Housing

Live Long and Prosper in These 10 US Counties

Paul Ausick

Published: June 24, 2018 7:55 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 9:59 pm

The median lifespan in the United States today is nearly 79 years. Like all medians and averages, your mileage may vary. In some U.S. towns and cities, the median falls to around 68, and in others, it rises to more than 85.

What’s different? It’s not just the air or the scenery. According to a report from Realtor.com, the road to a longer lifespan is not the same everywhere, but there are commonalities such as veggie-rich diets and plenty of exercise.

Dan Buettner, founder of a movement called Blue Zones that helps communities set policies to help residents live longer, comments, “If you want to live a long time, the best thing you can do is move to a place where people are verifiably living the longest.”

To come up with their list of U.S. counties where residents live the longest, researchers looked at death certificates in every U.S. country for 2014 to calculate life expectancy from birth. In the following longevity list, they’ve added population data for a notable city in the county and the median home listing price.

1. Summit County, Colorado
   Median lifespan: 86.8 years
   City: Breckinridge
   Population: 30,585
   Median home listing price: $930,500
2. Billings County, North Dakota
   Median lifespan: 84 years
   City: Medora
   Population: 940
   Median home listing price: $331,200
3. Marin County, California
   Median lifespan: 83.8 years
   City: San Rafael
   Population: 260,651
   Median home listing price: $1.43 million
4. Fairfax County, Virginia
   Median lifespan: 83.7 years
   City: Herndon
   Population: 1.15 million
   Median home listing price: $608,700
5. Aleutians East Borough, Alaska
   Median lifespan: 83.7 years
   City: King Cove
   Population: 3,370
   Median home listing price: $226,500
6. Presidio County, Texas
   Median lifespan: 83.7 years
   City: Marfa
   Population: 7,156
   Median home listing price: $297,000
7. San Juan County, Washington
   Median lifespan: 83.7 years
   City: Friday Harbor
   Population: 16,715
   Median home listing price: $774,400
8. Los Alamos County, New Mexico
   Median lifespan: 83.5 years
   City: Los Alamos
   Population: 18,738
   Median home listing price: $384,400
9. Teton County, Wyoming
   Median lifespan: 83.5 years
   City: Jackson
   Population: 23,265
   Median home listing price: $1.3 million
10. Collier County, Florida
    Median lifespan: 83.4 years
    City: Naples
    Population: 372,880
    Median home listing price: $479,400

More details and information are available at the Realtor.com website.