Mortality Patterns Between Five States With Highest Death Rates and Five States With Lowest Death Rates: United States, 2017

Mortality in the United States varies widely by state . A new NCHS report compares average age-adjusted death rates by sex, race and ethnicity, and five leading causes of death between a group of five states with the highest age-adjusted death rates (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia) and a group of five states with the lowest age-adjusted death rates (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, and New York) in 2017.

Key Findings:

• The average age-adjusted death rate for the five states with the highest rates (926.8 per 100,000 standard population) was 49% higher than the rate for the five states with the lowest rates (624.0).
• Age-specific death rates for all age groups were higher for the states with the highest rates compared with the states with the lowest rates.
• Age-adjusted death rates were higher for non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black populations but lower for the Hispanic population in states with the highest rates than in states with the lowest rates.
• The age-adjusted death rates for chronic lower respiratory diseases and unintentional injuries for the states with the highest rates (62.0 and 65.5, respectively) were almost doubled compared with the states with the lowest rates (31.0 and 35.8).