STATE VITALS: FLORIDA

Florida has the 3rd highest cesarean delivery rate in the U.S. (38.1% of all births). Only Louisiana and New Jersey have higher cesarean rates than Florida. The state also has the 5th highest percentage of births born to unmarried mothers (47.6%) and the 10th highest preterm birth rate (13% of all births).

In addition, a higher percentage of Floridians are without health insurance (19.7% in 2011) compared with the U.S. as a whole (15.1%) , and the state also has higher mortality rates from homicide and drug poisoning compared to the national average.

However, Florida also had the 3rd lowest mortality rate from influenza/pneumonia in 2010, as well as the 6th lowest mortality rate from stroke, and the 8th lowest mortality rate from Alzheimer’s disease — despite a large elderly population living in several areas of the state. Florida also has lower mortality compared to the rest of the nation for several other leading causes of death, including: heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, diabetes, and kidney disease.