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Interactive tool · CDC NCHS · 2017

Cause-of-death lookup

Pick any of the ten leading causes and rank all 50 states and DC by its age-adjusted rate per 100,000, drawn live from the complete 9,690-record CDC WONDER grid (1999–2017).

Data updated 2026-05-19

10
Leading causes
51
States + DC
9,690
Records
2017
Latest year

According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, this lookup ranks all 51 US jurisdictions using the complete 9,690-record NCHS Leading Causes of Death grid, finalized data verified June 2026. Read our methodology for how these rates are computed.

Result · Suicide

Montana has the highest age-adjusted suicide death rate at 28.9/100K - 4.4× District of Columbia, the lowest at 6.6. Across all 51 jurisdictions, suicide accounted for 47,173 deaths in 2017.

28.9
Montana - highest /100K
6.6
District of Columbia - lowest /100K
16.5
average across states
4.4×
highest vs lowest gap

Source: CDC NCHS Leading Causes of Death, 2017.

Suicide rate distribution across 51 states, 2017

Where states cluster, the marker shows the national average

16.5 Lower than 53% lower than 53% of 51 states

6.0–9.0: 3 states (6%). Below this entry. 9.0–12.0: 7 states (14%). Below this entry. 12.0–15.0: 9 states (18%). Below this entry. 15.0–18.0: 12 states (24%). This entry sits in this band. 18.0–21.0: 12 states (24%). Above this entry. 21.0–24.0: 5 states (10%). Above this entry. 24.0–27.0: 1 states (2%). Above this entry. 27.0–30.0: 2 states (4%). Above this entry. US avg 6.0 30.0 every US state, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CDC NCHS Leading Causes of Death · 2017

Suicide death rates by state, 2017

# State Age-adj rate /100KDeaths
1 Montana 28.9 311
2 Alaska 27.0 200
3 Wyoming 26.9 157
4 New Mexico 23.3 491
5 Idaho 23.2 392
6 Utah 22.7 663
7 South Dakota 22.5 191
8 West Virginia 21.1 393
9 Arkansas 20.8 631
10 Nevada 20.3 627
11 Colorado 20.3 1,181
12 North Dakota 20.1 154
13 Oklahoma 19.1 756
14 Kansas 19.1 553
15 Oregon 19.0 825
16 New Hampshire 18.9 265
17 Maine 18.9 274
18 Missouri 18.5 1,151
19 Vermont 18.3 112
20 Arizona 18.2 1,327
21 Washington 16.9 1,297
22 Kentucky 16.9 770
23 Tennessee 16.8 1,166
24 Alabama 16.6 836
25 South Carolina 16.3 838
26 Indiana 16.3 1,092
27 Wisconsin 15.4 926
28 Louisiana 15.2 720
29 Hawaii 15.2 227
30 Pennsylvania 15.0 2,030
31 Mississippi 15.0 445
32 Iowa 15.0 479
33 Ohio 14.8 1,740
34 Nebraska 14.7 275
35 North Carolina 14.3 1,521
36 Michigan 14.1 1,457
37 Florida 14.0 3,227
38 Minnesota 13.9 783
39 Georgia 13.6 1,451
40 Virginia 13.4 1,179
41 Texas 13.4 3,778
42 Rhode Island 11.8 129
43 Delaware 11.6 112
44 Illinois 11.2 1,474
45 Connecticut 10.5 405
46 California 10.5 4,312
47 Maryland 9.9 630
48 Massachusetts 9.5 682
49 New Jersey 8.3 795
50 New York 8.1 1,696
51 District of Columbia 6.6 47

Source: CDC NCHS Leading Causes of Death, 2017. Methodology.

Explore more

Compare states State mortality finder All rankings All causes All states Mortality trends

How should I read this lookup?

What does the age-adjusted rate mean?

It is deaths per 100,000 people, standardized to the year 2000 US population so states with older or younger populations can be compared fairly. The CDC uses the same standard.

Why do some states rank so much higher than others?

Cause-specific death rates reflect differences in risk factors, healthcare access, and prevention. Southern and rural states tend to rank higher for heart disease and several chronic causes; the gap between the highest and lowest state is often 2x or more.

What year is this data from?

This tool uses 2017, the latest year of finalized CDC NCHS Leading Causes of Death data, which runs 1999 to 2017.