Smoking, drinking, diet, weight, exercise and genetics play a role in determining life expectancy, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in finding lifespan increased seven years over the past half-century – and did so without consideration of another factor, according to a recent study examining where you reside. The study – the 2024 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute – said where you live also contributes, and identified Pennsylvania counties with the longest life span. Bucks and Montgomery Counties, it found, made the top-ten list of good scores. Montgomery found itself in fourth place with a score of 80.1. Ranked for a tie in ninth place were Bucks, Lancaster and Northampton counties with a life expectancy of 79.3 years. That’s 2.0 years better than the statewide average of 77.3. The top ratings went to Centre County at 81.6; Chester County at 81.1; Union at 80.7; Montgomery at 80.1; Snyder at 79.7; Cumberland at 79.6; Pike at 79.5, and ranked number eight with was Adams at 79.4. Ranked just below Bucks-Lancaster-Northampton were Lehigh at 78.4 and Berks at 78.0. Ranked with the poorest was Dauphin County at 77.3. Life expectancy rates have been on the rise in the United States, with an increase of nearly seven years over the past half century, the CDC said. The average lifespan was 70.8 in 1970 and at 77.5 in 2022, according to the CDC. Life expectancy measures the average number of years from birth a person can expect to live, and is calculated based on the number of deaths in a given time period and the average number of people at risk of dying during that period, said the CDC. Counties with unreliable or insufficient data were excluded from the analysis. Mortality data came from the National Vital Statistics System.