U.S. Death Rate Fell to a Record Low in 2025, New CDC Data Shows
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The United States death rate fell to the lowest level ever recorded in 2025, according to provisional data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on July 2, 2026. The age-adjusted death rate was 689.2 deaths per 100,000 people, a 4.6 percent drop from 722.1 in 2024, and the lowest figure in the country's recorded history.
About 3,094,593 people died in the United States in 2025, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics report, "Mortality in the United States: Provisional Data, 2025." The total number of deaths edged up slightly from 3,072,666 in 2024, but because the population is larger and older, the rate, which adjusts for the age of the population, dropped to a record low.
Down across the board
The decline was broad. The death rate fell for every age group and for both men and women. It was lowest for children ages 5 to 14, at 14.0 per 100,000, and highest for people 85 and older, at 12,787.5. Men continued to die at a higher age-adjusted rate (811.1) than women (582.9).
By race and ethnicity, the age-adjusted rate was highest for Black Americans at 869.0 per 100,000 and lowest for multiracial Americans at 187.3. The rate fell for White (724.2, down from 753.3) and Hispanic (500.7, down from 531.8) populations. It did not change significantly for Asian Americans (366.6, the second lowest of any group), and it rose for American Indian and Alaska Native (803.8) and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (746.0) populations, though the report cautions that those provisional figures for smaller groups are affected by changes in how the population was estimated.
What Americans died of
The three leading causes of death did not change from 2024. Here is the full top 10, by number of deaths in 2025.
| Rank | Cause of death | Deaths in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heart disease | 694,708 |
| 2 | Cancer | 622,832 |
| 3 | Unintentional injuries | 184,265 |
| 4 | Stroke | 171,427 |
| 5 | Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 148,408 |
| 6 | Alzheimer disease | 116,794 |
| 7 | Diabetes | 95,229 |
| 8 | Influenza and pneumonia | 56,511 |
| 9 | Kidney disease | 55,378 |
| 10 | Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis | 51,941 |
Deaths from heart disease and cancer both rose in raw numbers even as the overall rate fell, a reflection of a growing and aging population.
Two shifts stand out lower on the list. Influenza and pneumonia jumped to the 8th leading cause of death, at 56,511, up from 11th the year before. Suicide slipped from the 10th leading cause in 2024 to the 11th in 2025, with 48,789 deaths, a small decline from 48,824.
The population behind the rate
A death rate is only as good as the population it is measured against. The CDC calculated its 2025 rates using the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 population estimates, the same estimates CensusEasy carries on its state, county, and metro pages. That connection matters here: the country keeps getting older, with the median age at a record high, yet the death rate still fell, which means Americans of a given age are dying at lower rates than before.
You can see the age profile of any place, from the retirement communities that push a median age past 70 in the oldest cities ranking to the national snapshot at a glance, and read where the aging trend is heading in our look at the U.S. population in 2050. Compare the population and age makeup of any two places with the compare tool.
The 2025 figures are provisional, based on 99.9 percent of death records processed as of May 10, 2026, and will be revised when final data are published.
Sources
Reporting and data: the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, announcement (July 2, 2026) and the full report, "Mortality in the United States: Provisional Data, 2025" (Vital Statistics Rapid Release, Report No. 44). The population denominators come from the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates.
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What was the U.S. death rate in 2025?
The age-adjusted death rate was 689.2 per 100,000, a 4.6% drop from 722.1 in 2024 and the lowest ever recorded, according to provisional CDC and National Center for Health Statistics data.
What were the leading causes of death in 2025?
Heart disease (694,708 deaths), cancer (622,832), and unintentional injuries (184,265), followed by stroke and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
Did the death rate fall for everyone?
It fell for every age group and both sexes, and for most racial and ethnic groups. It rose for American Indian and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, though the CDC cautions those provisional figures are affected by population-estimate changes.
