Health Profile of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Health Score
The Map AI Health Index is a score that reflects local life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment to help you quickly compare the overall health and well-being of different areas.
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B
Pennsylvania Around average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Healthiest and Least Healthy Counties in Pennsylvania
- Montgomery County (104% of U.S. avg)
- Centre County (104% of U.S. avg)
- Chester County (103% of U.S. avg)
- Forest County (98% of U.S. avg)
- Mifflin County (98% of U.S. avg)
- Jefferson County (99% of U.S. avg)
Ranked by the Map AI Health Index, which combines life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment.
General Health Overview
| Metric | Pennsylvania | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 78.4 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 5.6% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 15.7% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Pennsylvania is 78.4 years, about 0.1 years longer than the US average of 78.3 years. The uninsured rate is 5.6%, lower than the US average of 8.4%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 15.7% of residents, lower than the US average of 16.3%.
Population by Age
Older residents
4,957,645 residents in Pennsylvania are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 312,675 108,548 men · 204,127 women
- 75–84 723,998 308,552 men · 415,446 women
- 65–74 1,321,585 617,368 men · 704,217 women
- 50–64 2,599,387 1,277,274 men · 1,322,113 women
Younger residents
2,551,108 residents in Pennsylvania are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 810,662 416,044 boys · 394,618 girls
- 7–12 760,605 389,844 boys · 370,761 girls
- 3–7 567,642 290,741 boys · 276,901 girls
- 0–3 412,198 211,202 boys · 200,997 girls
About 738,654 residents in Pennsylvania (5.7% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 78.4 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Pennsylvania | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 11.0% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 7.2% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 7.4% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 34.5% | 34.3% |
On average, diseases in Pennsylvania are about the same as in US.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Pennsylvania | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 20.1% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 18.3% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 25.3% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Pennsylvania are about the same as in US.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 20.8 million cigarettes a day, 624.8 million a month, or 7.6 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 229.1 million minutes a day and 83.6 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Pennsylvania is 78.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 5.56 lifetimes a day, or 2,028 lifetimes a year.
* Source: Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D. "Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes." BMJ. 2000;320:53.
Illustrative only. This is not an estimate of how many people actually die from smoking each day or year - it's a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison meant to help grasp the scale of smoking in this area. We take no responsibility for any decisions made based on this figure.
Air Quality
| Metric | Pennsylvania | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 6.88 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 6.9 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Pennsylvania is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Pennsylvania Health Compared With Nearby States
Pennsylvania is the 2nd largest of the 6 states compared here, 13,004,688 residents against a local median of 6,204,886. Nothing separates Pennsylvania sharply from the states around it. Each measure below lands within 15% of the local median, close enough that the differences are within what survey sampling alone would produce.
The largest of those small differences is obesity, 14% above the local median at 34.5% against 30.2%. Pennsylvania has the 5th lowest obesity of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 13,004,688 | 78.4 yrs #3/6 | 5.6% #3/6 | 34.5% #5/6 |
| District of Columbia | 678,314 | 76.4 yrs | 3.6% | 25.3% |
| Maryland | 6,204,886 | 78.4 yrs | 6.3% | 34.0% |
| New York | 19,748,855 | 80.3 yrs | 5.0% | 30.2% |
| Delaware | 1,017,061 | 77.7 yrs | 6.3% | 36.6% |
| New Jersey | 9,334,304 | 79.4 yrs | 7.5% | 28.9% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Pennsylvania has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Pennsylvania.
How healthy is Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has a Map AI Health Index grade of B, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; a B grade means residents are somewhat healthier than the U.S. average.
Is Pennsylvania one of the healthiest states in the U.S.?
Pennsylvania ranks 25th healthiest out of 51 states in the U.S. by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
What is the average lifespan in Pennsylvania?
People in Pennsylvania can expect to live 78.4 years on average, about the same as the US average of 78.3.
What percentage of Pennsylvania residents are uninsured?
5.6% of residents in Pennsylvania have no health insurance, about 1 in 18 people, 2.8 points below the US rate of 8.4%.
How common is obesity in Pennsylvania?
34.5% of adults in Pennsylvania are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, about the same as the US rate of 34.3%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Pennsylvania go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 20.8 million cigarettes a day, 624.8 million a month, or 7.6 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 229.1 million minutes a day and 83.6 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Pennsylvania is 78.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 5.56 lifetimes a day, or 2,028 lifetimes a year.
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