Potentially Excess Deaths from Five Leading Causes in U.S. States

U.S. state-level data compares potentially excess deaths in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas for the five leading causes of death. The dataset supports analysis across three different mortality rate benchmarks and multiple years. It is published by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and was last updated in April 2025.

Use Cases

• Compare potentially excess death rates between nonmetropolitan and metropolitan localities for heart disease, cancer, and other leading causes.
• Analyze trends in potentially excess deaths using the '2010 Fixed', '2005 Fixed', and 'Floating' benchmark options.
• Assess state-level performance against the benchmark rates for causes of death like unintentional injury and chronic lower respiratory disease.
• Investigate geographic disparities in preventable mortality based on the Office of Management and Budget’s 2013 county-based locality classification.

Strengths

• Data is derived from the authoritative National Vital Statistics System mortality data.
• Includes analysis for the five specific leading causes of death with defined ICD-10 code ranges.
• Provides multiple benchmark calculations ('2010 Fixed', '2005 Fixed', 'Floating') for comparative analysis.
• State-level granularity allows for geographic comparison between nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas.

Limitations

• Estimates based on fewer than 10 observed deaths are suppressed and not shown, potentially limiting analysis for small areas or rare causes.
• The specific number of rows, columns, and the exact time range of the data are not provided in the input.
• Analysis is restricted to five predefined causes of death, excluding other potential contributors to mortality.

Provenance

Source

CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System and CDC WONDER.

Collection Method

Calculated by subtracting expected deaths (based on benchmark state rates) from observed deaths for specific causes and localities.

Time Range

Includes additional years beyond the referenced 1999-2014 study, but exact range is unspecified.

Freshness

Data was last updated on April 23, 2025.

Geography

United States, with state-level data segmented into nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas.