Average Age-Adjusted Death Rates Vary Widely By State

In 2017, the average age-adjusted death rate in the five states with the highest death rates nationwide was 49% higher than the rate for the five states with the lowest death rates. Across the five highest states—Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia—the average age-adjusted death rate was 926.8 per 100,000 standard population (0.93%). Across the five lowest states—California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, and New York—the rate was 624.0 per 100,000 standard population (0.62%). The national age-adjusted death rate is 731.9 per 100,000.

These findings were . . .