A new study has shown a great variation in life expectancy among blacks and whites across U.S. states.

Although the variation in racial differences has declined somewhat in the U.S., there is still a significant gap across states. McGill University researchers analyzed state-specific life expectancies on an annual basis between 1990 and 2009 for blacks and whites, and discovered that there was an uneven progression across the states during this time period.

According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, the average life expectancy for black men is 70.8 years, and 76.2 years for white men. The average life expectancy for white women is 81.2 years, and 77.5 years for black women.

Sam Harper, of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health in the Faculty of Medicine, and colleagues were the first to analyze how U.S. states have progressed over the past two decades. While some states have done quite well, others have not.

“For both men and women, New York state made far and away the largest contribution to reducing the national black-white gap. However, other states with comparatively large black populations like California and Texas kept the national gap from closing more than it did. We know from prior work that fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS and homicide played a big role in New York’s life expectancy improvements. Our results suggest that other states may benefit from a detailed study of how and why the gap decreased so much in New York,” said Harper in a statement.

The researchers stress the importance of determining why these gaps occur, and what can be done to reduce such differences among races.

The findings of the study are published in the journal Health Affairs.