Mortality Statistics

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

NCHS is responding to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with new resources to help monitor and report deaths. Please visit our COVID-19 Death Data and Reporting Guidance page to stay up to date on the latest information.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Death Data and Reporting Guidance

Image of CDC Wonder announcement of new provisional mortality data

Image of the sun casting shadows on a lush field through the top of a tree's leaves

The National Vital Statistics System captures information about death from all causes from every county in the United States – about 2.8 million deaths each year – to produce timely and accurate mortality data.

National-level mortality data help track the characteristics of those who have died, monitor and make decisions about public health challenges, determine life expectancy, and compare death trends with other countries. Learn more

Mortality in the United States, 2022, NCHS Data Brief No. 492
Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2024
Mortality in the United States, 2022
Deaths	3,279,857
Age-adjusted death rate	798.8
Life expectancy	77.5

Age-adjusted death rate for the 10 leading causes of death in 2022: United States, 2021 and 2022

^{1 Statistically significant decrease from 2021 to 2022 (p < 0.05).}
^{2 Statistically significant increase from 2021 to 2022 (p < 0.05).}
^{NOTES: A total of 3,279,857 resident deaths were registered in the United States in 2022. The 10 leading causes of death accounted for 72.3% of all U.S. deaths in 2022. Causes of death are ranked according to number of deaths. Rankings for 2021 data are not shown. Data table for Figure 4 includes the number of deaths for leading causes and the percentage of total deaths. Access data table for Figure 4.}
^{SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, mortality data file.}

What's New

U.S. State Life Tables, 2022 (12/4/2025)
Data Visualization: U.S. Life Expectancy by State and Sex for 2022 (12/4/2025)
Fetal Mortality in the United States: Final 2022–2023 and 2023–Provisional 2024 (12/3/2025)
Changes in Suicide Rates in the United States From 2022 to 2023 (9/24/2025)
Timeliness of Death Certificate Data by Jurisdiction and Selected Causes of Death: United States and Puerto Rico, 2023 (9/23/2025)
Deaths: Leading Causes for 2023 (9/16/2025)
Mortality in the United States: Provisional Data, 2024 (9/10/2025)
Trends in Births and Deaths: United States, 2010–2023 (8/27/2025)
Deaths: Final Data for 2022 (6/10/2025)
Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2003–2023 (12/19/2024)
Mortality in the United States, 2023 (12/19/2024)
Deaths: Leading Causes for 2022 [PDF – 2,144 KB] (12/9/2024)
Declines in Triplet and Higher-order Multiple Births in the United States, 1998–2023 (10/31/2024)

Modernization Projects

See our projects to modernize the National Vital Statistics System

Trainings, Tools, and Guidance

Detailed instruction to help with completion of vital records

Medical Examiners and Coroners

Resources, guidelines, and links to professional associations

Methods and Documentation

Resources for processing, coding, and analysis of mortality data

Results and Publications

Where to find mortality-related products and reports

U.S. Standard Certificates of Death

Information for jurisdictions about death certificates

Data Quick Links

CDC WONDER interactive database

WISQARS interactive database

Rapid Release Estimates

Public-Use Data Files

Restricted-Use Data

Mortality Tables

Additional Resources

National Death Index

Where to Write for Death Certificates

Related Sites for Mortality Data

NCHS product and report release schedule

ICE on Automating Mortality Statistics

Historical Data (1900-1998)