State mortality · CDC NCHS 2017
New Jersey - Mortality Statistics
54,747 deaths in 2017 across 10 tracked causes, at a state average age-adjusted rate of 48.7 per 100,000.
Data updated 2017-12-31
- 54,747
- Deaths, 2017
- Heart disease
- Leading cause
- −12%
- vs national avg
- 48.7
- Avg age-adj /100K
Look up or compare states and causes
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.
Lower mean age-adjusted rate
What this means: New Jersey sits in the bottom third by mean age-adjusted rate (48.7/100K; corpus #44 of 51). A below-national rate like this one is a favorable aggregate read, but aggregate numbers can hide a cause or two running above benchmark even while the overall picture looks good.
Lower-rate third on mean age-adjusted leading causes (2017). Heart disease 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 34 · CDC WONDER 2017
New Jersey mortality desk
2017: 54,747 deaths across 10 tracked causes at 48.7/100K mean age-adjusted · corpus #44/51 · 12% below US avg. Nearest rate peer: Colorado (-0.8/100K).
New Jersey in the lower-rate third
CDC WONDER's 2017 file shows 54,747 deaths across 10 tracked categories for New Jersey, with Heart disease topping the list at 18,840 deaths and an age-adjusted rate of 162.3 per 100,000 -- ranking the state at #24 of 51 states for this cause, where a higher rank corresponds to a higher rate. The five leading causes combined account for 84.5% of the total (46,287 deaths). That mean rate lands in the lower third of the 2017 corpus.
A below-national rate like this one is a favorable aggregate read, but aggregate numbers can hide a cause or two running above benchmark even while the overall picture looks good.
Mean-rate neighbourhood around New Jersey
5 Causes That Lead Mortality Here
The five leading causes account for 46,287 deaths (84.5% of all deaths) in New Jersey.
All Causes of Death in New Jersey (2017)
| # | Cause of death | Deaths | % of total | Age-adj /100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heart disease | 18,840 | 34.4% | 162.3 |
| 2 | Cancer | 16,264 | 29.7% | 144.6 |
| 3 | Unintentional injuries | 4,482 | 8.2% | 47.3 |
| 4 | Stroke | 3,474 | 6.3% | 30.2 |
| 5 | CLRD | 3,227 | 5.9% | 28.6 |
| 6 | Alzheimer's disease | 2,829 | 5.2% | 23.6 |
| 7 | Diabetes | 1,908 | 3.5% | 16.9 |
| 8 | Kidney disease | 1,591 | 2.9% | 13.9 |
| 9 | Influenza and pneumonia | 1,337 | 2.4% | 11.7 |
| 10 | Suicide | 795 | 1.5% | 8.3 |
New Jersey's causes, plotted by count and by rate
10 causes of death in New Jersey plotted by total deaths against the age-adjusted rate per 100,000. Death count and age-adjusted rate move together across New Jersey'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 New Jersey by deaths and age-adjusted rate: Heart disease, 18840 deaths, 162.3 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Cancer, 16264 deaths, 144.6 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Unintentional injuries, 4482 deaths, 47.3 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Stroke, 3474 deaths, 30.2 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. CLRD, 3227 deaths, 28.6 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Alzheimer's disease, 2829 deaths, 23.6 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Diabetes, 1908 deaths, 16.9 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Kidney disease, 1591 deaths, 13.9 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Influenza and pneumonia, 1337 deaths, 11.7 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Suicide, 795 deaths, 8.3 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate.
The Trend Line Behind This Data
Show the full 19-year data table (deaths, rate, year-over-year change)
| Year | Total Deaths | Avg Age-Adj Rate | Deaths YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 58,645 | 67.6 | - |
| 2000 | 59,253 | 67.5 | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 58,100 | 65.2 | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 58,079 | 64.4 | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 57,474 | 62.9 | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 55,017 | 59.7 | -4.3% |
| 2005 | 55,274 | 59.2 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 53,296 | 56.3 | -3.6% |
| 2007 | 52,616 | 54.8 | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 52,754 | 54.0 | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 50,298 | 50.6 | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 51,942 | 51.6 | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 51,916 | 50.8 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 51,640 | 49.6 | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 51,872 | 49.1 | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 51,891 | 48.3 | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 52,716 | 48.5 | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 53,092 | 48.4 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 54,747 | 48.7 | +3.1% |
Nearby States & Comparisons
Compare mortality data with states bordering New Jersey (2017).
| State | Deaths (Top Cause) | Leading Cause | Age-Adj Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey (this state) | 18,840 | Heart disease | 162.3 |
| Delaware | 2,085 | Cancer | 160.4 |
| New York | 44,092 | Heart disease | 171.2 |
| Pennsylvania | 32,312 | Heart disease | 176.0 |
States with similar CDC WONDER rates
Two non-border peer sets for New Jersey in 2017, drawn from the lower-rate third's nearest neighbors on published age-adjusted rates. Border neighbors stay in the table above.
States near this mean leading-cause rate
Nearest jurisdictions by mean age-adjusted rate across leading causes (48.7/100K here), excluding bordering states.
Peer states by 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.