Age and Cause

The six leading causes of death caused by unintentional injury in 2024

#1: Poisoning: 75,761 deaths

  • Average of 22.28 deaths per 100,000 population
  • Rate increased steadily from 0.8 at age 15 to its peak of 46.0 at age 43
  • Leading cause of preventable death for all ages combined for the 12th consecutive year
  • Leading cause of preventable death for every age from 25 to 68
  • Largely due to the opioid epidemic affecting millions of people in the United States
  • On an average day, 140 people die from preventable poisonings due to opioid drugs

#2: Falls: 47,026 deaths

  • Average rate of 14.0 deaths per 100,000 population
  • Beginning at about age 67, the death rate from falls increased dramatically
  • Surpassing the number of motor-vehicle and poisoning deaths at age 70 and remaining higher throughout the lifespan, peaking at age 88
  • Death rate peaked at age 98, with a rate of 757.6 per 100,000 population

#3: Motor-vehicle crashes: 42,789 deaths

  • Average rate of 12.58 deaths per 100,000 population
  • Death rate peaks at 16.3 for 29-year-olds and again at 28.7 for 87-year-olds
  • Leading cause of preventable death for every age from 5 to 24
  • Second leading cause of preventable death for every age from 25 to 66

#3: Choking: 5,923 deaths

  • Average rate of 1.74 deaths per 100,000 population
  • Death rates due to choking on inhaled or ingested food or other objects were quite low for most ages
  • Rates rose rapidly beginning at about age 71

#5: Drowning: 4,201 deaths

  • Average rate of 1.24 deaths per 100,000 population
  • While relatively stable and low for all ages, the death rates for drowning showed peaks in the first few years of life and again at some very old ages
  • Leading cause of preventable death from age 1 through 4

#6: Fire, Flames, or Smoke: 3,155 deaths

  • Average rate of 0.93 deaths per 100,000 population
  • Slightly elevated at very young ages; death rate peaked at age 98, with a rate of 5.1 per 100,000 population

The graph below depicts U.S. deaths and death rates per 100,000 population for the six leading causes of unintentional injury-related deaths in 2024 by age, through age 99. Additional years of data are also available by adjusting the filters.

  • Chart
  • Data Table
How to Use Injury Facts® Charts and Tables

Among infants younger than 1, mechanical suffocation was the leading cause of preventable-injury death, followed by motor-vehicle incidents. Drowning deaths were the leading cause of death from 1 to 4 years of age, closely followed by motor vehicle.