What are the leading causes of death in Hawaii?
Data updated July 19, 2024
Heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular diseases were the leading causes of death in Hawaii in 2022. Of the 6,381 deaths that year, 48% were due to one of these three causes. The fourth and fifth most common causes were accidents and Alzheimer disease.
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In 2022
22%
of deaths were from heart disease
In 2022
20%
of deaths were from cancer
In 2022
7%
of deaths were from cerebrovascular diseases
Heart disease and cancer have been the two leading causes of death since 1999. For every 100,000 people living in Hawaii, 199 people died from heart disease and 182 died from cancer in 2022. COVID-19 became one of the leading causes of death in Hawaii at the outset of the pandemic in 2020, but its rank subsequently dropped. The top five leading causes of death accounted for 58% of all deaths in 2022.
The leading causes of death in Hawaii are consistently heart disease and cancer.
2022's top five causes of death per 100,000 people in Hawaii
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The leading causes of death vary among age groups; older people are more likely to die in general, and more likely to succumb to illness than accidents. Accidents include accidental poisonings, or accidental drug overdoses, and motor vehicle accidents.
For people over 45, the leading causes of death are heart disease and cancer. Accidents made up a larger share of the deaths of under-45s, accounting for 26% of total deaths in people ages 18 to 44. Accidental drug overdoses made up 15% of total deaths in this age group. In children, accidents account for 30% of deaths.
The impact of the top causes of death varies across age groups.
Percentage of deaths by cause and age group in 2022 in Hawaii
