Death rate by age and sex in the U.S. 2020

In the United States in 2020, the death rate was highest among those aged 85 and over, with about 16,354.9 men and 14,560 women per 100,000 of the population passing away. For all ages, the death rate was at 1,090.8 per 100,000 of the population for males, and 965.1 per 100,000 of the population for women.

The death rate

Death rates generally are counted as the number of deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 of the population and include both deaths of natural and unnatural causes. The death rate in the United States had pretty much held steady since 1990 until it started to increase over the last decade, with the highest death rate recorded in 2020. While the birth rate in the United States has been decreasing, it is currently higher than the death rate.

Causes of death

There are a myriad number of causes of death in the United States, but the most recent data shows the top three leading causes of death to be heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19. Heart disease was also the leading cause of death worldwide.

Death rate in the United States in 2020, by age and gender (per 100,000 of population)

Age Group	Male	Female
All ages*	1,090.8	965.1
Under 1 year**	569.1	477.5
1-4	25.5	19.7
5-14	16.1	11.3
15-24	121.9	44.8
25-34	221.1	95.7
35-44	325.5	170.7
45-54	601.5	348.8
55-64	1,323.3	773.1
65-74	2,581.7	1,626.8
75-84	5,937.2	4,261.1
85 and over	16,354.9	14,560

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Release date

September 2023

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

2020

Supplementary notes

Death rate covers the number of deaths per 100,000 of population.
* Figures for age not stated are included in "All ages" but are not distributed among age group. ** Death rates for "Under 1 year" (based on population estimates) differ from infant mortality rates (based on live births).

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