PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new study that examines life expectancy gaps among people with varying income levels shows the poor in Multnomah County will die about 7 years before the rich, the New York Times reports.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published its findings Monday in the midst of an election season marked by heated debate about income equality and the endangered middle class.

Researchers looked at a large collection of anonymous income records and death certificates to find trends in life expectancy by income group and geographic location.

They found the richest people in America live much longer than the poorest 1%.

“The top 1% in income among American men live 15 years longer than the poorest 1%; for women, the gap is 10 years,” the New York Times reports. “These rich Americans… live longer almost without regard to where they live.”

For those with low income levels, geography has a bigger impact on life expectancy.

The study found the proportion of a population with health insurance has little do to with how long its poorest citizens live. However, it did reaffirm beliefs that health behaviors like smoking, obesity and exercise have direct effects on life expectancy.

But low-income citizens in affluent communities experience better health conditions.

“There are many potential explanations for why low-income individuals who live in affluent, highly educated cities live longer,” according to the study. “Such areas may have public policies that improve health (eg, smoking bans) or greater funding for public services, consistent with the higher levels of local government expenditures in these areas. Low-income individuals who live in high-income areas may also be influenced by living in the vicinity of other individuals who behave in healthier ways.”

The percentage of smokers in Multnomah County is nearly 4% higher than the national average. Around 25% of low-income citizens in the region are considered obese, but about 73% of the poor claim to have exercised in the past month.

While data shows the rich are living much longer than the poor, life expectancies for the poor in Portland are growing slightly faster than in other parts of the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report