In Boston, a two-mile difference in where you live may mean a 23-year difference in life expectancy.
That startling analysis from the Boston Public Health Commission shows the longest average life expectancy is nearly 92 years, for residents in a section of the Back Bay. Residents near Nubian Square in Roxbury have the shortest expected life span, just under 69 years.
“It’s really disturbing,” said Boston’s Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu. “So much work has gone into improving life expectancy for individuals. It feels discouraging.”
The two neighborhoods, highlighted in a report released Friday, are vastly different in many ways. The median household income of the census tract within Roxbury is $42,211, versus $141,250 in the Back Bay tract. Rates of homeownership in the Back Bay are more than double those in Roxbury.
www.wbur.org/news/2023/05/11/boston-life-expectancy-gap-back-bay-roxbury