Life expectancy in the US decreased by about a half year between 2020 and 2021, from 77 years to 76.4 years, according to final 2021 mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Life expectancy in 2021 was at its lowest level since 1996. The report attributed the drop mainly to increased deaths from COVID-19 and drug overdoses.
The 0.6-year drop between 2020 and 2021 followed a 1.8-year decrease in life expectancy between 2019 and 2020. The overall death rate from 2020 to 2021 in the US increased by 5.3%, from 835.4 to 879.7 deaths per 100 000 people. Life expectancy in the US decreased for every age group starting at age 1 year or older, but there was not a statistically significant change in infant mortality during this period.
The leading causes of death in 2021 were heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19. Deaths attributed to COVID-19 increased from 2020 to 2021 by 18.8%, from 350 831 to 416 893 deaths. Influenza and pneumonia dropped out of the top 10 causes of death in 2021, likely because of pandemic-related infection prevention precautions. Chronic liver disease moved up to the 9th leading cause of death. However, the other leading causes of death in the top 10, including unintentional injuries, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer disease, and diabetes, remained the 4th to 8th leading causes of death, respectively, and kidney disease remained the 10th leading cause of death.
Some racial, ethnic, or other demographic groups were disproportionately affected by reductions in life expectancy. The gap in life expectancy between the sexes grew between 2020 and 2021. Males experienced a 0.7-year decrease in life expectancy, from 74.2 years to 73.5 years. Females, by contrast, saw a 0.6-year decrease, from 79.9 to 79.3 years. Death rates decreased for Black and Hispanic males by about 2% between 2020 and 2021 and stayed the same for Asian males and females. American Indian or Alaska Native males and females saw about a 6% to 7% increase in death rates, Black females saw a 1.3% increase, Hispanic females saw a 2.3% increase, and White males and females saw about a 7% increase in death rates.