Everyone wants to live as long and as healthy a life as possible, but it’s not possible for everyone. It could be, but so many of us make the decision not to take care of our bodies as well as we should and that causes us to suffer a much shorter lifespan. We drink, some smoke, we don’t exercise enough, we don’t eat well enough, we don’t sleep long enough; and we just don’t live long enough in many places across the country because we are lazy and don’t do what we need to do. But the people in these 20 cities live a lot shorter life span than anyone else across the country.
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Washington, Mississippi – 71 years
The people who live in this very small town tend not to live a very long time. It really is not known why they do not live a long time, just that they don’t. The general consensus in this small area of Mississippi is that the lack of great health care, the number of people who live below the poverty line and the number of people who fail miserably when it comes to taking care of themselves is why people here do not live nearly as long as they do elsewhere.
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Richmond City, Virginia – 71 years
Around here, it’s more difficult to live a long life than it is to die a bit younger than most other places in the country. It is widely believed people here do not have the resources and information available to them to keep their lives as healthy as possible, and that’s why they tend to live more than a half decade less than those who live in other areas of the country where healthcare and healthy lifestyle choices are a bit more prevalent.
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Crittenden, Arkansas – 71 years
If you’ve never heard of this small area in Arkansas, get in line. Many people have not, and there is nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t make anything wrong with this area, either, when you consider the fact that most of us will never even bother to have the kind of time to learn the name of every single city or town in the world. What you will hear about this location, however, is that people here just do not live a very long time and it’s too bad.
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Sunflower, Mississippi – 71 years
With a name like Sunflower, you might expect the people here to live a long and healthy life. However, they don’t. Most of the people who live here only live to be in their early 70s before they pass away. There is no alarming number of accidents or other explanation for this other than the fact that the lack of people who live longer is just bigger than the number of people who do live a long time. It’s simple math, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that many might consider this a deal breaker when moving into the area.
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Pemiscot, Missouri – 70 years
Missouri is a place in which some cities have a lot to offer and others do not. This means that the people in this small area of the state are prone to die earlier and younger than others. It could have something to do with the large number of people who live below the poverty line and are unable to properly care for themselves long enough to make it past their 70th birthday. Either way, it’s something people are aware of and very worried about in the area.
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St Louis City – 70 years
With only 70 years begin the average life expectancy here, most people are not living as long as they should. There is a lot of crime in this area, a lack of health care in comparison to other areas and a great deal of people who are living lives that are not above the poverty line. With the lack of ability to really care for themselves, many people here are not living as long as they should.
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Mcdowell, West Virginia – 70 years
This West Virginia city has a very short life expectancy compared to many other cities around the world. Whereas some of the cities with the longest life expectancy have people living well into their 80s, this is a city with nearly a decade of life that’s lost for some reason or another. It could be the small town without much in the way of health care or the fact that many residents here live at or below the poverty line, which makes it difficult to live healthy lifestyles.
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Baker, Florida – 70 years
This Florida town as a low life expectancy, whereas other Florida cities have a much longer life expectancy. Many people are surprised to see Florida on this list considering it’s a beach state that has a lot to offer in terms of healthy outdoor living, healthy fresh foods and a longer life expectancy. Most people think that the state is filled with people who love to live on the golf course or water, so stress shouldn’t be a factor in a short life expectancy, but it’s just not true in all areas of the state.
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Union, Florida – 70 years
With people living only to 70 and few longer than that, this Florida town has one of the shortest life expectancies in the state. The reason for this is not particularly well-known. Some might say it’s because Florida is filled with retirees, so naturally people would die here, but most of the retirees who come to Florida live a lot longer. It’s just this particular area with a very short lifespan in comparison to other areas around the state.
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Coahoma, Mississippi -70 years
Mississippi is a laid-back state, but there are many areas that have a lot of people living on the poverty level, a lot of people not actively seeking healthcare and a lot of people who just don’t know how to care for themselves so that they live their lives and prolong their existence. It’s just one of those things that happens in areas in which there is not much ability to utilize the things that make life so much simpler, so much healthier and so much longer.
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Phillips, Arkansas – 69 years
This Arkansas town has a very low life expectancy. While most people consider 69 a young age, it’s not considered very young here. It’s the average age people pass on, and it’s not very old. The reasons are plentiful, but it is safe to say that a bigger city such as San Francisco or somewhere else might be a better bet for those looking to live a little longer than 69. Of course, living here is not a guarantee that you will not live a long and prosperous life, but your chances are much lower.
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Marlboro, South Carolina – 69 years
South Carolina is the kind of place in which people live long lives because they are healthy, active and it always seems that the stress level here is so low. People are friendly and kind, the food is good and the weather is beautiful most of the year. But if you live in the place that shares the same name as a cigarette, you might find that the life expectancy is a bit shorter than it is in other cities around this lovely state. And that’s just the way that it is.
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Petersburg, Virginia – 69 years
Virginia is known for having a lot to offer the people who live in the bigger cities, but the people who live in smaller towns have less going for them. This town, in particular, doesn’t have the same kind of healthcare and retirement options as bigger cities have. This could lead to the fact that people just don’t live a long time here. It could be that they aren’t getting the kind of healthcare that they need, they’re not living with good insurance or retirement or there could be a number of other factors.
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Baltimore City, Maryland – 68 years
Baltimore is the 26th state with the highest population in the country, so it would make sense that people here don’t live forever. But they don’t live as long as they should. An average lifespan of only 68 years is very low in comparison to most other cities across the country, and that has a big effect on the way people live their lives. It could be the heavy crime in the city accounting for the fact that people just aren’t living very long around here.
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Bennett, South Dakota – 66 years
What’s interesting about Bennett is that it’s not just a city or a town. It’s a complete county – which is comprised of several cities and towns and areas all in one. Even so, you’d expect a lot of people in an entire county, but this place has approximately 3,400 residents in all the cities and towns and areas. That means that the life span here is very short, since there’s not many people to compare it to as they are in other areas.
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Jackson, South Dakota – 66 years
If we are being honest, there are a number of cities and towns in South Dakota that have an issue with lifespan. Jackson is another county with only about 3,200 residents calling this area home. With an average lifespan of only 66 years, which is the same as five other small counties in South Dakota, we can say it’s safe to say people here are not getting the kind of education and help that they need to stay fit, healthy and alive.
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Mellette, South Dakota – 66 years
Yet another small area in South Dakota, the life span here is very short. The area has nothing in comparison to the bigger areas of the state, which means residents are not getting the kind of health care that they would receive in a bigger city. These are people that probably work a lot harder than others since the job market isn’t quite that large and the people are actually working longer and harder since retirement is not something that they really have.
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Shannon, South Dakota – 66 years
Shannon is a county a bit bigger than some of the other South Dakota counties on the list, but it’s not a big area. With just over 14,000 people calling this area home, it is the kind of place that people live their entire lives. And yes, bad joke warning, those lives are not all that long. Living 66 years is not exactly the kind of lifespan people have in bigger cities, though many people feel that it’s those who live in smaller areas that live longer. This might prove that is not entirely true.
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Todd, South Dakota – 66 years
Todd County is the kind of place in which people just don’t live that long. There are just under 10,000 residents in this small county, and they are not all that well-off in comparison to people in other bigger cities. For example, the unemployment rate here is a quite high; it’s 7.5% and it’s high. What this means is that these people probably do not have health insurance, access to proper health care and they’re not taking care of themselves the way in which they should be to live a long life.
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Washabaugh, South Dakota – 66 years
It was once its own county, but that ended almost as soon as it began. Right now it’s just a very small place in South Dakota with only a few thousand residents, and most of them live only about 66 years before their lives end. This nearly 20 years less than people in the cities that have the longest life expectancies, and that is a truly staggering statistic.
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