Life Expectancy Reaches a New High

The typical life expectancy in the U.S. reached 77.9 years in 2007. Over the past decade the American lifespan has increased 1.4 years, up from 76.5 in 1997, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of death certificates in the United States.

Women continue to live longer than men. Males now typically live 75.3 years, compared to 80.4 years for females. But the gap between male and female life expectancy is decreasing. While women lived 5.1 years longer than men in both 2006 and 2007, that’s down from a peak gap of 7.8 years in 1979.

Life expectancy also varied by race. White men outlived black men by 2.1 years in 2007.  …