U.S. life expectancy varies by two decades depending on location

By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) - Even as life expectancy is rising in many places across the U.S., there are some places where lifespans are getting shorter and geographical inequalities are becoming more pronounced, a new study suggests.Nationwide in 2014, the average life expectancy was about 79.1 years, up 5.3 years from 1980, the study found.For men, life expectancy climbed from 70 years to 76.7 years, while for women it increased from 77.5 years to 81.5 years.