U.S. death rate for 2025 is 9.28, a 0.59% increase from 2024.

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<li>U.S. death rate for 2024 was <strong>9.23</strong>, a <strong>0.28% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>U.S. death rate for 2023 was <strong>9.20</strong>, a <strong>6.12% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>U.S. death rate for 2022 was <strong>9.80</strong>, a <strong>5.77% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Crude death rate indicates the number of deaths occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.

The death rate in the United States decreased by 0.6 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (-6.12 percent) compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the last two years recorded a significantly higher death rate than the preceding years.The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths divided by the total population, expressed per 1,000 people.Find more statistics on other topics about the United States with key insights such as total fertility rate, life expectancy of men at birth, and infant mortality rate.

In the United States in 2021, the death rate was highest among those aged 85 and over, with about 17,190.5 men and 14,914.5 women per 100,000 of the population passing away. For all ages, the death rate was at 1,118.2 per 100,000 of the population for males, and 970.8 per 100,000 of the population for women. The death rate Death rates generally are counted as the number of deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 of the population and include both deaths of natural and unnatural causes. The death rate in the United States had pretty much held steady since 1990 until it started to increase over the last decade, with the highest death rates recorded in recent years. While the birth rate in the United States has been decreasing, it is still currently higher than the death rate. Causes of death There are a myriad number of causes of death in the United States, but the most recent data shows the top three leading causes of death to be heart disease, cancers, and accidents. Heart disease was also the leading cause of death worldwide.

Historical chart and dataset showing U.S. life expectancy by year from 1950 to 2025.

The graph illustrates the number of deaths per day in the United States from 1950 to 2025. The x-axis represents the years, abbreviated from '50 to '24, while the y-axis indicates the daily number of deaths. Over this 75-year period, the number of deaths per day ranges from a low of 4,054 in 1950 to a high of 9,570 in 2021. Notable figures include 6,855 deaths in 2010 and 8,333 in 2024. The data shows a general upward trend in daily deaths over the decades, with recent years experiencing some fluctuations. This information is presented in a line graph format, effectively highlighting the long-term trends and yearly variations in daily deaths across the United States.

United States US: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 7.200 Ratio in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.400 Ratio for 2015. United States US: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 8.000 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.500 Ratio in 1990 and a record low of 7.200 Ratio in 2017. United States US: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Under-five mortality rate, male is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn male baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to male age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.; ; Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Weighted average; Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.

U.S. infant mortality rate for 2025 is 5.20, a 2.58% decline from 2024.

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<li>U.S. infant mortality rate for 2024 was <strong>5.34</strong>, a <strong>2.87% decline</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>U.S. infant mortality rate for 2023 was <strong>5.50</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>U.S. infant mortality rate for 2022 was <strong>5.50</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Infant mortality rate is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year.

Over the past 160 years, life expectancy (from birth) in the United States has risen from 39.4 years in 1860, to 78.9 years in 2020. One of the major reasons for the overall increase of life expectancy in the last two centuries is the fact that the infant and child mortality rates have decreased by so much during this time. Medical advancements, fewer wars and improved living standards also mean that people are living longer than they did in previous centuries.

Despite this overall increase, the life expectancy dropped three times since 1860; from 1865 to 1870 during the American Civil War, from 1915 to 1920 during the First World War and following Spanish Flu epidemic, and it has dropped again between 2015 and now. The reason for the most recent drop in life expectancy is not a result of any specific event, but has been attributed to negative societal trends, such as unbalanced diets and sedentary lifestyles, high medical costs, and increasing rates of suicide and drug use.

The life expectancy of men at birth in the United States saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 75.8 years. However, 2023 marked the second consecutive increase of the life expectancy. Life expectancy at birth refers to the number of years the average newborn is expected to live, providing that mortality patterns at the time of birth do not change thereafter.Find more statistics on other topics about the United States with key insights such as total fertility rate, infant mortality rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

This dataset of U.S. mortality trends since 1900 highlights the differences in age-adjusted death rates and life expectancy at birth by race and sex. Age-adjusted death rates (deaths per 100,000) after 1998 are calculated based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. Populations used for computing death rates for 2011–2017 are postcensal estimates based on the 2010 census, estimated as of July 1, 2010. Rates for census years are based on populations enumerated in the corresponding censuses. Rates for noncensus years between 2000 and 2010 are revised using updated intercensal population estimates and may differ from rates previously published. Data on age-adjusted death rates prior to 1999 are taken from historical data (see References below). Life expectancy data are available up to 2017. Due to changes in categories of race used in publications, data are not available for the black population consistently before 1968, and not at all before 1960. More information on historical data on age-adjusted death rates is available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/hist293.htm. SOURCES CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, historical data, 1900-1998 (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm); CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, mortality data (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov). REFERENCES National Center for Health Statistics, Data Warehouse. Comparability of cause-of-death between ICD revisions. 2008. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/comparability_icd.htm. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics data available. Mortality multiple cause files. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm. Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Arias E. Deaths: Final data for 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 9. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf. Arias E, Xu JQ. United States life tables, 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 7. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_07-508.pdf. National Center for Health Statistics. Historical Data, 1900-1998. 2009. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm.

The graph displays the number of deaths per year in the United States from 1950 to 2025. The x-axis represents the years, abbreviated from '50 to '25, while the y-axis indicates the annual number of deaths. Over this 75-year period, the number of deaths ranges from a low of 1,479,684 in 1950 to a high of 3,492,879 in 2021. Notable figures include 2,430,923 deaths in 2001 and 3,090,000 projected deaths in 2024. The data exhibits a general upward trend in annual deaths over the decades, with significant increases in recent years. This information is presented in a line graph format, effectively highlighting the long-term trends and yearly variations in deaths across the United States.

United States US: Maternal Mortality Ratio: Modeled Estimate: per 100,000 Live Births data was reported at 14.000 Ratio in 2015. This stayed constant from the previous number of 14.000 Ratio for 2014. United States US: Maternal Mortality Ratio: Modeled Estimate: per 100,000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 13.000 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.000 Ratio in 2009 and a record low of 11.000 Ratio in 1998. United States US: Maternal Mortality Ratio: Modeled Estimate: per 100,000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per 100,000 live births. The data are estimated with a regression model using information on the proportion of maternal deaths among non-AIDS deaths in women ages 15-49, fertility, birth attendants, and GDP.; ; WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and the United Nations Population Division. Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2015. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2015; Weighted average; This indicator represents the risk associated with each pregnancy and is also a Sustainable Development Goal Indicator for monitoring maternal health.

Introduction

Life Expectancy Statistics: Life expectancy is the average number of years a person is expected to live based on current mortality rates in a specific population.

It is influenced by healthcare quality, lifestyle choices, economic conditions, genetics, environmental factors, and social determinants like education and public health policies.

Typically measured as life expectancy at birth, it reflects the average lifespan of a newborn. However, it can also be assessed for older ages, such as 65, to predict additional years of life.

Abstract

Title: Annual PM2.5 and cardiovascular mortality rate data: Trends modified by county socioeconomic status in 2,132 US counties

Abstract: Data on county socioeconomic status for 2,132 US counties and each county’s average annual cardiovascular mortality rate (CMR) and total PM2.5 concentration for 21 years (1990-2010). County CMR, PM2.5, and socioeconomic data were obtained from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system, and the U.S. Census, respectively. A socioeconomic index was created using seven county-level measures from the 1990 US census using factor analysis. Quintiles of this index were used to generate categories of county socioeconomic status.

Usage

This dataset is associated with the following publication: Wyatt, L., G. Peterson, T. Wade, L. Neas, and A. Rappold. The contribution of improved air quality to reduced cardiovascular mortality: Declines in socioeconomic differences over time. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL. Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, 136: 105430, (2020).

The USA: The number of deaths per 1000 people, per year: The latest value from is deaths per 1000 people, unavailable from deaths per 1000 people in . In comparison, the world average is 0.00 deaths per 1000 people, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for the USA from to is deaths per 1000 people. The minimum value, deaths per 1000 people, was reached in while the maximum of deaths per 1000 people was recorded in .

The USA: Deaths of children under five years of age per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 6 deaths per 1000 births, unchanged from 6 deaths per 1000 births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 25 deaths per 1000 births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1960 to 2022 is 14 deaths per 1000 births. The minimum value, 6 deaths per 1000 births, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 30 deaths per 1000 births was recorded in 1960.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Life Expectancy (EQ6)

FULL MEASURE NAME Life Expectancy

LAST UPDATED April 2017

DESCRIPTION Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns remain the same. The measure reflects the mortality rate across a population for a point in time.

DATA SOURCE State of California, Department of Health: Death Records (1990-2013) No link

California Department of Finance: Population Estimates Annual Intercensal Population Estimates (1990-2010) Table P-2: County Population by Age (2010-2013) http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/

U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census ZCTA Population (2000-2010) http://factfinder.census.gov

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 5-Year Population Estimates (2013) http://factfinder.census.gov

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Life expectancy is commonly used as a measure of the health of a population. Life expectancy does not reflect how long any given individual is expected to live; rather, it is an artificial measure that captures an aspect of the mortality rates across a population that can be compared across time and populations. More information about the determinants of life expectancy that may lead to differences in life expectancy between neighborhoods can be found in the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) Health Inequities in the Bay Area report at http://www.barhii.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/barhii_hiba.pdf. Vital Signs measures life expectancy at birth (as opposed to cohort life expectancy). A statistical model was used to estimate life expectancy for Bay Area counties and ZIP Codes based on current life tables which require both age and mortality data. A life table is a table which shows, for each age, the survivorship of a people from a certain population.

Current life tables were created using death records and population estimates by age. The California Department of Public Health provided death records based on the California death certificate information. Records include age at death and residential ZIP Code. Single-year age population estimates at the regional- and county-level comes from the California Department of Finance population estimates and projections for ages 0-100+. Population estimates for ages 100 and over are aggregated to a single age interval. Using this data, death rates in a population within age groups for a given year are computed to form unabridged life tables (as opposed to abridged life tables). To calculate life expectancy, the probability of dying between the jth and (j+1)st birthday is assumed uniform after age 1. Special consideration is taken to account for infant mortality.

For the ZIP Code-level life expectancy calculation, it is assumed that postal ZIP Codes share the same boundaries as ZIP Code Census Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs). More information on the relationship between ZIP Codes and ZCTAs can be found at http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/zctas.html. ZIP Code-level data uses three years of mortality data to make robust estimates due to small sample size. Year 2013 ZIP Code life expectancy estimates reflects death records from 2011 through 2013. 2013 is the last year with available mortality data. Death records for ZIP Codes with zero population (like those associated with P.O. Boxes) were assigned to the nearest ZIP Code with population. ZIP Code population for 2000 estimates comes from the Decennial Census. ZIP Code population for 2013 estimates are from the American Community Survey (5-Year Average). ACS estimates are adjusted using Decennial Census data for more accurate population estimates. An adjustment factor was calculated using the ratio between the 2010 Decennial Census population estimates and the 2012 ACS 5-Year (with middle year 2010) population estimates. This adjustment factor is particularly important for ZCTAs with high homeless population (not living in group quarters) where the ACS may underestimate the ZCTA population and therefore underestimate the life expectancy. The ACS provides ZIP Code population by age in five-year age intervals. Single-year age population estimates were calculated by distributing population within an age interval to single-year ages using the county distribution. Counties were assigned to ZIP Codes based on majority land-area.

ZIP Codes in the Bay Area vary in population from over 10,000 residents to less than 20 residents. Traditional life expectancy estimation (like the one used for the regional- and county-level Vital Signs estimates) cannot be used because they are highly inaccurate for small populations and may result in over/underestimation of life expectancy. To avoid inaccurate estimates, ZIP Codes with populations of less than 5,000 were aggregated with neighboring ZIP Codes until the merged areas had a population of more than 5,000. ZIP Code 94103, representing Treasure Island, was dropped from the dataset due to its small population and having no bordering ZIP Codes. In this way, the original 305 Bay Area ZIP Codes were reduced to 217 ZIP Code areas for 2013 estimates. Next, a form of Bayesian random-effects analysis was used which established a prior distribution of the probability of death at each age using the regional distribution. This prior is used to shore up the life expectancy calculations where data were sparse.

This statistic shows the average life expectancy in North America for those born in 2022, by gender and region. In Canada, the average life expectancy was 80 years for males and 84 years for females.

Life expectancy in North America

Of those considered in this statistic, the life expectancy of female Canadian infants born in 2021 was the longest, at 84 years. Female infants born in America that year had a similarly high life expectancy of 81 years. Male infants, meanwhile, had lower life expectancies of 80 years (Canada) and 76 years (USA).

Compare this to the worldwide life expectancy for babies born in 2021: 75 years for women and 71 years for men. Of continents worldwide, North America ranks equal first in terms of life expectancy of (77 years for men and 81 years for women). Life expectancy is lowest in Africa at just 63 years and 66 years for males and females respectively. Japan is the country with the highest life expectancy worldwide for babies born in 2020.

Life expectancy is calculated according to current mortality rates of the population in question. Global variations in life expectancy are caused by differences in medical care, public health and diet, and reflect global inequalities in economic circumstances. Africa’s low life expectancy, for example, can be attributed in part to the AIDS epidemic. In 2019, around 72,000 people died of AIDS in South Africa, the largest amount worldwide. Nigeria, Tanzania and India were also high on the list of countries ranked by AIDS deaths that year. Likewise, Africa has by far the highest rate of mortality by communicable disease (i.e. AIDS, neglected tropics diseases, malaria and tuberculosis).

United States US: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data was reported at 133.993 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 131.567 Ratio for 2014. United States US: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 176.083 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2015, with 56 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 240.957 Ratio in 1968 and a record low of 131.037 Ratio in 2013. United States US: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Adult mortality rate, male, is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60--that is, the probability of a 15-year-old male dying before reaching age 60, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year between those ages.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) University of California, Berkeley, and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The Human Mortality Database.; Weighted average;

This topic is no longer available in the NCHS Data Query System (DQS). Search, visualize, and download other estimates from over 120 health topics with DQS, available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/dataquery/index.htm. Data on on average annual infant mortality rates in the United States and U.S. dependent areas, by race and Hispanic origin of mother, state, and territory. Data are from Health, United States. SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set.