The gaps in life expectancy based on income and educational attainment are growing in the United States, according to a new issue brief released this month by the Congressional Budget Office.
Life expectancy has been steadily increasing in the United States for several decades (hitting 75.2 years for men born in 2004 and 80.4 years for women born in the same year), but recent gains in life expectancy have not been shared equally across socioeconomic groups, according to the report.
The gap in life expectancy at age 25 between people who have a high-school education or less and those who have any college education increased by about 30 percent from 1990 to 2000, the report says. The gap widened, it says, because of increases in life expectancy for the better-educated group while the life expectancy of those with less education remained level. —Sara Hebel
