15 Leading Causes of Death in the United States: 2018

Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States during 2018 (the most recent year in which final data are available).  There were 48,344 suicides in 2018, which is over 5,000 deaths more than the 11th leading cause of death, Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (42,838 deaths).  Right behind liver disease and cirrhosis at No. 12 was Septicemia, which killed 40,718 Americans in 2018.  The 13th and 14th leading causes of death in 2018, Hypertension and Parkinson disease, were also close in numbers:  35,835 deaths from Hypertension and 33,829 deaths from Parkinson.  Pneumonitis from solids and liquids, with 19,239 deaths, was a distant 15th on the list of leading killers during 2018.

Source:  National Vital Statistics System, 2018