In 2020, life expectancy at birth for San Juan County residents was 70.9 years. This is down from 75.8 in 2019, the decrease being primarily the result of COVID.
San Juan's life expectancy is below the U.S. life expectancy of 77.0 years. Across the U.S., the life expectancy for males was 74.2 and for females was 79.9 years.
Leading Causes of Death
In 2020, in San Juan County, there were 1543 deaths (compared to 1182 in 2019); the average age of death was 67.9 years.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was the leading cause of death in 2020, with 328 deaths across the county in that year. Across New Mexico and in the U.S., COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and cancer.
Premature Death
Premature death is measured by the years of potential life lost (YPLL) before age 75. YPLL is a widely used measure as an indicator of overall community health and well-being.
San Juan County's rate of premature death is significantly higher than New Mexico and the U.S.
Died before age 75
Causes of Early Mortality & Injury-related Death
Whereas the leading causes of death are generally Cancer and Heart Disease, the leading cause of premature death is injury, accounting for 12.5% of all deaths in the county.
In 2020, the absolute number of years of potential life lost was 17,904. Of these, 5,635 years were the result of injury deaths -- in other words, death prior to age 75 as a result of an injury.
In 2020, in San Juan County there were 194 total deaths due to injury, giving a rate of 163.8, nearly 3.5 times the national rate. Of the 194 deaths, there were 123 unintentional or accidental injury deaths and 48 by suicide (intentional).
The rate of unintentional injury in San Juan County is 101.4 deaths per 100,000, compared to 86.0 for New Mexico and 34.4 in the U.S.
National statistics on premature death (YPLL) and Injury:
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/YPLL/state/ALL
NM-IBIS or New Mexico's Indicator-Based Information System is a resource for health data, including self-report surveys and birth/death data, as well as demographic and environmental data.