Current Status
Ongoing - no updated life expectancy figures released for Harris County.
Activity In 2021
- Life expectancy between neighborhoods varies by as much as 24 years (last measured in 2015).
- Lowest – 65.7 years of age in Settegast
- Highest – 89.1 years of age in Clear Lake
Beyond 2022
Reduce disparity by 8 years each decade to reach the goal of eliminating geographic disparities in life expectancy by 2050
Current Initiatives
- City of Houston’s Equity Indicators
- Harris County COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Strategy (2021)
- Houston Health Department Access & Equity COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy (2021)
- ULI Houston’s Actions for Health Equity in Settegast (2022)
- Health Equity Response (H.E.R.) Initiative and Task Force
How Are Geographic Disparities Eliminated Over Time?
Houston takes pride in its diversity and multiculturalism but acknowledges that inequities persist in how Houstonians experience living in the city. Eliminating geographic disparities in life expectancy entails introducing transformative approaches and building a practice of equity in everyday procedures, projects, programs, plans, and polices. As of 2020, the 24-year life expectancy gap illustrates “a tale of two cities,” based on the legacy of systemic racism and its residual impacts. Evaluating the life expectancy gap will not be an annual assessment due to the frequency of life expectancy studies – though it is important to emphasize targeted public health efforts where the gap is severe (see the county and city’s COVID-19 equitable vaccination efforts as an example).
Estimated Life Expectancy by Census Tract
Resources
- 2021 Data Source
- National Center for Health Statistics. U.S. Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project (USALEEP): Life Expectancy Estimates File for Texas, 2010-2015]. National Center for Health Statistics. 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/usaleep/usaleep.html