Abstract Aim To estimate life expectancies for individuals with open spina bifida, stratified by age, sex, functional ability, and specific impairments. Method In the present study, extensive data from 1659 persons in California (1986–2019) were analysed using standard methods. Empirical mortality rates were calculated, and rates were also derived for various cohorts using logistic regression. Life tables were then constructed, from which life expectancies were obtained. Results Survival varied significantly by ambulatory and feeding ability, and by bowel/bladder continence. For example, at age 5 years the life expectancy was 27 additional years for males in the most severely impaired group and 65 years in the least severely impaired, compared with 70 in the general population. There was a modest secular trend—mortality decreasing by roughly 1% per year—which is accounted for in the life expectancy calculations. Interpretation Life expectancy in open spina bifida varies by age, sex, severity of disability, and bowel/bladder continence. Survival has improved over the past 30 years.