Surprising findings · a neighbor comparison, stated in the open
The ZIP codes that outlive their neighbors
Most ZIP codes sit within ±2.5 years of the ZIP codes around them. This page names the places that most break from their surroundings — in both directions — using only gaps larger than the combined uncertainty of both estimates.
Life expectancy: CDC USALEEP, 2010–2015Nearby ZIPs: ZipVitals neighbor data31,308 ZIP codes compared3,687 clear the reliability floor
What a gap between a ZIP code and the ZIP codes around it actually records
A ZIP code that outlives — or trails — the places around it records how sharply conditions change from one place to the next: what was built and invested on each side, where care and services landed, and how the lines were drawn. It is a description of places, never a verdict on the people in them, and it says nothing about any individual household on either side of a line.
ZIP codes whose life expectancy most exceeds their nearby ZIPs’ average
| ZIP code | Residents | Estimated life expectancy (95% range) | Nearby-ZIP average | Nearby ZIPs with estimates | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19096Wynnewood, PA | 15,249 | 87.2 ± 1.9 | 78.1 | 49 | +9.1 y |
| 32459Santa Rosa Beach, FL | 23,522 | 84.6 ± 3.7 | 76.7 | 46 | +7.9 y |
| 34119in Naples, FL | 36,807 | 87.5 ± 2.3 | 79.9 | 39 | +7.6 y |
| 72212in Little Rock, AR | 13,698 | 83.6 ± 2.7 | 76.1 | 47 | +7.6 y |
| 70124in New Orleans, LA | 21,778 | 83.7 ± 2.0 | 76.2 | 46 | +7.5 y |
| 35824in Huntsville, AL | 9,645 | 83.9 ± 3.4 | 76.4 | 45 | +7.5 y |
| 40513in Lexington, KY | 11,032 | 83.9 ± 3.1 | 76.8 | 46 | +7.1 y |
| 35223in Mountain Brook, AL | 10,666 | 81.8 ± 1.3 | 74.6 | 49 | +7.1 y |
| 33154Surfside, FL | 14,572 | 86.0 ± 2.2 | 79.0 | 45 | +7.0 y |
| 08033Haddonfield, NJ | 17,763 | 84.2 ± 1.9 | 77.3 | 47 | +6.9 y |
A ZIP code is named only when it has at least 5,000 residents, a published standard error of 2.0 years or less (the ± figures in the table are 95% ranges — 1.96 × that standard error), at least 4 covered nearby ZIP codes, and a gap larger than 1.96 × the combined uncertainty of its own estimate and its nearby-ZIP average. 3,687 of 31,308 compared ZIP codes clear this floor.
ZIP codes whose life expectancy most trails their nearby ZIPs’ average
| ZIP code | Residents | Estimated life expectancy (95% range) | Nearby-ZIP average | Nearby ZIPs with estimates | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95422Clearlake, CA | 17,054 | 69.7 ± 1.4 | 80.5 | 50 | −10.8 y |
| 95202in Stockton, CA | 7,066 | 68.7 ± 2.1 | 79.2 | 50 | −10.5 y |
| 50309in Des Moines, IA | 10,110 | 69.8 ± 2.4 | 80.3 | 48 | −10.5 y |
| 10044in New York, NY | 11,520 | 72.1 ± 2.0 | 82.3 | 40 | −10.2 y |
| 20032in Washington, DC | 40,920 | 70.3 ± 1.2 | 80.2 | 41 | −9.9 y |
| 48342in Pontiac, MI | 17,564 | 70.2 ± 1.4 | 79.6 | 49 | −9.4 y |
| 33136in Miami, FL | 16,545 | 70.7 ± 2.1 | 80.1 | 43 | −9.3 y |
| 41014in Covington, KY | 7,392 | 67.6 ± 1.9 | 76.5 | 44 | −8.9 y |
| 46218in Indianapolis, IN | 29,360 | 68.7 ± 1.2 | 77.6 | 48 | −8.9 y |
| 43223in Columbus, OH | 28,187 | 68.4 ± 1.0 | 77.1 | 45 | −8.6 y |
Some of the widest gaps in the country sit in ZIP codes the reliability floor holds back: the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community beside Scottsdale (ZIP code 85256, 13.3 years below its surroundings) and the West Los Angeles VA campus (90073, 12.2 years below) both trail every ZIP code named above, on estimates whose populations or uncertainties sit under the floor. They stay in the lookup with their values, described by their attributes — never excluded silently.
27,621 compared ZIP codes are not named on this page — their gap sits inside the combined uncertainty of the two estimates, their populations are too small, their estimates too uncertain, or too few of the ZIP codes around them carry estimates. Withheld rather than shown shaky; the full gated dataset is in the CSV.
Cite this finding
This release is frozen at /insights/findings/outlive-their-neighbors/2024-40f7baee, which will keep serving these exact figures after the data updates.
How this was computed
- Sources and measurement windows. Life expectancy at birth: CDC USALEEP, the 2010–2015 abridged life tables — small-area estimates built from actual death certificates, the most recent ZIP-level release that exists. Nearness: ZipVitals’s own neighbor data — for each ZIP code, the covered ZIP codes nearest it by boundary distance (covered = carrying a published life-expectancy estimate), up to 50 of them, with each row disclosing how many were covered.
- Universe. 31,308 ZIP codes with a published life-expectancy estimate and at least 4 covered nearby ZIP codes.
- The comparison. Each ZIP code’s estimated life expectancy minus the average of the covered ZIP codes nearest it. No model — a direct comparison of published estimates. Across the country this gap averages 0.0 years with a spread of ±2.5.
- Reliability floor for naming a ZIP. At least 5,000 residents; a published standard error of 2.0 years or less; at least 4 covered nearby ZIP codes; and a gap larger than 1.96 × the combined uncertainty of both sides. 3,687 clear it; 27,621 are withheld.
- A caution we apply against ourselves. USALEEP’s smoothing borrows strength from nearby areas, which correlates a ZIP code’s estimate with its surroundings’. The combined uncertainty we test against therefore assumes those errors are strongly correlated (0.5 on a 0-to-1 scale), which widens the bar a ZIP must clear rather than narrowing it — and even assuming the errors move perfectly together leaves the headline rows above significant.
- What this does and does not claim. A descriptive comparison of published estimates and modeled values across places — never a causal claim, and never a claim about any individual resident.
- Reproduce it. The full gated dataset is the CSV above; the method is published in full on the methodology page, and every threshold used here is stated in the steps above.