Study: How Long Do People Live in Grayson, Loganville? (ICYMI)

By Patch Staff

Make all the longterm plans you want and toss that bucket list. We aren’t going anywhere, apparently. Grayson-area residents and others in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District live longer on average than most communities in the U.S.

At 81.1 years, the district also tops the state in life expectancy. The 7th includes many communities in Forsyth and Gwinnett counties, including Grayson and unincorporated Loganville.

The study, called Geographies of Opportunity, was published last week by the Social Science Research Council, as part of their ongoing effort to track disparities in quality of life across America.

According to the study, the average life expectancy in the United States is now 79.1 years, an increase of almost four years over life expectancy in 1990. But according to the researchers, some Americans, especially African Americans and some Southerners, have seen far less of an increase. A few parts of the South have seen no increase at all.

The longest life expectancy in the U.S. is in California’s 19th Congressional district, which includes San Jose and part of Santa Clara County, where people live 83.9 years on average, or roughly as long as people in Japan.

The lowest life expectancy is in rural southeastern Kentucky, where people live just under 73 years, or about as long as residents of the Gaza Strip.

The local life expectancy is nearly two years more than any other Georgia congressional district — the 4th, which includes parts of southern Gwinnett County, and 11th are tied at 79.2 years. The 10th District, which includes Walton County, was in the middle of the rankings at 77.6 years.

The study’s authors say a variety of factors affect life expectancy, from access to health insurance to race and employment opportunities. But the study also lists four factors it dubs the “fatal four,” which can shorten lifespan dramatically: smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and alcohol abuse.

Image from Geographies of Opportunity, The Social Science Research Council, Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis.