U.S. death rate falls to record low as overdose deaths decline

The U.S. age-adjusted death rate fell to 689.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2025, a record low as overdose deaths dropped for a third straight year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated 3,094,593 deaths nationwide, based on 99.9% of 2025 death records processed by May 10, 2026.

The decline was broad. The CDC said death rates fell for every age group and for both men and women, even as the top three causes remained heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries. Heart disease accounted for an estimated 694,708 deaths, cancer for 622,832 and unintentional injuries for 184,265.

Drug deaths were a major part of the improvement. The CDC estimated 69,973 overdose deaths in 2025, down almost 14% from 81,313 in 2024. Opioid-involved overdose deaths fell from 55,296 to 44,564. The agency said the slowdown has held month to month since late 2023, reflecting sustained public-health interventions and expanded overdose surveillance and prevention efforts.

That improvement stands out against the broader mortality picture, but it is not evenly shared. The Black non-Hispanic population had the highest age-adjusted death rate in 2025, at 869.0 per 100,000, while the multiracial non-Hispanic population had the lowest, at 187.3. The CDC also said overdose remains the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 44, underscoring how much of the national progress still depends on keeping drug fatalities down.

Other causes shifted in the opposite direction. Influenza and pneumonia rose to the eighth-leading cause of death, with 56,511 deaths, about 17% more than in 2024. Suicide slipped from 10th to 11th, but the rise in flu and pneumonia deaths showed that the record low death rate was not the result of across-the-board improvement in every category.

The 2025 figures build on a 2024 mortality report that already showed a 3.8% drop in the U.S. death rate to 722.1 per 100,000 and a record-high life expectancy of 79.0 years. That same report found overdose deaths fell 26.2% from 2023 to 2024, the largest annual decline ever recorded. The latest numbers suggest the national trend is still moving in the right direction, but the mix of falling overdoses, persistent disparities and a worsening flu season leaves the gains vulnerable.