A recent study shows that while average life expectancy is rising in Tallapoosa County and the state of Alabama, the Southeast as a whole is behind the rest of the country.

The study, conducted by Population Health Metrics, charts life expectancy averages for a 20-year period. From 1987-2007, the average expectancy for females in Tallapoosa County rose to 78.2 years from 77, while the male average jumped from 68.3 to 71.7 years.