Overall, Texans can expect to live, on average, at 78.53 years, according to a report released this week by UT Southwestern Medical Center. But in Northeast Texas, the numbers are, for the most part, notably lower -- especially for African-Americans.
In 11 rural counties in the region, overall life expectancies land between 74 and 76 years. The lowest life expectancy in Northeast Texas is in Red River County, where the average lifespan is 72.78 years.
And those are the overall averages for the region. They’re lower still among black rural Texans.
Not every county in the report breaks the numbers down by race, but those that do show that black rural Texans typically live four to five years less than the overall population. The lowest life expectancy for black Texans in the region is in Hunt County – 69.8 years.
A notable exception to lower life expectancy among African-Americans in Texas is suburban Collin County. While the overall life expectancy in Collin County was 82.46 years -- the highest in the region -- life expectancy for African-American residents in Collin County was 86.52 years.
Collin County’s numbers for Hispanic residents were even higher –93.44 years.
UT’s numbers, culled from mortality rates between 2005 and 2014, found Hispanic Texans have the longest life expectancy of all in the state – just over 81 years.
