US death rate falls to record low in 2025, driven by sharp decline in overdose deaths and COVID-19 fatalities

Jul 2, 2026

The U.S. death rate fell 4.6% to a record low of 689.2 per 100,000 people in 2025, driven by sharp declines in drug overdose and COVID-19 fatalities. However, respiratory illnesses surged, with influenza and pneumonia re-entering the top 10 causes of death. Experts blame declining vaccination rates and misinformation, amid policy shifts by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a military vaccine mandate reinstatement.

U.S. death rate decline

▪Black Americans continued to have the highest death rate of any tracked group in 2025, and men died at higher rates than women.
▪The United States death rate in 2025 declined across every age group and nearly all tracked demographic groups.
▪The United States death rate fell 4.6 percent in 2025 to a record low of 689.2 deaths per 100,000 people, down from 722.1 in 2024.
▪The United States death rate previously peaked at 879.7 per 100,000 people in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drug overdose death reduction

▪United States drug overdose deaths peaked in 2022 before beginning to decline.
▪A sharp decline in drug overdose fatalities and a reduced toll from COVID-19 served as the primary drivers behind the record-low United States death rate in 2025.

Respiratory illness resurgence

▪Influenza and pneumonia re-entered the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States in 2025 for the first time since 2020, rising to eighth place.
▪The 2024-2025 United States flu season resulted in an estimated 51 million illnesses and 45,000 deaths.
▪Deaths from influenza and pneumonia in the United States rose to 56,511 in 2025, up from 48,139 in 2024.
▪The 2025-2026 United States flu season started early due to a fast-spreading strain known as subclade K, which was poorly matched to that year's vaccine.

Vaccine disinformation spread

▪Epidemiologists report a growing amount of disinformation regarding vaccine risks and benefits as the predominant reason for the lack of vaccination.
▪Public health experts attribute rising influenza deaths to declining immunization compliance and a broader erosion of trust in vaccines.

Federal health policy changes

▪Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rolled back traditional vaccine advocacy campaigns under the Trump administration.
▪A federal judge blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that all children over six months old receive an annual flu shot.

Military flu vaccine mandate

▪The United States military reinstated flu vaccine mandates for certain service members following an outbreak among recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.
▪Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth eliminated the annual flu shot requirement for all military personnel two months prior to the reinstatement of the mandate.