White,liberal woman,with graduate degrees and zero to one kid live in cities like New York, Chicago, San Fran. They tend not to smoke belong,to gyms, walk more and have 1st class medical centers nearby. No surprise.
You have correctly pointed out that the "study" does not account for lifestyle or socioeconomic factors. That alone is a major flaw and reason not to believe the false narrative in the "study".
I think you have fallen for the false premise in the “study” narrative that there is a cause and effect relationship between geographical location and health and mortality.
The data in the "study" it is based on some kind of average. There is far more variation within each county than between counties.
There is no attempt to address any of the variations in lifestyle, socioeconomic factors, etc.
The average life expectancy in the U.S. is over 70 years old. Very few Americans live their entire life within one county. The health care they receive varies throughout their lifetime and takes place at many different locations.
This “study” has nothing to do with health care. It is political disinformation.