The United States recorded a major public health milestone in 2024 as national life expectancy climbed to 79 years, the highest level ever achieved.
The rebound reflects a broad-based decline in mortality following the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests that gains may continue into 2025, according to preliminary federal data.
The new figures, released by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), show a steady recovery after life expectancy plunged during the pandemic years.
“It’s pretty much good news all the way around,” said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at NCHS, emphasizing that improvements are being driven by reductions in deaths from the nation’s leading causes.
Life expectancy is a core indicator of population health, estimating the average number of years a newborn is expected to live based on current death rates.
For much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the metric rose consistently due to medical innovation, expanded access to care, and public health interventions.
It peaked just below 79 years in 2014 before stagnating and then sharply declining during the pandemic, when COVID-19 claimed more than 1.2 million American lives.
By 2021, life expectancy had fallen to under 76.5 years.
Since then, the recovery has been swift. Researchers say the turnaround reflects not only the fading impact of COVID-19 but also structural improvements in other high-risk health areas.
Andrew Stokes, a public health researcher at Boston University, noted that the data point to lasting progress in addressing the drug overdose crisis.
“The improvement is not limited to the pandemic recovery,” he said, adding that sustained reductions in overdose deaths are contributing meaningfully to longer lifespans.
Despite the encouraging trends, the US continues to trail dozens of peer nations in life expectancy.
Public health experts caution that the country’s healthcare system, social inequalities, and chronic disease burden still pose significant challenges.
“There’s a lot more to be done,” Stokes said.
In raw numbers, approximately 3.07 million people died in the United States in 2024, about 18,000 fewer than the previous year.
Mortality rates declined across all racial and ethnic groups and for both men and women, signaling a broad-based improvement rather than gains concentrated in specific populations.
Heart disease remained the leading cause of death, but its mortality rate dropped by roughly 3% for the second consecutive year.
According to Dr. Sadiya Khan, a cardiologist and researcher at Northwestern University, multiple factors are likely driving the decline.
Advances in treatment, better control of blood pressure and cholesterol, and the growing use of weight management therapies may all be playing a role.
These developments suggest that clinical interventions and preventive strategies are beginning to translate into population-level benefits.
The largest reduction in mortality occurred in the category of unintentional injuries, which includes drug overdoses.
Deaths in this group fell by more than 14% in 2024, representing a major shift after years of escalating overdose fatalities.
Public health officials attribute the improvement to expanded access to addiction treatment, wider distribution of overdose-reversal drugs such as naloxone, and increased public awareness.
COVID-19, once the third-leading cause of death nationwide, dropped out of the top 10 causes entirely in 2024.
Its decline reshaped national mortality rankings, pushing suicide into the top 10 despite a year-over-year decrease in suicide deaths.
Homicide rates also declined during the same period, according to the report.
Looking ahead, early data for 2025 indicate continued progress. While final figures are not yet available, approximately 3.05 million deaths have been recorded so far.
Anderson noted that this number may rise slightly as reporting is finalized, but he expects the total to remain at least marginally lower than in 2024.
Public health experts say the sustained rise in life expectancy is a sign of resilience after one of the most disruptive health crises in modern history.
However, they stress that maintaining momentum will require continued investment in preventive care, chronic disease management, mental health services, and substance use treatment.
If current trends hold, the US could see further gains in longevity, marking a new chapter in the nation’s long-term health trajectory.
