US death rate at record low: CDC data

(The Hill) – The U.S. death rate fell to a record low in 2025, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Thursday.

According to the Vital Statistics Rapid Release report, the death rate in 2025 was 689.2 per 100,000 people, representing a 4.6 percent drop from 2024 as well as the lowest recorded death rate in the country’s history.

The top two underlying causes of death in the U.S. were heart disease and cancer, followed distantly by unintentional injuries, strokes, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.

Compared to 2024, the first seven leading causes of death remained the same, but the last three were different. In 2024, the leading causes of death also included Nephritis, chronic liver disease and suicide. In the following year, influenza and pneumonia as well as kidney disease outranked these causes of death, though chronic liver disease remained among the top causes.

Death rates were highest among males, older adults and Black people.

“The death rate decreased from 2024 to 2025 for all demographic groups except American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Asian people. Although the death rate decreased for people age 85 and older during this period, rates for this group remained higher than those for all other age groups,” the report stated.

“Death rates also decreased for several race and ethnicity groups; however, rates for Black people remain higher than those for all other groups.”

The data used for this report was derived from the National Vital Statistics System and accounted for 99 percent of deaths that occurred in 2025.

The report identified four limitations to the findings: The data is provisional, the timeliness of death certificate submissions varies by jurisdiction, race categories may have been misclassified and the methodology of population estimates varied between 2024 and 2025.

“Despite these limitations, this report provides an overview of provisional mortality in the United States during 2025,” reads the report. “Provisional death estimates can give researchers and policymakers an early signal about shifts in mortality trends and provide actionable information sooner than final mortality data. These data can inform public health policies and interventions aimed at reducing mortality.”

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