U.S. death rate hits century low, suggesting life expectancy may rise

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the age-adjusted death rate fell to about 689 deaths per 100,000 people in 2025, the lowest level recorded in over a century of tracking. The rate is 22% lower than in 2021 and roughly 4% below the pre-pandemic level of 2019. While the provisional mortality data do not yet include a calculated life-expectancy figure, demographers say the decline strongly points to a potential new record for overall life expectancy.

Heart disease remained the leading cause of death with nearly 695,000 fatalities, followed by cancer at about 623,000. Unintentional injuries, which include drug overdoses, ranked third; preliminary figures show roughly 70,000 overdose deaths in 2025, a sharp drop that helped lower the overall death rate.

"Life expectancy is going to be affected a lot by what’s happening at younger age groups more than at older age groups," said Mark Mather, associate vice president of the Population Reference Bureau. "As we see a dramatic decline in drug overdose among younger adults, that will have a more measurable impact on life expectancy at older ages and the overall life expectancy of the population."

Researchers note that basic health habits—regular walking, adequate sleep, plant-based diets and stress management—are linked to longer lifespans. Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center of Society and Health, emphasized that broader policy choices shape health outcomes.

"A lot of the reasons why Americans die at higher rates from these diseases than people in other countries is the conditions they’re living in, and those are shaped by public policy," Woolf said.

The CDC report also highlighted persistent disparities: death rates for Black and American Indian populations are more than twice those for Asian groups. Men experienced a higher age-adjusted death rate (811 per 100,000) than women (583 per 100,000), a gap attributed partly to genetics and partly to risk-taking behaviors.

Although death rates fell across all age groups in 2025, the smallest improvement was among people aged 45 to 54. Woolf warned that systemic health issues remain, noting that deaths from firearms, suicide, alcohol-related disease, diabetes and heart disease continue to challenge progress.

"Mortality rates are a good starting point for getting a snapshot for what our health situation looks like," Woolf said. "I’ll hasten to emphasize that there’s more to health than mortality. It’s not just how long we live, it’s the quality of our life."