A report from the Northern Virginia Health Foundation (NVHF) and Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Center on Society and Health is the first to examine differences in life expectancy, income, race, and education in Northern Virginia neighborhoods. It found that life expectancy varies by as much as 13 years in the region. For example, a baby born in one part of Fairfax County is expected to live to age 89, while a baby born a short distance away in another part of that county has a life expectancy of only 76 years. VCU researchers say that these differences in health are the result of a mix of factors. Access to health care and individual health behaviors play a role, but social and economic factors have a greater influence on health and life expectancy. In addition to the report, NVHF and VCU released an interactive mapping tool that allows users to compare neighborhoods by “zooming in” on census tracts and examining their life expectancy, education, income levels, and racial-ethnic composition. The tool and full report can be found at the link below.