Infant Mortality Rates in Rural and Urban Areas in the United States, 2014

Abstract

The infant mortality rate is often used as a measure of a country’s health because similar factors influence population health and infant mortality (1). Although infant mortality has declined in the United States, disparities still exist across geographic areas and demographic groups (2–4). Urbanization level, based on the number and concentration of people in a county, can impact health outcomes (3–9). Previous research indicates that infant mortality rates vary by urbanization level and also by maternal and infant characteristics (3–9). This report describes differences in infant mortality among rural, small and medium urban, and large urban counties in the United States by infant’s age at death, mother’s age, and race and Hispanic origin in 2014.