Eight Americas?

Christopher Murray et al:

(Click image on right for statistics for each group.)

The gap between the highest and lowest life expectancies for race-county combinations in the United States is over 35 y[ears]. We [Murray et al.] divided the race-county combinations of the US population into eight distinct groups, referred to as the “eight Americas,” to explore the causes of the disparities that can inform specific public health intervention policies and programs. . . . Asians, northland low-income rural whites, Middle America, low-income whites in Appalachia and the Mississippi Valley, western Native Americans, black Middle America, low-income southern rural blacks, and high-risk urban blacks.

Looking at the chart above, I was originally surprised that "Middle American" whites (Group 3) had both higher average income and higher rates of high school graduation than Asians (Group 1). On reflection, this makes sense as the Asian group includes a higher percentage of immigrants who may not have ever had an opportunity to finish high school prior to coming to the US. I would expect the Asian group would have a much higher rate of high school graduation for younger segments (age 40 and below) of the population than any other group. The high school graduation rates for Asians is also compounded by their longer average lifespan -- meaning that more of the older generations who didn't finish high school are still living relative to other groups, lowering the overall high school graduation rate.

Here's the breakdown of the groups in order of longevity, from longest to shortest-lived:



Below are the longevity statistics, seperated by gender. Notice not only how much longeer women tend to live than men, but how much the gender gap grows the farther down you go in the groups.

(Click image for larger view.)



The gender differences in the behavioral stats below, combined with much higher propensity for violence (and crime) in males, helps explain why women live longer than men. (Then again, we all know the real reason.)



Much more after the link.

(HT Andrew Gelman)