In 2020, cancer accounted for more than 95,300 deaths in the five-state Great Lakes region.  Relative to the size of its population, the number of cancer deaths per 100,000 population in the region was more than 11% higher than the national average.  That said, the unfavorable comparison to the national average in 2020 was mostly attributable to counties in rural and small to medium-sized metropolitan areas in the region. In smaller Great Lakes region communities and rural areas, counties had cancer death rates in 2020 that were materially higher than in the nation or in the region as a whole.  Further examination of data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reveals the following about urban vs. rural cancer death rates in the Great Lakes region:

Urban vs. Rural Cancer Death Rates in the Great Lakes Region

County Classification	Deaths	Population	Death Rate*
Large Central Metro	23,131	12,789,306	180.9
Large Fringe Metro	23,921	12,712,841	188.2
Medium Metro	15,848	7,561,867	209.6
Small Metro	11,081	5,248,208	211.1
Micropolitan (Nonmetro)	13,623	5,651,494	241.1
NonCore (Nonmetro)	7,750	2,871,194	269.9
Region	95,354	46,864,910	203.6
Nationally	602,350	329,484,123	182.8

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

Report Period: 2020

States in region:  Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin

See the 2013 NCHS Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for additional information on population categories, including a map of which U.S. counties fall in which categories.

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on December 19, 2022