What are the leading causes of death in Pennsylvania?
Data updated July 19, 2024
Heart disease, cancer, and accidents were the leading causes of death in 2022. Of the 70,230 deaths that year, 48% of the total were due to one of these three causes. The fourth and fifth most common causes were COVID-19 and cerebrovascular diseases.
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In 2022
22%
of deaths were from heart disease
In 2022
19%
of deaths were from cancer
In 2022
7%
of deaths were from accidents
Heart disease and cancer have been the two leading causes of death since 1999. For every 100,000 people living in Pennsylvania, 251 people died from heart disease and 213 died from cancer in 2022. COVID-19 became one of the leading causes of death in Pennsylvania at the outset of the pandemic, but its rank dropped off in subsequent years. The top five leading causes of death account for 58% of all deaths in 2022.
The leading causes of death in Pennsylvania are consistently heart disease and cancer.
2022's top five causes of death per 100,000 people in Pennsylvania
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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 make up a larger share of the deaths of under-45s, accounting for 43% of total deaths in people ages 18 to 44. Accidental drug overdoses made up 32% of total deaths in this age group. In children, accidents account for 29% 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 Pennsylvania
