U.S. Cancer Deaths by Region

Responsible for over 599,000 deaths in 2019 (about 21% of all U.S. deaths that year), cancer is the second leading cause of death in the country.  Thanks to advancements in diagnosis and treatment, the cancer death rate edged modestly downward in the twenty years from 1999 to 2019.  From 197.0 deaths per 100,000 population in 1999, the cancer death rate dropped to 182.7 deaths per 100,000 population by 2019.  The favorable national trend in the cancer death rate was mirrored in every region of the nation during the 1999 to 2019 period.  Further examination of data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics revealed the following details about U.S. cancer deaths by region (to see state level data, follow the "Area" links in the table below):

Area/Deaths	1999	2009	2019
Far West	76,730	83,000	89,507
Great Lakes	93,654	93,550	95,015
Great Plains	39,166	39,702	41,404
Mid-East	99,319	93,994	90,941
New England	30,068	29,100	28,898
Rocky Mountain	13,171	14,813	17,318
Southeast	145,800	156,766	170,603
Southwest	51,930	56,703	65,915
Total	549,838	567,628	599,601
Area/Death Rate*	1999	2009	2019
Far West	165.0	159.1	158.2
Great Lakes	208.3	201.8	202.6
Great Plains	204.7	194.7	193.2
Mid-East	215.4	196.1	186.1
New England	217.3	202.0	194.7
Rocky Mountain	144.8	137.2	139.7
Southeast	212.6	201.5	200.9
Southwest	168.5	153.7	155.7
Total	197.0	185.0	182.7

(*) number of cancer deaths per 100,000 population

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2020. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on July 17, 2021