Women Live Longer Than Men in Baltimore-Washington Region

By Heather Martino and John Davisson

Residents of Montgomery County and Fairfax County have the highest life expectancies in the Baltimore-Washington region, while residents of those very same cities—Baltimore and Washington—have the lowest.

That's according to data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, which released a report earlier this month on life expectancies nationwide. Using the map above, you can see how counties and independent cities in the Baltimore-Washington region stack up.

The subgroup with the longest life expectancy? Women in Montgomery County, with an average lifespan of 84.9 years. That figure is followed closely by women in Fairfax County (84.5 years), Loudon County (84.2 years), Arlington County (83.5 years), and Falls Church (83.5 years). 

For men, Fairfax County tops the list at 81.7 years, followed by Montgomery County (81.6), Loudon County (81.0), Howard County (80.8), and Arlington County (80.4). 

On the low end, Baltimore has an average life expectancy of 68.9 years for men and 76.0 years for women, followed by the District of Columbia (73.7 years for men, 79.1 years for women) and Prince George's County (74.8 years for men, 79.8 years for women).

At the state level, men live an average of 76.1 years in Maryland and 76.3 years in Virginia, while women live an average 80.8 years in Maryland and 80.7 years in Virginia.

Perhaps the most striking takeaway from the region's data: a woman in Montgomery County will live an average of 16 years longer than a man living in Baltimore City.

Find a full rundown of counties and independent cities below.

Women:

• Montgomery County: 84.9 years
• Fairfax County: 84.5 years
• Loudon County: 84.2 years
• Arlington County: 83.5 years
• Falls Church: 83.5 years
• Howard County: 83.0 years
• Alexandria: 82.5 years
• Prince William County: 82.3 years
• Frederick County: 82.2 years
• Carroll County: 81.7 years
• Fairfax City: 81.3 years
• Harford County: 81.3 years
• Anne Arundel County: 81.1 years
• Baltimore County: 80.8 years
• Manassas: 80.8 years
• Manassas Park: 80.8 years
• Prince George's County: 79.8 years
• District of Columbia: 79.1 years
• Baltimore City: 76.0 years

Men:

• Fairfaix County: 81.7 years
• Montgomery County: 81.6 years
• Loudon County: 81.0 years
• Howard County: 80.8 years
• Arlington County: 80.4 years
• Falls Church: 80.4 years
• Prince William County: 78.7 years
• Alexandria: 78.5 years
• Frederick County: 78.2 years
• Anne Arundel County: 76.8 years
• Carroll County: 76.7 years
• Harford County: 76.7 years
• Manassas Park: 76.5 years
• Manassas: 76.5 years
• Fairfax City: 76.3 years
• Baltimore County: 75.9 years
• Prince George's County: 74.8 years
• District of Columbia: 73.7 years
• Baltimore City: 68.9 years

On the national level, a recent study from the University of Washington found that people are living longer than ever. The report analyzed life expectancy rates for both men and women from 1985-2010.

Throughout the US, major improvements in life expectancy occurred in areas with large metropolises, like parts of California, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Iowa, New York and Virginia. But the disparity is widening, with counties in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama seeing declines or stagnations in residents’ average age of death.

Researchers also found that women were living longer than men in every county in 2010. But men are catching up, having adding 5.3 years to their lives since 1985, while women only added 3.

Even more worrisome is that 45% of women in counties nationwide are dying younger now or at the same rate than they were in 1985. So while men are living longer in counties across the country, women are remaining stagnant in much of the country.

“As a nation, what we can do about that is have a concerted effort to tackle the key preventable causes in those communities where there is no improvement,” said IHME Director Christopher Murray. He told Patch that in places where there is stagnation, local communities should “focus on changing things there that we know can make a difference, like diet, tobacco, high blood pressure and physical inactivity.”