* Rankings are from highest to lowest.

** Rates for the U.S. include the District of Columbia and (for births) U.S. territories. Refer to notes in publication tables for more detail.

*** Death rates are age-adjusted. Refer to source notes below for more detail.

**** State estimate is unavailable.

† Excludes data for California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico.

†† Estimates are presented for fewer than 50 states and the District of Columbia due to considerations of sample size and precision.

n/a – Data not available.

Sources:

2017 birth data come from National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 67, No. 8pdf icon; leading cause of death data, including firearm, homicide, and drug poisoning mortality data, and infant mortality data come from CDC WONDER and rankings and rates are based on 2017 age-adjusted death rates. For more information on age-adjustment, refer to this reportpdf icon. States are categorized from highest rate to lowest rate. Although adjusted for variations in age-distribution and population size, differences by state do not take into account other state specific population characteristics that may affect the level of the birth characteristic or mortality. When the number of deaths or births events is small, differences by state may be unreliable due to instability in rates. When the number of deaths is small, rankings by state may be unreliable due to instability in death rates. Marriage and divorce data come from unpublished tables from the Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.