State mortality · CDC NCHS 2017
Alaska - Mortality Statistics
3,118 deaths in 2017 across 10 tracked causes, at a state average age-adjusted rate of 49.9 per 100,000.
Data updated 2017-12-31
- 3,118
- Deaths, 2017
- Cancer
- Leading cause
- −10%
- vs national avg
- 49.9
- Avg age-adj /100K
Explore this data your own way
Side-by-side state comparisons and cause lookups use the same CDC NCHS figures shown on this page. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Thin death-count book
What this means: 3,118 tracked deaths in 2017 put Alaska in the lightest third of state volumes. A rate below the national average is a positive aggregate sign, though it summarizes every tracked cause into one number, so it's worth scanning the individual causes for outliers.
Lower-rate third on mean age-adjusted leading causes (2017). Cancer still leads locally. Rates are CDC WONDER age-adjusted; see /methodology#corpus-placement.
Source: CDC WONDER, Underlying Cause of Death (CDC NCHS / NVSS), 2017. Age-adjusted rates allow fair comparison across states.
FIPS 02 · CDC WONDER 2017
Alaska mortality desk
2017: 3,118 deaths across 10 tracked causes at 49.9/100K mean age-adjusted · corpus #42/51 · 10% below US avg. Nearest rate peer: Utah (+0.0/100K).
Alaska in the lower-rate third
CDC WONDER's 2017 file shows 3,118 deaths across 10 tracked categories for Alaska, with Cancer topping the list at 926 deaths and an age-adjusted rate of 139.2 per 100,000 -- ranking the state at #44 of 51 states for this cause, where a higher rank corresponds to a higher rate. The five leading causes combined account for 82.7% of the total (2,580 deaths). That mean rate lands in the lower third of the 2017 corpus.
A rate below the national average is a positive aggregate sign, though it summarizes every tracked cause into one number, so it's worth scanning the individual causes for outliers.
Mean-rate neighbourhood around Alaska
Top 5 Causes of Death
The five leading causes account for 2,580 deaths (82.7% of all deaths) in Alaska.
Every Cause of Death Tracked in Alaska, 2017
| # | Cause of death | Deaths | % of total | Age-adj /100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cancer | 926 | 29.7% | 139.2 |
| 2 | Heart disease | 814 | 26.1% | 135.0 |
| 3 | Unintentional injuries | 436 | 14.0% | 63.7 |
| 4 | CLRD | 204 | 6.5% | 35.9 |
| 5 | Suicide | 200 | 6.4% | 27.0 |
| 6 | Stroke | 190 | 6.1% | 35.1 |
| 7 | Diabetes | 130 | 4.2% | 19.3 |
| 8 | Alzheimer's disease | 98 | 3.1% | 22.1 |
| 9 | Influenza and pneumonia | 66 | 2.1% | 11.7 |
| 10 | Kidney disease | 54 | 1.7% | 9.9 |
Alaska's causes, plotted by count and by rate
10 causes of death in Alaska plotted by total deaths against the age-adjusted rate per 100,000. Death count and age-adjusted rate move together across Alaska's causes (r=1.00) -- the causes with the most deaths here also tend to carry the highest per-capita rate.
Causes of death in Alaska by deaths and age-adjusted rate: Cancer, 926 deaths, 139.2 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Heart disease, 814 deaths, 135 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Unintentional injuries, 436 deaths, 63.7 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. CLRD, 204 deaths, 35.9 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Suicide, 200 deaths, 27 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Stroke, 190 deaths, 35.1 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Diabetes, 130 deaths, 19.3 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Alzheimer's disease, 98 deaths, 22.1 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Influenza and pneumonia, 66 deaths, 11.7 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Kidney disease, 54 deaths, 9.9 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate.
How Mortality Has Changed Over Time
Show the full 19-year data table (deaths, rate, year-over-year change)
| Year | Total Deaths | Avg Age-Adj Rate | Deaths YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2,074 | 65.8 | - |
| 2000 | 2,302 | 69.6 | +11.0% |
| 2001 | 2,228 | 62.9 | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 2,279 | 61.7 | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 2,384 | 63.9 | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 2,315 | 57.8 | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 2,375 | 57.3 | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 2,478 | 58.5 | +4.3% |
| 2007 | 2,545 | 58.0 | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 2,629 | 57.5 | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 2,699 | 57.1 | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 2,755 | 56.7 | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 2,854 | 55.0 | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 2,851 | 52.9 | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 2,931 | 52.5 | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 2,943 | 52.0 | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 3,100 | 53.2 | +5.3% |
| 2016 | 3,241 | 53.7 | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 3,118 | 49.9 | -3.8% |
Nearby States & Comparisons
Alaska has no bordering states tracked in this dataset. Compare its leading causes against any other state below.
States with similar CDC WONDER rates
Two non-border peer sets for Alaska in 2017, drawn from the lower-rate third's nearest neighbors on published age-adjusted rates. Border neighbors stay in the table above.
Closest match: mean leading-cause rate
Nearest jurisdictions by mean age-adjusted rate across leading causes (49.9/100K here), excluding bordering states.
Closest match: suicide rate (X60-X84)
Nearest jurisdictions by suicide age-adjusted rate, excluding the mean-rate peer set and bordering states.
Data source & methodology
Rates are per 100,000 population. Age-adjusted rates use the year 2000 US standard population. Data covers 1999-2017. Source: CDC WONDER, Underlying Cause of Death (CDC NCHS / NVSS).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, PlainHealthData's mortality figures are rendered directly from 9,690 official state-year-cause records (NCHS Leading Causes of Death for calendar years 1999-2017). June 2026 is when this portal last verified that frozen CDC file is intact; it is not a newer claims year. No figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our data changelog, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of 2017.