US Stroke Mortality Rates by County and Demographic Group

2015 to 2017 data provides 3-year average, age-standardized, and spatially smoothed stroke mortality rates for US adults aged 35 and over. The dataset includes breakdowns by sex, race/ethnicity, and geographic level from state to county. It originates from the CDC's National Vital Statistics System.

Use Cases

• Analyze geographic disparities in stroke mortality by mapping smoothed county rates using the Georeferenced Column, LocationDesc, and Data_Value.
• Investigate mortality rate differences by sex and race/ethnicity using Stratification1 and StratificationCategory1 columns.
• Model the relationship between mortality rates and location characteristics using features like LocationAbbr, GeographicLevel, and X_lon/Y_lat.
• Track trends over the 2015-2017 period for specific demographic groups using the Year column alongside stratification columns.

Strengths

• Data covers multiple years (2015-2017) providing a 3-year average for stability.
• Rates are age-standardized and spatially smoothed, enabling fairer geographic and demographic comparisons.
• Includes demographic stratifications (sex, race/ethnicity) and multiple geographic levels (state, county).

Limitations

• Specific sample size (row count) and underlying population denominators are unknown.
• Data is a 3-year aggregate, preventing single-year trend analysis within the 2015-2017 window.
• Potential for suppressed data in small counties is indicated by the Data_Value_Footnote column.

Provenance

Source

National Vital Statistics System via data.cdc.gov.

Collection Method

Calculated from vital statistics records; rates are age-standardized and spatially smoothed.

Time Range

2015 to 2017.

Freshness

Data reflects 2015-2017 period; metadata was last updated in February 2025.

Geography

United States, including states and counties.