death rate rose last year for the first time in a decade. This led to the first drop in life expectancy since 1993. The typical American in 2015 can expect to live 78.8 years, down slightly from 78.9 years in 2014. Heart disease and cancer remain the leading causes of death in the United States.
To highlight how life expectancy trends vary across the United States, 24/7 Wall St. listed the city in every state with the shortest life expectancy at birth. Across all metro areas, life expectancy is lowest in Gadsden, Alabama, where life expectancy at birth is only 73.3 years. By contrast, average life expectancy in Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida is more than 10 years longer.