Life Expectancy by Ethnicity, Age Group, Location, and Year

Overall Key Insights

  • Geographic disparity: Urbanized counties fare significantly better in life expectancy than rural counterparts.
  • Racial disparity: Non-Latino Asians consistently enjoy higher life expectancy, while Non-Latino Blacks show significantly lower values.
  • Age group variation: Younger cohorts (1–4, 5–9) reflect relatively higher expectancy, but declines accelerate in middle-to-older age ranges.
  • Temporal stability: Across 2009–2019, life expectancy trends remain largely flat, with only minor fluctuations — suggesting limited progress in addressing disparities.

County Level Life Expectancy

  • The county map provides a geographic view of life expectancy across the 24 North Central Texas counties.
  • Values range between ~64.5 years (Eastland & Brown Counties) to ~71 years (Collin & Denton Counties), highlighting regional disparities.
  • Age group and ethnicity filters allow users to analyze variations within specific demographics.
  • Overall, urban counties (Collin, Denton, Tarrant) consistently report higher life expectancy, while more rural areas show lower averages.

Trend by Year

  • Focuses on life expectancy progression from 2009–2019 for selected ethnicity–age–county combinations.
  • Example shown: Non-Latino White children aged 1–4 in Dallas County.
    • Trend is relatively stable (~65.7–65.8 years in 2009–2011), dips to 65.3 years by 2017, and recovers slightly by 2019 (~65.5 years).
  • This emphasizes how certain subgroups face stagnation or even decline in life expectancy compared to broader averages.

Bars by Ethnicity within Age Group (Ethnicity Comparisons)

  • The bar chart allows direct ethnicity comparisons within a specific age group and county.
  • Example: Dallas County, Age 5–9, Year 2017 shows:
    • Non-Latino Asian or Pacific Islanders with the highest life expectancy (~67.16 years).
    • Non-Latino Black population showing the lowest (~59.12 years).
    • Other groups (Latino, Non-Latino White, Native American) cluster between 61–65 years.
  • This highlights racial disparities in health outcomes, even within the same geography and age group.

Heatmap of Ethnicity × Age Group (Dallas County, 2017 Example)

  • Presents a matrix-style breakdown of life expectancy values across both ethnicity and age groups.
  • Patterns:
    • Life expectancy decreases with age group consistently across races.
    • Non-Latino Asians consistently top across all age groups, while Non-Latino Blacks consistently show lower values.
    • Extreme disparities emerge at older ages, where the life expectancy gap between racial groups can exceed 10 years.