The US death rate fell to a record low in 2025. Improvements were recorded across every age group.
—CDC
The CDC just released the preliminary 2025 mortality data, and the results were good news. The age-adjusted death rate dropped -4.6% YoY, from 722.1 in 2024 to 689.2 in 2025. That marks the fourth straight annual decline and is now the lowest reading on record. The previous record low was 715.2 in 2019.
The improvement was broad-based. Death rates declined across every age group. The biggest milestone came among adults ages 85 and older, where the crude mortality rate fell below its pre-COVID level for the first time: 13,229 in 2019 versus 12,788 in 2025.
While the CDC did not publish age-adjusted mortality rates by cause, it did release the absolute number of deaths for the 10 leading causes. We compare 2024 and 2025 in the chart below.
Notice that the total number of deaths increased by +0.71% YoY, slightly faster than the US population grew (+0.52%). But because the population is aging, a higher number of absolute deaths can still translate into a decline in the age-adjusted death rate.
Viewed from this perspective, increases in heart disease and cancer deaths are less surprising, since both are much more prevalent among older adults. More notable are causes that remained essentially flat, such as diabetes and kidney disease. Even more impressive, deaths from unintentional injuries actually declined, reflecting the continued drop in drug overdose deaths.
Life expectancy estimates won’t be released until December, but if current trends hold, US life expectancy should reach another record high in 2025. (See “Video: 2026 US Demography Review.”)