The top causes of death for people 65+


Recent public health efforts and advancements in medical care have led to a decrease in deaths from chronic illnesses like heart disease for people 65 and older. At the same time, COVID-19 has emerged as a new, persistent cause of death. Here’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data says about the top causes for people 65 and up.  

  • In 2022, the top two causes of death for older Americans were heart disease and cancer, with 1,015.9 and 810.2 deaths per 100,000 people. (These are crude death rates, meaning they aren’t adjusted for age or any other factors.)

Crude death rate from heart disease dropped from over 1,500 per 100,000 people in 2000 to 1,015 in 2022.

  • Cerebrovascular disease (which includes strokes and aneurysms), and chronic lower respiratory diseases were the third and fourth top causes of death for people 65 and older for years. The fifth most common cause was influenza and pneumonia, with 167.3 deaths per 100,000 people. By 2021, COVID-19 ranked in the top five. Influenza and pneumonia had fallen to 12th, with 60.3 deaths per 100,000.

  • Despite still being the top causes of death, they are not as deadly as they used to be. Since 2000, death rates for heart disease have decreased by 41.6%, cerebrovascular diseases by 41.1%, chronic lower respiratory diseases by 29.2%, and cancers by 28.7%.

  • Heart disease was the top cause of death for senior citizens in 47 states and Washington, DC, in 2020 and 2021. Cancer was the top cause in Alaska, Minnesota, and Oregon.

See more right here.

How safe are America’s bridges?


Bridges connect communities and facilitate the flow of goods and services nationwide. Keeping bridges in good condition is a matter of safety, but also affects the nation’s economy. Data from the National Bridge Inventory shows just how good — or not — bridges are by state.

  • The US National Highway System has 146,000 bridges. As of 2022, 5% of these bridges were in poor condition, 52.0% were fair, and 43.1% were good. This is an improvement since 2000, when 9.8% of highway bridges were poor.

  • From 2000 to 2022, Georgia’s highway bridges improved the most of any state, from 57% of bridges in good condition to 76.9%. The percentage of bridges in good shape dropped in more than 30 states, including Oregon. That state’s percentage fell from 65% to 20%.

Rhode Island, West Virginia, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York had the highest percentages of bridges in poor condition.

  • Rhode Island had the highest percentage of highway bridges in poor condition (17.1%), while West Virginia had the lowest percentage in good condition (15.7%).

  • Between 2012 and 2022, the percentage of bridges in good condition increased in urban areas but decreased in rural ones — from 21% to 18%. For both urban and rural areas, however, bridges in poor condition decreased as well.


There are many more comparisons in this article. Where does your state rank?

Data behind the news


A drone strike killed three US servicemembers in Jordan on Sunday. This article from our archives analyzes how military casualties have changed, from more recent military operations back to WWI.

Last week, Turkey’s parliament voted to let Sweden join NATO. Here’s more on NATO and what it costs to be a member.

A recent AP-NORC poll shows that most Americans feel they pay too much in taxes. Here are the states where people pay the least.

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One last fact

In 2022, the US accepted nearly 1.02 million green card applications, up 37.6% from 2021. Since 1820, the nation has granted permanent residence status via green cards to 88.46 million people.