PlainHealth

Health Rankings by State

States ranked by mortality rates across leading causes of death. All data from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics.

Download the compiled NCHS mortality extract: cdc-nchs-leading-causes.csv (same extract as /statistics).

Highest Overall Mortality Rate

States with the highest average age-adjusted death rate across all causes.

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  1. 1 Mississippi 72.3 per 100K
  2. 2 Oklahoma 69.9 per 100K
  3. 3 West Virginia 69.9 per 100K
  4. 4 Arkansas 69.2 per 100K
  5. 5 Kentucky 67.5 per 100K

Lowest Overall Mortality Rate

States with the lowest average age-adjusted death rate across all causes.

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  1. 1 Hawaii 44.2 per 100K
  2. 2 Connecticut 46.2 per 100K
  3. 3 Minnesota 46.5 per 100K
  4. 4 New York 46.6 per 100K
  5. 5 Massachusetts 46.8 per 100K

Highest Heart Disease Rate

States with the highest age-adjusted heart disease death rate.

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  1. 1 Oklahoma 237.2 per 100K
  2. 2 Mississippi 231.6 per 100K
  3. 3 Arkansas 223.8 per 100K
  4. 4 Alabama 223.2 per 100K
  5. 5 Louisiana 214.4 per 100K

Lowest Heart Disease Rate

States with the lowest age-adjusted heart disease death rate.

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  1. 1 Minnesota 119.1 per 100K
  2. 2 Colorado 122.7 per 100K
  3. 3 Hawaii 129.8 per 100K
  4. 4 Oregon 134.0 per 100K
  5. 5 Massachusetts 134.7 per 100K

Highest Cancer Death Rate

States with the highest age-adjusted cancer mortality rate.

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  1. 1 Kentucky 185.7 per 100K
  2. 2 Mississippi 183.1 per 100K
  3. 3 West Virginia 179.4 per 100K
  4. 4 Oklahoma 177.3 per 100K
  5. 5 Louisiana 174.9 per 100K

Lowest Cancer Death Rate

States with the lowest age-adjusted cancer mortality rate.

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  1. 1 Utah 120.3 per 100K
  2. 2 Hawaii 128.6 per 100K
  3. 3 Colorado 131.0 per 100K
  4. 4 Arizona 135.8 per 100K
  5. 5 Wyoming 136.1 per 100K

Highest Suicide Rate

States with the highest age-adjusted suicide death rate.

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  1. 1 Montana 28.9 per 100K
  2. 2 Alaska 27.0 per 100K
  3. 3 Wyoming 26.9 per 100K
  4. 4 New Mexico 23.3 per 100K
  5. 5 Idaho 23.2 per 100K

Highest Diabetes Death Rate

States with the highest age-adjusted diabetes mortality rate.

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  1. 1 West Virginia 34.0 per 100K
  2. 2 Mississippi 33.3 per 100K
  3. 3 Arkansas 32.4 per 100K
  4. 4 Oklahoma 30.6 per 100K
  5. 5 Kentucky 27.7 per 100K

How These Rankings Are Calculated

All rankings are computed directly from CDC NCHS mortality files (NVSS) retrieved via CDC WONDER. Rates are age-adjusted to the year 2000 US standard population so states with older residents aren't penalized for demographic aging. The overall mortality rankings average age-adjusted rates across all tracked causes of death; cause-specific rankings (heart disease, cancer, suicide, diabetes) use the age-adjusted rate for the corresponding ICD-10 chapter. Ties and suppressed values (death counts <10) are handled following CDC guidance.

Read the full methodology →