Life expectancy at birth provides an estimate of the number of years a person is expected to live. It is a good measure of the overall health of an area. Life expectancy is calculated using birth, death, and population data. The files available on this website provide life expectancy at birth for Missouri, its 115 counties (114 counties plus the City of St. Louis, which is an independent city), and Missouri’s seven Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Regions. Data are also available for Independence, Joplin, Kansas City, and Eastern Jackson County in the 2004-2012 file, the 2008-2016 file and the 2011-2019 file. Life expectancy is provided for the total population, for males, and for females. Life expectancy by white and black race is available for selected geographies that have large enough minority populations.

Missouri Annual Life Expectancy

Year Missouri Life Expectancy
(In Years)
U.S. Life Expectancy
(In Years)
2021 74.6 76.4
2020 75.3 77.0
2019 77.4 78.8
2018 77.0 78.7
2017 77.1 78.6
2016 77.3 78.7
2015 77.3 78.7
2014 77.7 78.9
2013 77.7 78.8
2012 77.8 78.8
2011 77.6 78.7
  Decrease in Missouri from 2012
- 3.2 years
Difference between MO and US 2021
- 1.8 years

SOURCE: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality