Mortality Rates in Utah
- Utah Population: 3,205,958 (30th highest)
- Population Density: 67.63 per square mile (30th most dense)
- Median Age: 31.5 years old (#1 youngest)
- Deaths Per Year: 18,354
- Annual Deaths Per 100,000: 580.6
- Life Expectancy at Birth: 79.6
- Fertility Rate (births per 1,000 women age 15-44): 66.7 (4th highest rate)
Leading Causes of Death in Utah
|Cause of Death||Deaths Per Year||Deaths Per 100,000||National Rank|
|Accidents (includes vehicle accidents)
|Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases (e.g., emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma)
|Kidney Disease (nephritis, nephrosis, nephrotic syndrome)
|Pneumonia + Flu
Between 2010 and 2019, Utah’s population grew at a rate of 16%, making Utah the nation’s fastest growing state.
Utah also has the fourth highest fertility rate (behind the Dakotas and Alaska) and youngest median age, at 31.5 years (nearly 4 years younger than 2nd youngest Texas).
With 580.6 deaths per 100,000 population, Utah has the lowest overall rate of death among U.S. states. No other state’s rate is below 600. However, when adjusted for age, Utah’s rate drops to 13th
Utah’s rate of cancer deaths is the nation’s lowest, and Utah is tied with Massachusetts for the nation’s 6th lowest rate of liver disease deaths.
Utah has the nation’s 8th lowest rate of death due to chronic respiratory illnesses. At 9%, Utah’s rate of smoking among adults is easily the nation’s lowest (ahead of California, at 11.2%).
Utah has the nation’s highest rate of deaths due to Parkinson’s Disease and 9th highest rate of Alzheimer’s deaths.
Which means that many residents of Utah will likely be able to qualify for a no medical exam term life insurance policy given the relative health of this states population.
For 2020, Utah’s COVID-19 death rate of 49.7 per 100,000 population was 9th lowest in the nation. Utah’s rate of 78 COVID deaths per 100,000 through August, 2021, is 6th
Homicide and Suicide
Utah has the nation’s 7th lowest homicide rate and 6th highest suicide rate.
With its rate of 7.7 motor vehicle fatalities per 100,000, Utah ranks as the 6th safest state in which to drive. All 5 states ahead of Utah (Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) are in the Northeast.
U.S. Dept of Ag., Economic Research Service, https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17827 (citing U.S. Census Bureau, 2019).
StatsAmerica (Ind. Bus. Research Center), Median Age in 2019.
CDC, Natl. Center for Health Statistics, State & Territorial Data (2018 – 2019).
Kaiser Family Foundation, Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population (2019).
CDC, Natl. Center for Health Statistics, Life Expectancy at Birth by State (2018).
CDC, Natl. Center for Health Statistics, Fertility Rates by State (2019).
CDC, Natl. Center for Health Statistics, Stats of the States (2021).
United Health Foundation, America’s Health Rankings, 2020 Annual Report: Utah.
CDC, Natl. Center for Health Statistics, Provisional Death Rates for COVID-19 (2020).
New York Times, Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count (Aug. 4, 2021).
CDC, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System, Map of Current Cigarette Use Among Adults (2018).
Natl. Safety Council, Motor-Vehicle Deaths by State (2019).