What do Americans die of most often?
In the 12 months through June 2025, heart disease (204 deaths per 100,000 people) and cancer (183) were the leading causes of death in the US, together about 42% of all deaths. Unintentional injuries, which include accidental overdoses, falls and traffic crashes, came third at 56. The numbers are provisional and may change a little as records are completed.
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Key facts
Measure: Deaths per 100,000 people in a year. Written from the data below.
- Heart disease has the highest figure, 203.6, followed by Cancer (182.9) and Unintentional injuries (55.7).
- Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis has the lowest figure, 15.4, followed by Kidney disease (16.5) and Influenza and pneumonia (16.7).
- The highest is 13 times the lowest.
Source and date
- Data as of
- Published
Citation
Chartly. “What do Americans die of most often?” Chart. Data: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Quarterly provisional estimates of mortality, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/mortality-dashboard.htm (data as of June 30, 2025). https://chart.ly/charts/leading-causes-of-death (accessed October 15, 2026).
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The data
Download data (CSV)The file has the numbers in this table, with the source, license and date. Please credit the source and Chartly.
| Cause of death | Deaths per 100,000 people in a year |
|---|---|
| Heart disease | 203.6 |
| Cancer | 182.9 |
| Unintentional injuries | 55.7 |
| Stroke | 49.8 |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 43.8 |
| Alzheimer disease | 34.5 |
| Diabetes | 28.1 |
| Influenza and pneumonia | 16.7 |
| Kidney disease | 16.5 |
| Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis | 15.4 |
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