Sail Away

American Demographics,  May 1, 2002  by John Fetto

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Byline: JOHN FETTO

Save yourself from the Grim Reaper - move to Hawaii. People the world over have longed to live in the Aloha state for its scenic beauty and near-perfect climate, but daydreamers now have a legitimate reason to relocate to the South Pacific: longevity. According to the latest data from the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Kaiser Family Foundation, Hawaii is the state with the lowest death rate in the union. With only 370 deaths per 100,000 people in 1998 (the latest year for which data is available), Hawaiians are less likely to meet their maker than their mainland counterparts. (Nationwide, there were 471 deaths per 100,000 people in 1998.) Not willing to move so far away? There's always Minnesota, which has the second lowest death rate: 394 deaths per 100,000, followed by Utah, with 404 deaths per 100,000.

LUST FOR LIFE

States in the northern Midwest and West have some of the lowest mortality rates nationwide, while states in the South hold a lock on some of the deadliest properties.

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