The Pew Research Institute recently asked 8,750 US adults how long they would like to live. Though life expectancy at birth is 78 years old in the US, many respondents said they would like to live longer than that, according to a report on the research by Pew's John Gramlich and Luona Lin.

A majority (76%) said they would want to live until they’re at least 80, including 29% who would like to reach 100. On average, respondents said they wanted to live to be 91 years old.

Not everyone would prefer to live that long, though. About one-in-six respondents (16%) said they would want to live to an age younger than 80. Another 8% didn’t answer.

There are some demographic differences in the age that Americans want to live to. The average preferred age is higher among men than women (93 vs. 88), and among Black adults (95) than among those who are White (91), Hispanic (89) or Asian (85).

Life expectancy in the US followed a different demographic pattern. As of 2023, life expectancy at birth was higher for women than men (81 vs. 76), and it was highest among Asian Americans (85), followed by Hispanics (81), Whites (78) and Blacks (74). American Indians and Alaska Natives had the lowest life expectancy at birth at 70 years.

The authors note that life expectancy increases with age. While babies born in the US today can expect to live to be 78, Americans who are 65 today can expect to live to be 85. That’s because, by the time someone reaches 65, they are unlikely to die from some causes that disproportionately affect younger people, such as pregnancy complications or congenital diseases.

The report is part of a larger survey, "How Americans are Thinking about Aging."

To read answers to the survey question, "If you had a choice, what age would you want to live until?" click here

To download the full survey, click here