RAND State Statistics recently updated its Death by Cause database, reporting the number of deaths, crude death rates, and age-adjusted death rates in the U.S., states, and all counties by International Classification of Disease, Version 10 (ICD-10) Chapters and Sub-chapters. The most common causes of death by ICD Chapter are diseases of the circulatory system (31% in the latest year); neoplasms, or cancers (24%); external causes of morbidity and mortality (8%), mental and behavioral disorders (6%), and diseases of the nervous system (6%). See ICD-10 for a complete descriptions of cause of death categories. 

From 2019 to 2020, the U.S. experienced a 16.8% increase in the rate per 100,000 persons from all causes of death, rising from 715.2 in 2019 to 835.4 (see Table 1). 

Table 1 - Death by Cause, Age-adjusted Rate Per 100,000 Persons, United States, 2019-2020

From 2015 to 2020, the U.S. experienced a 14.0% increase in the rate per 100,000 persons from all causes of death, growing from 733.1 to 835.4 (see Table 2). Over a longer period of time, from 2010 to 2020, the U.S. experienced a 11.8% increase in death rates, increasing from 747.0 in 2010 to 835.4 in 2020 (see Table 3). In short, the current pandemic has resulted in a much higher death rate, even in 2020.

Table 2 - Death by Cause, Age-adjusted Rate Per 100,000 Persons, United States, 2015-2020

Table 3 - Death by Cause, Age-adjusted Rate Per 100,000 Persons, United States, 2010-2020

From 2019 to 2020, New York experienced the most significant increase in death rate per 100,000 from all causes, growing from 616.2 in 2019 to 797.1, a 29.4% increase. (Again, this is directly related to the current pandemic.) Other states with notable increases in death rates were New Jersey (26.9%), District of Columbia (22.6%), Louisiana (21.9%), and Arizona (21.2%) (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Death by Cause, Age-adjusted Rate Per 100,000 Persons, United States, 2019-2020

Hawaii experienced the least significant increase in death rates, rising 2.6% from 573.3 in 2019 to 588. Other states with low death rate increases between 2019 and 2020 were Maine (3.6%), New Hampshire (5.4%), Oregon (6.3%), and Washington (6.6%) (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Death by Cause, Age-adjusted Rate Per 100,000 Persons, United States, 2019-2020