Leading causes of death in the United States – a slideshow

“Trends in the ranking of the leading causes of death in the U.S. remained relatively stable until the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the study, “Leading Causes of Death in the U.S., 2019-2023.”

There were more than 3.09 million deaths in the United States last year.

COVID-19 became the third-leading cause of death in the nation in 2020 and 2021, but mortality of that disease is decreasing. Diabetes deaths have been increasing since 2019. Deaths from unintentional injuries have ballooned 26.3% from 2019 to 2023, largely due to the opioid epidemic. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis have moved into the top 10 causes, while suicide has decreased, and heart disease and cancer continue to claim the lives of Americans.

This slideshow lists the leading causes of death in the United States last year. JAMA published the research by Farida B. Ahmad, MPH, Jodi A. Cisewski, MPH, and Robert N. Anderson, PhD, all of the Division of Vital Statistics, Mortality Statistics Branch, National Center for Health Statistics. The provisional figures for 2023 were compiled from death certificate data from the National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System.