It's pretty shocking, because I don't think most Americans would suspect there is that much regional variation within the country. The US is frequently regarde

It's pretty shocking, because I don't think most Americans would suspect there is that much regional variation within the country. The US is frequently regarded as basically monolithic, with people moving from one place to another for jobs, family, cost-of-living reasons, basically assuming that life in one part will be largely similar to life in another part. This assumption is not backed up by data. (That said, I would be interested in an analysis of whether or not your life expectancy varies with where you live, or where you are born. I.e. if I am from Boston but move to Mobile, do I end up with a Bostonian's life expectancy or a Mobilian's? How long does it take for the shorter life expectancy of someone from Mobile to override the longer life expectancy of someone from Boston? Or does it never do that? All would be interesting questions for research.)