The CDC has reviewed all death certificates filed in the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in 2014 to determine the most common causes of death for Americans.
The 10 leading causes of death, which accounted for 74 percent of all deaths in the U.S. in 2014 were, in rank order:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases
- Accidents and unintentional injuries
- Cerebrovascular diseases
- Alzheimer's disease
- Diabetes mellitus
- Influenza and pneumonia
- Nephritis, nephritic syndrome and nephrosis
- Intentional self-harm
This order remains unchanged from 2013 data.
This post was updated on July 6, 2016, to include cardiovascular disease, which was initially omitted in error.