How Long Do People Live in Sandy Springs?

By Patch Staff

Make all the longterm plans you want and toss that bucket list. We aren’t going anywhere, apparently.

Sandy Springs residents and others in 6th Congressional District live longer on average than most communities in the U.S., according to a study released last week that tracks disparities in quality of life across the country.

At 79.1 years, the district, which includes all of north Fulton County, ranks third in life expectancy across the state. The 6th Congressional District falls closely behind the life expectancy rate for the 11th Congressional District, which includes a sliver of southwestern Sandy Springs: 79.2.

The local life expectancy is two years lower than the district with the longest longevity: the 7th Congressional District at 81.1 years. That district includes portions of Forsyth and Gwinnett counties.

The study, Geographies of Opportunity, was published last week by the Social Science Research Council.

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 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.