Notes

Average age at death does not take into account the average age of the corresponding population. This can bias results in demographic groups whose age composition varies greatly from that of the overall population.

Data Source

Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health

Definition

The arithmetic mean age, in years, at which a group of persons died

Numerator

The sum of ages at death among decedents in a given time period

Denominator

Total number of decedents in that time period

How Are We Doing?

Average age at death is highest among Whites, followed, in order, by Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics. (Note that this may be due, in part, to the underlying age composition of each racial/ethnic group.) The average age at death among females is 7 years higher than among males. Among all causes of death, Alzheimer's disease has the highest average age (87.7 years). Unintentional injury has the lowest average age (52.0) among the ten leading causes of death. Deaths due to non-chronic conditions generally have much lower average ages at death than deaths due to chronic conditions.