In many advanced economies populations are growing and, at the same time, the average age is rising. This holds true for the U.S., where new research reveals that West Virginia leads the list, with its residents aging nearly eight years faster than the rest of the country.

This is based on an April 2026 report conducted by a firm called Auragens, who measured both biological and psychological aging across all 50 states. Biological aging included six factors: physical inactivity, obesity, heart disease, death rate, diabetes rate, multiple chronic conditions and excessive alcohol use.

Psychological aging accounted for the other half of the final score and included stress index, anxiety and depression rate, mental illness rates from 2019 to 2025 and serious suicidal thoughts over the same period.

With these two aging categories, the Total Aging Index from 1 to 99 was calculated, where higher scores indicate faster aging.

The study also estimated how many years faster residents are aging compared to the national average by translating the relative differences between state scores into an estimated time gap.

West Virginia, as mentioned earlier, has the fastest aging population in the country, sped up by the worst physical health among Americans. In addition to the smallest life expectancy of only 59.9 years, over a quarter of adults are smoking, and 41.2% are diagnosed with obesity. Emotional and psychological environment also forces faster aging, as over a third of residents (37.9%) experience depression. With these factors, West Virginians are aging an estimated 7.5 years faster than the average American.

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