Every year in the U.S., thousands of Americans die due to preventable causes. In 2024, they claimed 197,449 lives, meaning preventable death ranked third in the national list of leading fatality causes, behind only heart disease and cancer.
In this study, we’ll consider the preventable fatality issue in the U.S., including the worst states for preventable death. We’ll also look at the main causes driving high fatality rates, and how age and the workplace factor into the preventable death equation.
Let’s start by taking a broad look at the main causes of preventable death in the USA.
Preventable Death In The USA
In the U.S., the preventable death toll is largely due to three main categorical causes: poisoning, falls, and motor vehicle crashes. Combined, they made up 84% of all preventable deaths in 2024, with no other broad factor representing above 4% of the total.
Poisoning led the list as the cause of 75,761 deaths (about 38% of the total) and has held the top spot since 2013, driven by an ongoing drug overdose crisis. Falls became the second biggest cause of preventable death in 2022, and remains just ahead of motor vehicle crashes, which take third spot on the list.
It’s worth noting that rankings shift sharply by age: motor vehicle crashes lead for those aged between 5 and 24, poisoning dominates the age categories above 24 until 65, after which falls are the leading issue.
But where do preventable deaths rank as a broad category among all other types of death in the U.S.?
The Leading Causes of Death in The U.S.
The answer is third place, behind heart disease and cancer, far and away the two biggest causes of death in America.
In 2024, the United States recorded 2,179,957 deaths across the ten main causes of mortality. Heart disease remained the leading national killer, claiming 683,491 lives and accounting for a 31.4% share of the top ten. That equates to around 1,873 deaths per day or 78 deaths per hour.
Cancer ranked second, causing 619,876 deaths (28.4%), around 1,698 fatalities a day. Together, heart disease and cancer accounted for 1,303,367 deaths: 59.8% of all top-ten fatalities. Their dominance reflects varying access to preventive care, screening issues, and disease management, especially in low-income communities.
As mentioned, preventable injury ranked third, causing 197,449 deaths (9.1%), an average of 541 deaths every day or more than 22 an hour. Unlike chronic diseases, preventable deaths could potentially be avoided with evidence-based interventions, policy reforms, improvements to infrastructure, and targeted public awareness efforts.
The scale of preventable injury is striking. Preventable death numbers exceeded deaths due to stroke by 30,597, caused more than twice as many deaths as diabetes, and claimed 1.7 times more lives than Alzheimer‘s.
Yet despite being relatively easy to measure and mitigate, preventable injury often gets less public attention than many chronic illnesses. Preventable deaths are not a matter of insidious disease progression: instead, they’re things like falls, overdoses, and motor vehicle crashes.
The remaining leading causes on the ranking list (stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, diabetes, nephritis, liver disease, Alzheimer‘s disease, and suicide) accounted for 679,141 deaths (31.2% of the top ten total). While most are driven by chronic health conditions, suicide is similar to preventable injury in that well-timed intervention and broader access to care can significantly limit its impact.
Combined, preventable injury and suicide caused 246,273 deaths in 2024, numbers that represent 11.3% of all top–ten fatalities. Overall, these numbers emphasize the fact that a large share of America’s fatalities are due to gaps in the system, inadequate policies, and insufficient guardrails.
To better understand the details, let’s focus closely on the seven main types of preventable death in the U.S.
Preventable Death By The Numbers
Of the 197,449 preventable injury deaths recorded in the United States in 2024, the seven leading causes accounted for 184,934 of those fatalities, 93.7% of the total. The consistent annual concentration of deaths within the same categories highlights a persistent failure to translate well-established knowledge into improvements across policy, infrastructure, and public health.
Poisoning: The Leading Cause of Preventable Death
For much of the 20th century, motor vehicle crashes led the U.S. preventable death numbers. That’s no longer the case: poisoning (including drug overdoses) has for a number of years been the leading cause of preventable injury death in the U.S., claiming 75,761 lives in 2024 and accounting for 38.4% of all preventable deaths.
That’s around 208 deaths a day, which means poisoning is nearly 1.8 times deadlier than motor vehicle crashes and 1.6 times deadlier than falls.
Falls ranked second with 48,308 deaths (24.5%), while motor vehicle crashes ranked third with 42,789 deaths (21.7%), averaging more than 117 deaths a day.
Combined, poisoning, falls, and motor vehicle crashes caused 166,858 deaths, representing 84.5% of all preventable injury fatalities. This dominance means it’s essential that all three remain central to injury-prevention policy and public health focus.
The majority of overdose deaths involved opioids (which accounted for 51,088 fatalities), while synthetic opioids such as fentanyl were responsible for 45,917 deaths. Poisoning remained the leading cause of preventable death across every age group (from people aged between 25 and 34 to people aged between 55 and 64), confirming that the crisis extends beyond any single group.
Combined, the remaining leading causes accounted for 18,076 deaths (9.2%). They include suffocation (7,642 deaths, 3.9%), which disproportionately affects infants and older adults; drowning (4,201 lives 2.1%), which emphasizes disparities in swimming education and safe water access; fire and burn injuries (3,155 deaths, 1.6%), and natural and environmental causes (including extreme heat, cold, and weather events, which caused 3,078 deaths, 1.6%).
The comparable death tolls regarding fire-related and environmental causes highlights a relatively recent preventable mortality category. As climate-led extreme weather events become increasingly prevalent, environmental deaths are likely to incrementally rise. This will add further challenges to public health systems, emergency management teams, and policymakers.
And those challenges are significantly more severe in the worst-hit states.
The States Featuring The Highest Rates Of Preventable Deaths
When we examine preventable deaths at the state level, a notable geographic divide emerges. In 2024, the national age-adjusted preventable injury death rate was 58.55 deaths per 100,000 people, yet rates varied significantly across the country, with the most dangerous states recording figures double those of the safest states.
Such disparities reflect differences in access to healthcare, infrastructure, economic conditions, and public health investment. Overall, 23 of 51 states and jurisdictions recorded rates that were above the national average.
Alaska ranked as the most dangerous preventable injury death state: it recorded an age-adjusted rate of 91.78 per 100,000, 56.8% above the national average and 2.4 times higher than the safest state, New Jersey.
Although Alaska recorded only 675 total preventable injury deaths, its elevated rate reflects challenges related to geographic isolation, comparatively limited emergency medical options, difficult environmental conditions, and limited healthcare access in particularly remote areas.
West Virginia ranked second (87.78 per 100,000), nearly 50% above the national average, due to the combined effects of rural poverty, limited healthcare access, and the ongoing overdose crisis. Every preventable death in the state could be quantified as an average of 14.1 years of potential life lost.
New Mexico (79.31), Tennessee (75.14), Oklahoma (73.96), Maine (73.30), Vermont (71.23), Arizona (70.86), and Kentucky and Mississippi (70.46) rounded out the top ten.
The South accounted for five of the ten most dangerous states, clearly highlighting the impact of rural geography, lower insurance coverage, and public health underinvestment. The presence of Maine and Vermont tells us that similar risks also affect rural New England due to aging populations, geographic isolation, and limited access to trauma care.
Conversely, New Jersey recorded the nation’s lowest preventable death rate (38.44 per 100,000), followed by New York (39.67), Hawaii (41.01), Nebraska (41.56), Virginia (43.36), and California (43.59). These states all benefit from effective infrastructure, good access to trauma care and emergency services, strong public health systems, extensive insurance coverage, and effective safety regulations.
The 53.34–point gap between Alaska and New Jersey emphatically reveals how much geography can influence the risk of preventable death.
Where Americans live can determine how likely they are to survive an injury as much as individual behavior. And this highlights the need for each state to adopt its own uniquely-tooled preventable death strategy.
Climate: A Growing Factor
One key shift in preventable fatalities is the rise of climate-related deaths. The natural and environmental category recorded 3,078 deaths in the 2024 WISQARS dataset. In truth, the real number is likely to be much higher as death certificates often attribute fatalities to conditions such as heart disease rather than the extreme weather events that caused them.
In 2023, the United States recorded over 2,300 heat–related deaths, a 117% increase on 1999 figures. And, according to NOAA, 2024 was the hottest year on record.
For good reason, temperature-related death is expected to rise sharply over the coming years, with the greatest fatality increases estimated among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic, and older people.
Preventable deaths affect all age groups, but the level of risk shifts depending on a person’s age.
In 2024, children under the age of 10 suffered 3,052 preventable deaths, with suffocation and drowning the leading causes. This type of incident can be limited by the right caregiver education, product safety standards, and home safety measures.
Individuals aged between 10 and 19 accounted for 4,921 deaths (2.5% of the total). Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause due to inexperience at the wheel, plus distracted and risky driving. Adults aged between 20 and 29 accounted for 17,105 deaths (8.7%), with poisoning, drug overdoses, and traffic fatalities major causes.
The preventable death burden most affects working-age adults. Adults aged between 30 and 39 accounted for 27,981 deaths (14.2%), nearly matching those aged over 85 as the largest group. People aged between 40 and 49 accounted for 27,038 deaths (13.7%), while those aged between 50 and 59 accounted for 26,613 (13.5%).
Among these groups, poisoning and drug overdoses were the main cause. In West Virginia, preventable injury death rates reached 138.2 per 100,000 among adults aged between 35 and 39, 151.3 for those aged between 40 and 44, clearly showing the disproportionate impact of the overdose crisis in those communities.
Among older Americans, falls are the main threat. Adults aged between 60 and 69 accounted for 27,699 deaths (14%): there were also 22,224 among those aged between 70 and 79 (11.3%) and 12,539 among those aged between 80 and 84 (6.4%).
People aged over 85 accounted for 27,996 deaths (14.2%), the highest single total of any age group, despite representing a comparatively small share of the population. The 85+ rate was highest of all in Wisconsin (990.36 per 100,000), Vermont (932.73), and Minnesota (863.63).
Overall, the data emphasizes two parallel public health crises: drug overdoses among working-age adults and fall-related deaths among senior Americans.
The Drowning Factor
Drowning is one of the primary examples of unequal preventable death risk in America. Between 1999 and 2019, the U.S. saw 81,947 unintentional drowning deaths. During that period, drowning rates among American Indian/Alaska Native and Black populations were respectively 2 and 1.5 times higher than they were among White people.
The disparities are most severe among children. Black children aged between 5 and 9 drown at a 2.6 times higher rate than White children, while rates for Black children aged between 10 and 14 are 3.6 times higher. In terms of swimming pool drownings, Black children aged between 10 and 14 were victims 7.6 times more often than White children.
Research suggests that access is the key issue. More than half of U.S. adults have never taken a swimming lesson, including nearly two-thirds of Black adults and three-fourths of Hispanic adults. High costs and limited lesson availability limit opportunity, especially in low-income communities where pools, swimming instructors, and supervised facilities are rare.
In 2024, drowning accounted for 4,540 preventable deaths. While a far lower number than those recorded for poisoning or falls, the drowning category demonstrates how poverty and low access to safety resources can easily turn a preventable risk into a persistent public health danger.
The Preventable Death Rate Rise and Fall
How the preventable injury death rate in the United States has fluctuated over the past six years reflects a period of crisis, escalation, and marginal recovery. In 2019, 173,040 Americans died from preventable injuries. Yet the imminent pandemic would have a severe effect on preventable injury deaths, which jumped 16% to 200,955.
The increase was largely driven by a 16% rise in poisoning deaths and a 9% increase in motor vehicle fatalities (respectively due to an increase in speeding on sparsely-occupied roads and low access to substance-use treatment).
The trend worsened in 2021: the death-count rose another 11.9% to 224,935, and reached record levels in 2022 (227,039 deaths). That represented the highest total since 1947 and a rate of 68.1 per 100,000 population, double the historic low recorded in 1992.
Yet recent data provides room for optimism. Preventable injury deaths dropped 1.9% in 2023 and a much more significant 11.3% in 2024 (to 197,449). Compared with 2023 numbers, home deaths fell 14.2%, as did public deaths (10.3%), workplace deaths (4.6%), and motor vehicle deaths (4.4%).
Poisoning deaths (the largest preventable death category) declined 24%, reflecting expanded naloxone access, more effective harm-reduction efforts, and changes to the supply of illicit drugs.
Yet improvement doesn’t mean a solution. Despite two consecutive years of declining figures, 2024 still featured 197,449 preventable deaths. That’s 14.1% above the pre-pandemic total (173,040). The 2024 age-adjusted death rate of 52.1 per 100,000 remains well above the 1992 low of 34 per 100,000.
And while overall mortality rates have fallen since 1992, unintentional injury deaths have increased 54%. The ongoing challenge is to continue recent progress over the long term, which may involve policy changes and a higher commitment to public health investment.
Workplace Falls
Falls rarely attract the attention claimed by major workplace accidents, but their economic impact is staggering. According to the 2024 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, U.S. industries racked up $58.07 billion in direct worker injury costs in 2021, with falls among the main contributors.
Falls (general) and falls (from heights) consistently rank among the five costliest workplace injuries and, alongside overexertion, account for a disproportionate share of workplace losses. Slip-and-trip incidents are especially costly, and have overtaken overexertion as the main cause of financial loss in healthcare and social assistance (they were already the top cause in the leisure and hospitality industry).
Direct costs are only part of the story. Research suggests that indirect costs may quintuple injury expenses, meaning a $50,000 fall injury may ultimately cost an employer $250,000 after considering losses due to productivity, retraining, additional administration, and operational disruption.
Falls were the second-leading cause of preventable death in 2024, claiming 48,308 lives. Fall-related injuries also account for 35% of all preventable nonfatal injuries treated in emergency departments (more than any other cause). For millions of Americans who work in construction, healthcare, manufacturing, and hospitality, the workplace remains one of the key settings for such injuries.
Preventable Deaths: A Persistent U.S. Challenge
Every year in the United States, tens of thousands of people die due to preventable causes. In 2024, there were 197,449 preventable injury deaths, making it the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer.
Poisoning, falls, and motor vehicle crashes account for 84% of all preventable death cases. Poisoning leads (as it has done since 2013) with 75,761 deaths (38%), driven largely by drug overdoses.
In the U.S., the preventable death toll is largely due to three main categorical causes: poisoning, falls, and motor vehicle crashes
State differences are significant. The national average preventable death rate is 58.55 per 100,000, but Alaska (91.78) and West Virginia (87.78) feature far higher rates; New Jersey (38.44) and New York (39.67) are among the lowest-ranked. Such gaps reflect variable healthcare access, infrastructure, rural isolation, and public health investment. Climate and geography are also key factors when it comes to environmental deaths.
Risk also varies depending on a person’s age: suffocation and drowning are key factors during childhood, motor vehicle crashes disproportionately affect teens, poisoning dominates working-age mortality, and falls are the main issue for older populations. Drowning features one of the clearest inequities, with Black children far more at risk than White children due to unequal access to swimming education and safe facilities.
Despite a recent decline, 2024 preventable death levels remain well above pre-pandemic baselines. This emphasizes the fact that while there are clear signs of short-term progress, preventable injury remains a persistent national health challenge shaped by systemic gaps rather than isolated incidents. Targeted intervention and policy changes may be key if modest progress is to continue over the coming years.
When a loved one dies due to another party’s negligence, you are legally entitled to file a wrongful death claim. Our Florida wrongful death lawyers will aggressively pursue financial compensation on your behalf, so you can pay for essential expenses and get justice for your loss.
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