The 10 Montana’s Counties with the Lowest Life Expectancy

Montana, often celebrated for its vast landscapes and rugged beauty, faces a reality in some of its counties: lower than average life expectancy. Factors like socioeconomic disparities, access to healthcare, education and lifestyle choices contribute to this disparity.

According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the national average life expectancy has generally risen from about 70.8 years to about 77.5 years old from 1970 to 2022. The most current data has Montana's life expectancy at 75.8 years, below the national average of 76.4 years. Within Montana there are counties that are even lower still.

Stacker.com has compiled a list of the Montana counties that have the lowest life expectancy. They compiled data from the 2024 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to identify the counties with the lowest life expectancy. The 10 Montana counties with the lowest life expectancy according to the data are:

• #9 (tied)Phillips and Deer Lodge County are tied with 74.9 years old.
• #8 Silver Bow County, 74.8 years old.
• #7 Wheatland County, 74.2 years old.
• #6 Hill County, 74.0 years old.
• #5 Glacier County, 68.9 years old.
• #4 Blaine County, 68.5 years old.
• #3 Rosebud County, 67.6 years old.
• #2 Big Horn County, 65.0 years old.
• #1 Roosevelt County, 61.2 years old.

Not every one of Montana's 56 counties was included in this study, some counties didn't have sufficient data to be included. There's no easy answer to the lower life expectancy in parts of Montana, but tackling access to healthcare and healthy habits could be a game-changer. By investing in these areas, Montana can work towards improving the health and well-being of its citizens.