by Allison Danish, MPH

In 56 of the US's largest cities, your zip code can mean a 20-30 year difference in how long you live.

Cities with the most stark differences were often the most racially and ethnically segregated.  

"In New York City, which is highly segregated by race and ethnicity, people living in East Harlem live an average of 71.2 years while those living in the Upper East Side, just a few blocks away, live to 89.9 years."

Neighborhoods remain so racially and ethnically segregated because of the lasting effects of Jim Crow-era laws that systematically ghettoized and disenfranchised BIPOC, particularly Black people.

Within those neighborhoods, the hospitals tend to produce worse health outcomes.

Hospitals that treat the uninsured and underserved usually have less funding, and some are forced to shut down.

Because of these limited resources:

• Patients have higher rates of complications
• It is harder to recruit and retain physicians
• Providers have fewer qualifications and less training

See differences in life expectancy and other health outcomes by zip code in your own city or state here: https://www.cityhealthdashboard.com/

Sources:

Large Life Expectancy Gaps in U.S. Cities Linked to Racial & Ethnic Segregation by Neighborhood, NYU Langone Health (2019)

White, K., et al. Elucidating the Role of Place in Health Care Disparities: The Example of Racial/Ethnic Residential Segregation (2012)