About The Study: This study found that California life expectancy remained lower in 2024 than in 2019, due primarily to non–COVID-19 causes. COVID-19 accounted for 12.8% of the deficit in 2024. Although a prior analysis of California data reported that the life expectancy–income gradient increased during 2020-2021, by 2024 the gap between Q1 and Q4 returned to pre-pandemic levels. Life expectancy in the Black population was much lower than in other racial and ethnic populations, and Black and Hispanic populations experienced the largest deficits.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Hannes Schwandt, PhD, email schwandt@northwestern.edu.
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(doi:10.1001/jama.2025.10439)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.
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JAMA