State mortality · CDC NCHS 2017
Rhode Island - Mortality Statistics
7,378 deaths in 2017 across 10 tracked causes, at a state average age-adjusted rate of 51.9 per 100,000.
Data updated 2017-12-31
- 7,378
- Deaths, 2017
- Heart disease
- Leading cause
- −6%
- vs national avg
- 51.9
- 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: 7,378 tracked deaths in 2017 put Rhode Island in the lightest third of state volumes. Small absolute counts make year-to-year swings noisier; pair the rate with the multi-year chart below.
Thin-volume third (7,378 deaths in 2017). Rate comparisons matter more than raw counts; see /methodology#corpus-placement.
Source: CDC WONDER, Underlying Cause of Death (CDC NCHS / NVSS), 2017. Age-adjusted rates allow fair comparison across states.
FIPS 44 · CDC WONDER 2017
Rhode Island mortality desk
2017: 7,378 deaths across 10 tracked causes at 51.9/100K mean age-adjusted · corpus #33/51 · 6% below US avg. Nearest rate peer: Nebraska (-0.1/100K).
Rhode Island in the thin-volume third
Across 10 tracked cause-of-death categories, CDC WONDER logged 7,378 deaths in Rhode Island during 2017. Heart disease led with 2,339 deaths (155.7 per 100,000, age-adjusted), putting the state at #29 of 51 states for this cause, where a higher rank corresponds to a higher rate nationally. The five biggest causes account for 6,167 deaths, or 83.6% of the state total. Raw death volume sits in the lightest third; read rates alongside counts before comparing to large states.
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 Rhode Island
Top 5 Causes of Death
The five leading causes account for 6,167 deaths (83.6% of all deaths) in Rhode Island.
The Complete 2017 Cause List for Rhode Island
| # | Cause of death | Deaths | % of total | Age-adj /100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heart disease | 2,339 | 31.7% | 155.7 |
| 2 | Cancer | 2,154 | 29.2% | 154.2 |
| 3 | Unintentional injuries | 718 | 9.7% | 60.0 |
| 4 | CLRD | 521 | 7.1% | 36.2 |
| 5 | Alzheimer's disease | 435 | 5.9% | 27.3 |
| 6 | Stroke | 425 | 5.8% | 29.4 |
| 7 | Diabetes | 275 | 3.7% | 18.8 |
| 8 | Influenza and pneumonia | 206 | 2.8% | 13.9 |
| 9 | Kidney disease | 176 | 2.4% | 11.6 |
| 10 | Suicide | 129 | 1.7% | 11.8 |
Rhode Island's causes, plotted by count and by rate
10 causes of death in Rhode Island plotted by total deaths against the age-adjusted rate per 100,000. Death count and age-adjusted rate move together across Rhode Island'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 Rhode Island by deaths and age-adjusted rate: Heart disease, 2339 deaths, 155.7 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Cancer, 2154 deaths, 154.2 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Unintentional injuries, 718 deaths, 60 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. CLRD, 521 deaths, 36.2 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Alzheimer's disease, 435 deaths, 27.3 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Stroke, 425 deaths, 29.4 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Diabetes, 275 deaths, 18.8 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Influenza and pneumonia, 206 deaths, 13.9 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Kidney disease, 176 deaths, 11.6 per 100,000 age-adjusted rate. Suicide, 129 deaths, 11.8 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 | 7,804 | 64.6 | - |
| 2000 | 7,934 | 64.8 | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 7,909 | 64.3 | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 7,990 | 63.9 | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 7,847 | 62.1 | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 7,709 | 60.3 | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 7,747 | 60.2 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 7,336 | 56.6 | -5.3% |
| 2007 | 7,321 | 56.1 | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 7,388 | 56.3 | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 7,063 | 53.5 | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 7,075 | 53.5 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 7,032 | 52.0 | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 6,868 | 50.5 | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 7,180 | 52.2 | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 7,132 | 51.4 | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 7,394 | 52.7 | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 7,039 | 50.1 | -4.8% |
| 2017 | 7,378 | 51.9 | +4.8% |
Nearby States & Comparisons
Compare mortality data with states bordering Rhode Island (2017).
| State | Deaths (Top Cause) | Leading Cause | Age-Adj Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island (this state) | 2,339 | Heart disease | 155.7 |
| Connecticut | 7,138 | Heart disease | 141.6 |
| Massachusetts | 12,934 | Cancer | 149.3 |
States with similar CDC WONDER rates
Two non-border peer sets for Rhode Island in 2017. Volume is thin, so peers are nearest on rates rather than counts. Border neighbors stay above.
States near this mean leading-cause rate
Nearest jurisdictions by mean age-adjusted rate across leading causes (51.9/100K 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.