Life Expectancy in Chicago 2026 | Statistics & Facts

Life Expectancy in Chicago 2026

Life expectancy in Chicago tells a story of recovery, resilience, and stark inequality. The city’s overall life expectancy reached 78.7 years in 2023, marking a third consecutive year of improvement and nearly returning to the pre-pandemic peak of 78.8 years in 2019—the highest life expectancy ever recorded in Chicago. This remarkable rebound represents a 3.5-year gain since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic devastated communities and dropped life expectancy to 75.2 years, the lowest level since the 1990s. The recovery reflects coordinated public health efforts including widespread vaccination, improved COVID-19 treatments, and declining deaths from chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

However, beneath the citywide improvement lies one of the nation’s most troubling health equity crises: Chicago has the largest life expectancy gap in the United States. Residents of the affluent Loop neighborhood live an average of 87.3 years, while those in West Garfield Park—just 9 miles away—live only 66.6 years, a staggering 20.7-year difference as of 2023. The racial gap remains equally severe, with Asian and Pacific Islander Chicagoans living to 86.8 years, Latino Chicagoans to 82.7 years, White Chicagoans to 81.3 years, but Black Chicagoans only to 71.8 years—a 10.6-year gap between Black and non-Black residents. The year 2026 finds Chicago implementing the Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategic Plan, a comprehensive initiative targeting five priority neighborhoods where life expectancy remains below 70 years: West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, Englewood, West Englewood, and North Lawndale.

Interesting Facts and Latest Statistics for Life Expectancy in Chicago 2026

Data Source: Chicago Department of Public Health Life Expectancy Data Brief 2023, Illinois Department of Public Health Vital Statistics, Chicago Health Atlas, Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategic Plan, September 2025

These statistics reveal both encouraging progress and persistent health inequities that define Chicago’s public health landscape. The 78.7-year overall life expectancy in 2023 represents remarkable recovery from the pandemic’s devastation, with the 3.5-year gain since 2020 outpacing many other major US cities. The 1.5-year increase from 2022 to 2023 alone demonstrates accelerating improvement as COVID-19 transitioned from a leading cause of death to a managed endemic disease.

However, the racial and geographic disparities paint a sobering picture. The 10.6-year gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans in 2023, while slightly improved from 11.4 years in 2022, remains among the worst in the nation and reflects decades of systemic racism, disinvestment in predominantly Black neighborhoods, and unequal access to healthcare, nutritious food, quality education, and economic opportunities. The 20.7-year neighborhood gap between the Loop and West Garfield Park exceeds the life expectancy differences between many developed and developing nations—the Loop’s 87.3 years rivals Monaco (89 years), the world’s highest, while West Garfield Park’s 66.6 years matches countries like Bangladesh and Kenya. The 86.8-year life expectancy for Asian and Pacific Islander Chicagoans represents the highest among racial groups, while Black Chicagoans at 71.8 years lag more than 15 years behind, a gap larger than the difference between the United States and many low-income nations. The 33% decrease in gun violence from 2024 to 2025 and the 38% drop in opioid overdose deaths from 2023 to 2024 offer hope that targeted interventions can narrow these gaps.

Overall Life Expectancy Trends in Chicago 2010-2023

Data Source: Chicago Department of Public Health Life Expectancy Data Brief 2023, Illinois Department of Public Health Vital Statistics 2010-2023

Chicago’s overall life expectancy demonstrated steady improvement from 2010 to 2019, gaining 2.8 years over the decade to reach the historic peak of 78.8 years in 2019. This progress reflected declining mortality from heart disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions, alongside improvements in trauma care, public health interventions, and medical advances. The gains positioned Chicago nearly on par with the national US life expectancy of 78.9 years in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic devastated these gains, with life expectancy plummeting 3.6 years in a single year to 75.2 years in 2020—the steepest one-year decline since modern record-keeping began. The 2020 figure represented a regression to mid-1990s levels, erasing nearly 25 years of progress. However, Chicago demonstrated remarkable resilience with three consecutive years of recovery from 2021-2023. The 0.8-year gain in 2021 reflected emergency public health responses, vaccination campaigns, and improved clinical management of COVID-19. The 1.2-year increase in 2022 and 1.5-year jump in 2023 accelerated recovery as COVID-19 deaths dropped dramatically—from accounting for a substantial portion of mortality in 2020-2021 to becoming a minor contributor by 2023. The 78.7-year life expectancy in 2023 sits just 0.1 years below the 2019 peak, suggesting Chicago will likely surpass its historic high when 2024-2025 data become available. However, the national context shows that while Chicago has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the United States overall experienced a larger and more sustained life expectancy decline, with the nation still significantly below 2019 levels as of 2023, making Chicago’s recovery relatively stronger than the national average.

Life Expectancy by Race and Ethnicity in Chicago 2010-2023

Data Source: Chicago Department of Public Health Life Expectancy Data Brief 2023, CDPH Presentations May 2024, Illinois Vital Statistics 2010-2023

Racial and ethnic disparities in life expectancy represent Chicago’s most persistent public health challenge. Asian and Pacific Islander Chicagoans enjoy the highest life expectancy at 86.8 years in 2023, not only leading all Chicago groups but also exceeding the national average and rivaling the world’s longest-lived populations like Japan (84 years) and Hong Kong (85 years). Remarkably, this group surpassed their pre-pandemic life expectancy by 1.2 years, reaching 86.8 years versus 85.6 in 2019.

White Chicagoans achieved 81.3 years in 2023, also surpassing their 2019 level of 80.8 years by half a year. This rapid recovery—gaining 3.1 years from 2020 to 2023—reflects advantages including higher vaccination rates, better healthcare access, lower rates of essential worker exposure, and residence in neighborhoods with less environmental pollution and better health infrastructure. Latino Chicagoans reached 82.7 years in 2023, exactly matching their pre-pandemic life expectancy and representing the second-highest among racial/ethnic groups. Latino Chicagoans experienced the steepest pandemic decline (4.5 years from 2019 to 2020), largely because at least 50% of Latino COVID-19 deaths occurred in people aged 40-69—working-age individuals who comprised a high proportion of essential workers unable to work remotely and facing greater workplace exposure. Despite this devastating loss, Latino communities gained 4.5 years from 2020 to 2023, fully recovering to pre-pandemic levels. Black Chicagoans endured the lowest life expectancy at 71.8 years, and despite gaining 4.1 years since 2020—the largest absolute increase—still fell 0.7 years short of the 72.5 years observed in 2019. The Black versus non-Black life expectancy gap of 10.6 years in 2023, while improved from the pandemic peak of 13.0 years in 2020, remains 0.9 years wider than the 9.7-year gap in 2019, indicating that the pandemic widened long-standing inequities that have only partially closed during recovery.

Geographic Life Expectancy by Chicago Region in 2022-2023

Data Source: Chicago Department of Public Health Regional Data 2022-2023, CDPH Presentations May 2024, City of Chicago Press Releases September 2025

Geographic disparities in Chicago life expectancy rival those between wealthy and impoverished nations. The North Central region achieved the city’s highest average life expectancy at 82.6 years in 2023, encompassing affluent lakefront neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and portions of the Near North Side. Within this region, the Loop neighborhood recorded 87.3 years—the single highest life expectancy of any Chicago neighborhood—reflecting the concentration of high-income professionals, excellent healthcare access, low pollution, abundant green space, and minimal violent crime.

In stark contrast, the West Side averaged just 66.4 years in 2022, with West Garfield Park at 66.6 years in 2023 representing the city’s lowest. The South Side average of 66.3 years in 2022 nearly matched the West Side’s dire statistics, with neighborhoods like Englewood, West Englewood, and portions of Roseland experiencing life expectancies below 70 years. These predominantly Black communities face compounding disadvantages: limited access to primary care physicians and specialists, food deserts with scarce fresh produce, high rates of violence, environmental pollution from industrial facilities and highways, underresourced schools, and chronic disinvestment in infrastructure and economic development. The Near South region’s 73.1-year average—officially the lowest among Chicago’s major regions—includes neighborhoods transitioning from industrial use and experiencing gentrification alongside persistent poverty pockets. The Far South Side at 67.7 years faces unique challenges including geographic isolation, limited public transit, and economic decline following steel industry collapse decades ago. The 20.7-year gap between the Loop and West Garfield Park represents more than a statistical curiosity—it reflects life-and-death consequences of residential segregation, discriminatory housing policies, unequal education funding, differential policing, and systematic underinvestment in Black and Brown neighborhoods that persist generations after formal segregation ended.

Leading Causes Contributing to Life Expectancy Gap in Chicago 2023

Data Source: Chicago Department of Public Health Analysis 2023, CDPH Commissioner Presentations 2024-2025, Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategic Plan

The 10.6-year life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans stems from multiple causes that reflect broader social determinants of health. Chronic disease accounts for 4.7 years—nearly half the total gap—with heart disease representing the single largest contributor. Black Chicagoans experience higher rates of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes—all risk factors for cardiovascular disease—driven by limited access to healthy foods, fewer opportunities for physical activity, higher stress levels from racism and economic insecurity, and reduced access to preventive care and disease management. Cancer contributes substantially to the chronic disease category, with Black Chicagoans experiencing later-stage diagnoses due to screening barriers, diagnostic delays, and lower treatment completion rates despite similar or lower overall cancer incidence for some cancer types.

Homicide accounts for 1.3 years of the gap (12%), reflecting the devastating impact of gun violence concentrated in predominantly Black neighborhoods. While Chicago’s overall homicide rate decreased 33% from 2024 to 2025, Black residents still face homicide rates multiple times higher than White residents, with violence disproportionately affecting young Black men aged 15-34—deaths that occur during prime productive years and thus drastically reduce average life expectancy. Opioid overdose contributes 1.5 years (14%), and this gap is widening: the opioid overdose fatality rate among Black Chicagoans is now more than 3 times the rate among non-Black Chicagoans. This represents a dramatic reversal from a decade ago when opioid deaths predominantly affected White communities; fentanyl contamination of the drug supply has devastated Black neighborhoods already struggling with poverty and trauma. The 38% drop in opioid overdose deaths from 2023 to 2024 offers hope, but the racial disparity continues growing. COVID-19 was the largest single contributor to the life expectancy gap during 2020-2021, accounting for several years of differential mortality as Black Chicagoans faced higher infection rates (due to essential work, multi-generational housing, and public transit dependence), higher hospitalization rates, and higher death rates even after controlling for age and comorbidities. By 2023, COVID-19 was nearly eliminated as a gap contributor due to widespread vaccination and immunity. Accidents, infant mortality, maternal mortality, suicide, and other causes account for the remaining 20-25% of the gap.

Neighborhood-Level Life Expectancy Disparities in Chicago 2023

Data Source: Chicago Department of Public Health 2023, City Health Dashboard Historical Data, NYU School of Medicine Analysis 2019, Chicago Health Atlas

Neighborhood-level analysis reveals how drastically life chances vary based on zip code. The Loop’s 87.3 years reflects a unique population: predominantly working-age professionals who commute to downtown offices, high-income residents in luxury high-rises, and minimal children or elderly populations that would increase mortality statistics. The Streeterville and Gold Coast neighborhoods historically recorded life expectancies around 90 years, rivaling or exceeding Monaco (89 years)—the world’s highest national life expectancy. These ultra-affluent lakefront communities feature some of Chicago’s most expensive real estate, immediate access to world-class hospitals (Northwestern Memorial, Rush University Medical Center), abundant green space along the lakefront, low crime rates, excellent schools, and populations with high educational attainment and income.

At the opposite extreme, West Garfield Park’s 66.6 years places it below the national averages of countries like Bangladesh (73 years), India (71 years), and Pakistan (68 years). The neighborhood faces compounding disadvantages: median household income below $25,000, unemployment above 20%, food deserts with no major grocery stores, limited primary care access, high rates of chronic disease, gun violence, and environmental hazards including lead contamination and air pollution from nearby industrial facilities. Englewood historically recorded life expectancies around 60 years, comparable to nations like Afghanistan and Chad, though recent data suggests modest improvement. The neighborhood’s population declined from 100,000+ in the 1960s to under 25,000 today due to decades of disinvestment, white flight, and economic collapse following deindustrialization. East Garfield Park, West Englewood, and North Lawndale—the other three Healthy Chicago 2025 priority neighborhoods—all record life expectancies below 70 years and share similar challenges: concentrated poverty, violence, chronic disease burden, and systematic underinvestment in health-promoting infrastructure. A critical insight: these disparities are not natural or inevitable but reflect policy choices, historical racism, residential segregation, and ongoing inequality in resource allocation—factors that can be changed through sustained intervention and political will.

Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategic Plan Interventions in 2024-2026

Data Source: Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategic Plan, Chicago Department of Public Health Action Plans 2024-2025, Mayor Brandon Johnson Initiatives

The Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategic Plan represents Chicago’s most comprehensive response to health inequities, launched in late 2024 with seven focused action areas addressing root causes of the life expectancy gap. Chronic disease prevention targets the 4.7-year contribution through multifaceted approaches: tobacco cessation programs delivered through community partners in neighborhoods with high smoking rates, nutrition education and cooking classes teaching healthy meal preparation on limited budgets, and physical activity initiatives like the PlayStreets program that temporarily closes streets to traffic, creating safe spaces for children and adults to exercise, play, and socialize in neighborhoods where violence restricts outdoor activity.

Violence prevention employs a public health approach treating violence as a preventable disease rather than purely a law enforcement issue. Strategies include youth employment programs providing summer jobs and mentorship to at-risk adolescents, violence interruption programs deploying community members to mediate conflicts before they escalate, trauma-informed care for violence survivors, and coordination between police, social services, and community organizations. The 33% decrease in gun violence from 2024 to 2025 suggests these efforts are working, though sustainability requires long-term commitment. Opioid overdose reduction focuses on harm reduction: distributing naloxone (Narcan) nasal spray to reverse overdoses, providing fentanyl test strips allowing users to detect contamination, establishing syringe exchange programs reducing HIV and hepatitis transmission, and expanding medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine and methadone. The 38% drop in overdose deaths from 2023 to 2024 demonstrates impact, though the widening racial gap demands intensified outreach to Black communities. Infant and maternal mortality interventions including the Family Connects program providing nurse home visits to new mothers have shown early success. Mental health services expansion addresses trauma, depression, and substance use disorders that contribute to premature death. Community partnerships with organizations like West Side United—a coalition of hospitals and community groups—leverage combined resources and local knowledge to drive change. Programs like farmers markets in Garfield Parks and West Englewood bring fresh produce to food deserts, addressing chronic disease risk factors at their source.

COVID-19 Impact on Chicago Life Expectancy 2019-2023

Data Source: Chicago Department of Public Health COVID-19 Analysis, Life Expectancy Data Brief 2023, CDPH Presentations 2024-2025

COVID-19’s impact on Chicago life expectancy proved devastating but temporary, with dramatic racial disparities during the pandemic years. The 3.6-year overall drop in 2020 represented the largest single-year decline in modern Chicago history, exceeding losses during the 1918 influenza pandemic when adjusted for baseline life expectancy. Black Chicagoans experienced a 4.8-year decline, falling from 72.5 years in 2019 to 67.7 years in 2020, while Latino Chicagoans dropped 4.5 years from 82.7 to 78.2 years. These differential impacts reflected multiple factors: occupational exposure as Black and Latino residents comprised disproportionate shares of essential workers unable to work remotely, multi-generational housing increasing household transmission, public transit dependence creating exposure during commutes, higher baseline rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity that increased COVID-19 severity, and healthcare access barriers delaying treatment.

Critically, Latino COVID-19 deaths concentrated in younger age groups: at least 50% occurred in people aged 40-69 versus predominantly 70+ years in Black communities, reflecting Latino overrepresentation in meat packing, food service, construction, and other high-exposure essential industries where middle-aged workers couldn’t protect themselves. By 2021, life expectancy began recovering as vaccination rollout reached vulnerable communities, though uptake lagged in some Black neighborhoods due to historical medical mistrust. 2022 saw accelerated recovery with booster campaigns, widely available therapeutics like Paxlovid, and Omicron variant’s lower severity. By 2023, COVID-19 was nearly eliminated as a contributor to the racial life expectancy gap—a remarkable turnaround achieved through community health workers, mobile vaccination clinics, partnerships with faith leaders and community organizations, and targeted outreach addressing vaccine hesitancy. However, the pandemic’s economic consequences—job losses, business closures, educational disruption, trauma—continue affecting communities and may influence long-term health outcomes despite the immediate infectious threat receding.

Economic and Social Determinants of Life Expectancy in Chicago 2024-2026

Data Source: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, Chicago Health Atlas, West Side United Analysis, Academic Studies on Chicago Health Equity

The stark life expectancy gaps reflect profound differences in social determinants of health—the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. Economic resources form the foundation: Loop, Gold Coast, and Lincoln Park residents enjoy median household incomes exceeding $100,000-$150,000, enabling private health insurance, preventive care, healthy food purchases, fitness memberships, safe housing, and ability to live in low-crime areas. In contrast, West Garfield Park, Englewood, and North Lawndale face median incomes below $25,000-$35,000 with poverty rates above 35-45%, forcing impossible choices between rent, food, medicine, and other necessities.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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