The headline number: 4.9 years
American men live, on average, about five years less than American women. The CDC’s Mortality in the United States, 2024 report, published in January 2026, puts the figures like this:
| Life expectancy at birth | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Males | 75.8 years | 76.5 years |
| Females | 81.1 years | 81.4 years |
| Total population | 78.4 years | 79.0 years |
| Female minus male | 5.3 years | 4.9 years |
The gap narrowed by 0.4 years in 2024 because male life expectancy rose more than female. The report attributes the overall rise largely to fewer deaths from unintentional injuries, COVID-19, heart disease, cancer and homicide.
This page gathers the figures behind that gap in one place, each linked to its source and data year, so they can be checked and cited.
The gap after 65, and across groups
The difference does not disappear in later life. The same report gives life expectancy at age 65 in 2024 as 18.4 more years for men and 20.8 for women, so men who reach 65 can expect 2.4 fewer years than women of the same age.
The gap also shows up within every racial and ethnic group the CDC reports. Age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 people in 2024:
| Group, 2024 | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Hispanic | 651.9 | 454.6 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian | 454.2 | 317.6 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 1,094.9 | 727.2 |
| Non-Hispanic White | 871.1 | 646.6 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native | 1,213.0 | 872.7 |
In each group, men’s death rates fell between 2023 and 2024, but they stayed well above women’s. For a region as diverse as Los Angeles County, that is the more useful takeaway: the male disadvantage is not confined to any one community.
What men die of
The same CDC report lists the ten most common causes of death in the U.S. in 2024, for men and women combined:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Unintentional injuries (accidents)
- Stroke
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases
- Alzheimer disease
- Diabetes
- Kidney disease
- Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
- Suicide
The CDC’s men’s health FastStats page, last reviewed in June 2026, names heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries as the top three. Unintentional injuries fell sharply in 2024: the death rate dropped 14.4%, from 62.3 to 53.3 per 100,000, according to the mortality report. The same report notes that suicide replaced COVID-19 as the tenth most common cause of death in 2024. FastStats counts 1,599,440 deaths among U.S. males that year, a rate of 950.1 per 100,000.
Several of the conditions on that list share upstream risk factors that blood tests and a blood pressure cuff can find early: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and liver injury.
The risk factors, by the numbers
The CDC’s men’s health FastStats page compiles national survey data on U.S. men:
| Measure, U.S. men | Figure | Data period |
|---|---|---|
| Hypertension (measured high or on medication), age 18+ | 50.8% | August 2021 to August 2023 |
| Obesity, age 20+ | 39.2% | August 2021 to August 2023 |
| Current cigarette smoking, age 18+ | 11.5% | 2024 |
| Current e-cigarette use, age 18+ | 7.7% | 2024 |
| Fair or poor health, age 18+ | 14.2% | 2024 |
| Uninsured, under 65 | 11.0% | 2025 early release |
The hypertension figure stands out: about half of adult men meet the definition when blood pressure is actually measured. Activity is the other side of the ledger. FastStats reports that only 28.3% of men met the federal guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity, citing a 2020 data brief, which means most men fall short on one of the habits that lowers blood pressure, blood sugar and weight at the same time. Diabetes adds to the picture. The CDC’s National Diabetes Statistics Report estimates that 40.1 million Americans had diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes in 2023, and that 115.2 million adults have prediabetes.
Fewer preventive visits
Men see clinicians less often, especially for preventive care. The CDC’s 2019 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, the most recent national summary tables, shows:
| Office visits per 100 people per year, 2019 | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| All physician office visits | 273 | 366 |
| All visits, ages 25 to 44 | 133 | 263 |
| Preventive care visits, all ages | 54 | 84 |
| Preventive care visits, ages 45 to 64 | 56 | 74 |
Part of the gap in younger adults reflects pregnancy and prenatal care, which the survey counts as preventive care. But even in the 45 to 64 age group, where that effect is small, men made fewer preventive visits than women. A missed checkup is not itself a cause of death, but it is how high blood pressure, rising blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol go unnoticed for a decade.
The Los Angeles County picture
Local data point the same direction. In the 2023 Los Angeles County Health Survey, based on a random sample of 9,372 adults, men reported more of the major cardiometabolic risk factors than women:
| LA County adults, 2023 (self-reported) | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Ever diagnosed with high blood pressure | 31.5% | 24.5% |
| Ever diagnosed with high cholesterol | 35.2% | 31.3% |
| Ever diagnosed with diabetes | 12.0% | 10.9% |
| Overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9) | 39.7% | 26.9% |
| No regular source of health care | 22.3% | 20.4% |
Because these are diagnoses people have been told about, they likely undercount men who have never been checked. For a regional view, see our articles on screening in the San Gabriel Valley and prediabetes in southeast LA County.
What the numbers suggest for one man
Statistics describe populations; your own risk comes from your own numbers. Still, the pattern is consistent: the conditions that cut men’s lives short are often silent for years, and men are less likely to be in the room when they could be caught.
The practical response is a baseline. Know your blood pressure, your cholesterol including ApoB and Lp(a), your HbA1c and your liver and kidney function, and repeat them on a schedule. Our article on the Men’s Health Month checkup lays out that baseline, and the men’s health checklist for your 50s covers the decade when many of these numbers start to move.
How Ultimate Male helps close the gap
Ultimate Male is built for men who do not like waiting rooms. Preventative blood testing happens on site with same-day draws at San Gabriel and Downey, results come back in 24 to 48 hours, and a PA-C or MD walks you through them one-on-one.
It does not replace primary care, and our comparison of a men’s health clinic vs primary care explains how the two fit together. If it has been years since your last labs, the free 10-minute phone call at 626-319-5261 is a low-effort first step.
