State-Level Economic Costs of Fatal Injuries - United States, 2019

Abstract

Unintentional and violence-related injury fatalities, including suicide, homicide, overdoses, motor vehicle crashes, and falls, were among the 10 leading causes of death for all age groups in the United States in 2019.* There were 246,041 injury deaths in 2019 (unintentional injury was the most frequent cause of death after heart disease and cancer) with an economic cost of $2.2 trillion (1). Extending a national analysis (1), CDC examined state-level economic costs of fatal injuries based on medical care costs and the value of statistical life assigned to 2019 injury records from the CDC's Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS).^† West Virginia had the highest per capita cost ($11,274) from fatal injury, more than twice that of New York, the state with the lowest cost ($4,538). The five areas with the highest per capita total fatal injury costs were West Virginia, New Mexico, Alaska, District of Columbia (DC), and Louisiana; costs were lowest in New York, California, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Texas. All U.S. states face substantial avoidable costs from injury deaths. Individual persons, families, organizations, communities, and policymakers can use targeted proven strategies to prevent injuries and violence. Resources for best practices for preventing injuries and violence are available online from the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.^§.

FIGURE

State-level fatal injury costs^, per capita, by intent — United States, 2019 Abbreviation: USD = U.S. dollars. * 2019 USD. ^† https://wisqars.cdc.gov/cost