Money Research Collective’s editorial team solely created this content. Opinions are their own, but compensation and in-depth research determine where and how companies may appear. Many featured companies advertise with us. How we make money.
10 States Most Likely to Become ‘Blue Zones,’ With Healthy Lifestyles and Long Lifespans
By Pete Grieve MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
People in so-called “Blue Zones” have low rates of chronic disease and long life expectancy.
A recent report finds that residents in California, Minnesota and Utah tend to have especially long and healthy lives — putting these states in contention for so-called “Blue Zone” status.
Author Dan Buettner came up with the concept of Blue Zones as he traveled globally conducting research to figure out the secrets to living longer. His work is now featured in a popular Netflix documentary series called “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.”
Buettner says that some of the pillars to the lifestyles embraced by residents of Blue Zones include exercising daily, eating whole foods like vegetables and nuts, being social and having a sense of purpose. Residents of Buettner’s five Blue Zones (locations in Italy, Greece, Japan and Costa Rica, as well as Loma Linda, California) have lower incidence of chronic disease and much longer life expectancies than the general population. Buettner also suggests that there may be other Blue Zones that will emerge in the future.
Overall, longevity in the U.S. appears to be rising. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in November that life expectancy was 77.5 years in 2022, up by 1.1 years from 2021 when COVID-19 and heart disease deaths were higher. On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal reports that our “healthspans” — the time when people are active and not sick or in pain — is shrinking.
Where are the best places to live for a long, healthy life? A new index from online pharmacy NowPatient builds around Buettner’s theories, grading U.S. states on the health and longevity of their residents, and their potential to be home to a new Blue Zone.
The index is based on data relating to sleep, physical activity and anxiety/depression. The index also rewards states for reasons that might seem curious, like having a high number of Google searches for meat-free restaurants.
Why might this be? According to NowPatient, “Blue Zones’ food guidelines specifically recommend reducing eggs, fish, and dairy. In fact, if you want to eat like those in the Blue Zones, then your diet must be between 95.0% to 100.0% plant-based.”
Among the other categories that some may deem as controversial or questionable: States where a high share of the population is religious also rank higher. This is because people who live in high-life-expectancy Blue Zones tend to belong to faith-based communities, according to Buettner’s research.
10 states most likely to become Blue Zones
Buettner’s ideas on longevity have made waves in health and wellness circles. Here’s a ranking of the top 10 states most likely to become Blue Zones:
- California
- Minnesota
- Utah
- North Carolina
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Virginia
- Connecticut
- Rhode Island
- Colorado
More from Money:
Best Long-Term Care Insurance Companies of December 2023
Employee Health Insurance Costs Are Up a ‘Nasty’ 7% This Year
7 Key Factors That Could Affect How Long You’re Retired
Pete Grieve is a New York-based reporter who covers personal finance news. At Money, Pete covers trending stories that affect Americans’ wallets on topics including car buying, insurance, housing, credit cards, retirement and taxes. He studied political science and photography at the University of Chicago, where he was editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon. Pete began his career as a professional journalist in 2019. Prior to joining Money, he was a health reporter for Spectrum News in Ohio, where he wrote digital stories and appeared on TV to provide coverage to a statewide audience. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times and CNN Politics. Pete received extensive journalism training through Report for America, a nonprofit organization that places reporters in newsrooms to cover underreported issues and communities, and he attended the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in 2021. Pete has discussed his reporting in interviews with outlets including the Columbia Journalism Review and WBEZ (Chicago's NPR station). He’s been a panelist at the Chicago Headline Club’s FOIA Fest and he received the Institute on Political Journalism’s $2,500 Award for Excellence in Collegiate Reporting in 2017. An essay he wrote for Grey City magazine was published in a 2020 book, Remembering J. Z. Smith: A Career and its Consequence.