A new study shows that there are huge disparities among states when it comes to average life expectancy, as Pennsylvania ranks 30th at 76 years, writes Bill Murphy Jr. for Inc. magazine.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is different from other major studies, because it approached life expectancy on a state, rather than a national, level. The results show a vast difference in health and longevity among states.

The state-by-state health assessment – the most comprehensive ever performed – found that there’s a 6.9-year discrepancy between No. 1 Minnesota (at 78.7 years) and bottom-ranked Mississippi (71.8 years).

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It also found that the biggest factors that are causing lower life expectancy are tobacco use, alcohol abuse, and bad diets.

In addition to Minnesota, the people with the longest life expectancy in the nation are residents of California at 78.6 years and Connecticut and Hawaii with an average of 78.4 years.

With a 76-year average, Pennsylvania residents have the same life expectancy as residents of Vietnam, according to the World Health Organization’s 2016 report on global life expectancy.

Read more about state-by-state life expectancies in Inc. magazine by clicking here.

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