Life expectancy at birth for Utah Adults
Current Value
79.5
Definition
Measure Definition
Life expectancy estimates how long someone who is born into a specific population will live. In other words, how old, on average, will be when they die. These are the rates for all females, all males, and all people who die in Utah. The method developed by C.L. Chiang was used to determine life expectancy. The target life expectancy is 77.5.
The target is based on the 2022 national life expectancy at birth. (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2024/20240321.htm#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20life%20expectancy,the%20top%20two%20leading%20causes.)
Data source: https://ibis.health.utah.gov/
Story Behind the Curve
Life expectancy is often used to gauge the overall health of a community. In Utah, life expectancy at birth for males increased from 72.4 years in 1980 to 767.6 years in 2022, and for females from 78.6 to 81.4 years. However, in recent years the rise in life expectancy has stalled and even decreased in 2020 and 2021. The decrease in 2020 and 2021 can largely be attributed to COVID-19.