Life Expectancy by Zip Code in the Finger Lakes Region

This map puts a spotlight on the huge disparities in life expectancy based on where someone lives in the Finger Lakes region. There’s a huge disparity between ZIP code 14534 (Pittsford, an affluent suburb of Rochester) with life expectancy of 85 years, and 14605 (5 miles away in the City of Rochester) with a life expectancy of 71 years. While some of the ZIP codes with shortest life expectancy are in the urban areas of Rochester and Elmira, it’s important to note that there are also rural areas with short life expectancy, and these tend to be the areas with lower socioeconomic status.

Methodology note: Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is a widely used measure to assess the rate of premature mortality. YPLL places a larger weight on the deaths of younger people, in contrast with overall mortality statistics which are dominated by deaths of the elderly. The YPLL rates in Common Ground Health analyses are derived using 75 years as the baseline. A death at age 65 has YPLL of 10, where as a death at age 35 has a YPLL of 40. The rates are calculated per 100,000 population and are age-sex adjusted to account for differences in population distribution.