State mortality · CDC NCHS 2017
Pennsylvania - Mortality Statistics
99,156 deaths in 2017 across 10 tracked causes, at a state average age-adjusted rate of 56.9 per 100,000.
Data updated 2017-12-31
- 99,156
- Deaths, 2017
- Heart disease
- Leading cause
- +3%
- vs national avg
- 56.9
- 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.
Heavy death-count book
What this means: 99,156 tracked deaths in 2017 put Pennsylvania in the heaviest third of state volumes. Being above the national average by this margin puts the state in a large middle band, not an outlier -- the more informative read is usually the multi-year trend rather than a single year's gap.
Higher-rate third on mean age-adjusted leading causes (2017). Heart disease leads the 2017 file. 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 42 · CDC WONDER 2017
Mortality desk for Pennsylvania
2017: 99,156 deaths across 10 tracked causes at 56.9/100K mean age-adjusted · corpus #16/51 · 3% above US avg. Nearest rate peer: North Carolina (-0.1/100K).
Pennsylvania in the higher-rate third
CDC WONDER's 2017 file shows 99,156 deaths across 10 tracked categories for Pennsylvania, with Heart disease topping the list at 32,312 deaths and an age-adjusted rate of 176.0 per 100,000 -- ranking the state at #15 of 51 states for this cause, where a higher rank corresponds to a higher rate. The five leading causes combined account for 84.3% of the total (83,593 deaths). Among jurisdictions with published CDC WONDER leading-cause files, that mean rate lands in the higher third.
Being above the national average by this margin puts the state in a large middle band, not an outlier -- the more informative read is usually the multi-year trend rather than a single year's gap.
Mean-rate neighbourhood around Pennsylvania
Top 5 Causes of Death
The five leading causes account for 83,593 deaths (84.3% of all deaths) in Pennsylvania.
Every Cause of Death Tracked in Pennsylvania, 2017
| # | Cause of death | Deaths | % of total | Age-adj /100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heart disease | 32,312 | 32.6% | 176.0 |
| 2 | Cancer | 28,387 | 28.6% | 161.0 |
| 3 | Unintentional injuries | 9,527 | 9.6% | 70.2 |
| 4 | Stroke | 6,700 | 6.8% | 36.5 |
| 5 | CLRD | 6,667 | 6.7% | 37.1 |
| 6 | Alzheimer's disease | 4,213 | 4.2% | 21.7 |
| 7 | Diabetes | 3,704 | 3.7% | 21.1 |
| 8 | Kidney disease | 2,898 | 2.9% | 15.9 |
| 9 | Influenza and pneumonia | 2,718 | 2.7% | 14.6 |
| 10 | Suicide | 2,030 | 2.0% | 15.0 |
Deaths vs. rate: how Pennsylvania's causes line up
10 causes of death in Pennsylvania plotted by total deaths against the age-adjusted rate per 100,000. Death count and age-adjusted rate move together across Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania by deaths and age-adjusted rate: Heart disease, 32312 deaths, 176 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Cancer, 28387 deaths, 161 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Unintentional injuries, 9527 deaths, 70.2 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Stroke, 6700 deaths, 36.5 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. CLRD, 6667 deaths, 37.1 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Alzheimer's disease, 4213 deaths, 21.7 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Diabetes, 3704 deaths, 21.1 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Kidney disease, 2898 deaths, 15.9 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Influenza and pneumonia, 2718 deaths, 14.6 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Suicide, 2030 deaths, 15 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate.
Mortality, Year by Year
Show the full 19-year data table (deaths, rate, year-over-year change)
| Year | Total Deaths | Avg Age-Adj Rate | Deaths YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 104,388 | 71.4 | - |
| 2000 | 103,888 | 70.5 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 101,796 | 68.5 | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 101,798 | 67.9 | 0.0% |
| 2003 | 101,284 | 66.8 | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 99,099 | 65.0 | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 99,656 | 64.7 | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 94,960 | 60.9 | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 94,581 | 59.8 | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 96,326 | 60.3 | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 94,016 | 58.3 | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 92,980 | 57.0 | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 94,846 | 57.4 | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 93,274 | 55.7 | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 94,334 | 55.6 | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 94,090 | 54.9 | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 97,317 | 56.4 | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 97,164 | 56.3 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 99,156 | 56.9 | +2.1% |
Nearby States & Comparisons
Compare mortality data with states bordering Pennsylvania (2017).
| State | Deaths (Top Cause) | Leading Cause | Age-Adj Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania (this state) | 32,312 | Heart disease | 176.0 |
| Delaware | 2,085 | Cancer | 160.4 |
| Maryland | 11,653 | Heart disease | 164.5 |
| New Jersey | 18,840 | Heart disease | 162.3 |
| New York | 44,092 | Heart disease | 171.2 |
| Ohio | 28,008 | Heart disease | 186.2 |
| West Virginia | 4,849 | Heart disease | 192.0 |
States with similar CDC WONDER rates
Two non-border peer sets for Pennsylvania in 2017, drawn from the higher-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 (56.9/100K 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.