In the seven-state Great Plains region, cancer accounted for nearly 41,300 deaths in 2020.  Relative to population size, the cancer death rate per 100,000 population in the region was about 5% above the national average.  While the region-wide cancer death rate was high compared to the national average, in the region's metropolitan areas cancer death rates were at, or below, the national norm.  On the other hand, in counties in the region's smaller population centers and rural areas, cancer death rates in 2020 were significantly higher than in the nation as a whole.  Further study of data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) provides the following details about urban vs. rural cancer death rates in the Great Plains region:

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

County Classification	Deaths	Population	Death Rate*
Large Central Metro	4,643	2,819,881	164.7
Large Fringe Metro	8,823	5,016,579	175.9
Medium Metro	6,829	3,793,143	180.0
Small Metro	5,981	3,430,748	174.3
Micropolitan (Nonmetro)	6,775	3,140,344	215.7
NonCore (Nonmetro)	8,221	3,281,139	250.6
Region	41,272	21,481,834	192.1
Nationally	602,350	329,484,123	182.8

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

Report Period: 2020

States in region:  Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

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 26, 2022