COVID-19 is no longer a top 10 cause of death
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The U.S. saw roughly 3.07 million deaths in 2024, with a notable 3.8% drop in the overall age-adjusted death rate compared to 2023.
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Mortality fell across most age, sex, and racial/ethnic groups, though the highest death rate remained among Black non-Hispanic individuals, and infants didnt see a meaningful decrease.
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Heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries remained the top causes of death, while COVID-19 dropped out of the top 10 for 2024.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released provisional data on the U.S. death rate in 2024. The latest report includes information on death certificates processed up to June 1, 2025.
While there is plenty to unpack from these findings, two of the biggest headlines:
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The overall U.S. death rate is the lowest its been since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19 is no longer a top 10 cause of death.
Provisional death estimates can give researchers and policymakers an early signal about shifts in mortality trends and provide actionable information sooner than final mortality data, the report states. These data can inform public health policies and interventions aimed at reducing mortality.
The study
Researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics used death certificate data covering over 99% of deaths in 2024.
They broke things down by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Causes of death were classified using the standard ICD-10 system, then ranked based on how often they showed up as the underlying cause.
The researchers used U.S. Census population estimates from mid-2024 to calculate death rates, including age-adjusted rates (to account for population age differences) and simple age-specific rates. Statistical tests ensured comparisons were reliable (p-value
The results
In 2024, there were approximately 3,072,039 deaths in the U.S. Overall, the age-adjusted death rate fell to 722.0 per 100,000 people, down from 750.5 in 2023 a 3.8% decrease, which marks the lowest rate since 2020.
Death rates declined across nearly all age groups except infants (under 1 year) showed no significant change and most demographic groups too. Men continued to have a higher death rate than women (844.8 vs. 613.5 per 100,000.
Among different racial and ethnic groups, the lowest age-adjusted death rate was among multiracial non-Hispanic individuals (332.3), while the highest was among Black non-Hispanic individuals (884.0).
The study also broke down the top 10 causes of death across the United States. Notably, COVID-19 has been removed from that list.
Heres a look at the full list:
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Heart disease (683,037 deaths)
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Cancer (619,812)
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Unintentional injuries (196,488)
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Stroke (166,783)
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Chronic lower respiratory diseases (145,612)
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Alzheimers disease (116,016)
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Diabetes (94,382)
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Kidney disease (55,070)
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Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (52,529)
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Suicide (48,863)
Posted: 2025-09-10 18:52:52