Cancer is the most common cause of death in the United States after heart disease. It killed 609,360 people in 2022, according to the American Cancer Society, and doctors identified 1.9 million new cases that year.
But after decades of medical advances, improvements in early detection, and greater awareness of risk factors like smoking and alcohol abuse, the risk of dying from the disease has decreased significantly. (These are the states with the most cancer deaths linked to alcohol.)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the cancer death rate in 1950, the first year the agency started keeping records, was 193.9 for every 100,000 people. By 1990, it had risen to 216 for every 100,000 people, the highest rate since record-keeping began.
Then it began to drop, decreasing almost every year, to 144 deaths per 100,000 people in 2020. (CDC data on cancer-related deaths hasn’t been released yet for 2021 and 2022. The Journal of American College of Surgeons warned in an article published in May that pandemic-related delays in doctor’s visits and cancer screenings “will likely cause a significant increase in cancer cases that could have been caught earlier.”)
To identify the cancer death rate in America every year since 1980, 24/7 Tempo reviewed age-adjusted death rates for selected causes of death in the United States for the years 1950–2019 from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the CDC. The agency did not begin annualizing data until 1980, but the figures for the decades of the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s are used in ranking each year’s position. The Overall US death rate for the year in the United States for each year also came from the CDC. (These are the most common cancers in America and their survival rates.)
In 2003, the cancer rate hit a record low and has dropped every year since — by 25%, to its rate in 2020. Last year, President Biden re-launched the Obama-era Cancer Moonshot initiative, aimed at reducing the U.S. cancer death rate by at least half over the 25 years to 2047.
1980
> US cancer death rate for the year: 207.9 per 100,000 people – #15 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 1,039 per 100,000 people
1981
> US cancer death rate for the year: 206.4 per 100,000 people – #17 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 1,007 per 100,000 people
1982
> US cancer death rate for the year: 208.3 per 100,000 people – #14 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 985 per 100,000 people
1983
> US cancer death rate for the year: 209.1 per 100,000 people – #13 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 990 per 100,000 people
1984
> US cancer death rate for the year: 210.8 per 100,000 people – #11 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 983 per 100,000 people
1985
> US cancer death rate for the year: 211.3 per 100,000 people – #10 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 988 per 100,000 people
1986
> US cancer death rate for the year: 211.5 per 100,000 people – #9 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 979 per 100,000 people
1987
> US cancer death rate for the year: 211.7 per 100,000 people – #7 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 970 per 100,000 people
1988
> US cancer death rate for the year: 212.5 per 100,000 people – #6 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 976 per 100,000 people
1989
> US cancer death rate for the year: 214.2 per 100,000 people – #3 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 951 per 100,000 people
1990
> US cancer death rate for the year: 216 per 100,000 people – #1 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 939 per 100,000 people
1991
> US cancer death rate for the year: 215.2 per 100,000 people – #2 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 922 per 100,000 people
1992
> US cancer death rate for the year: 213.5 per 100,000 people – #4 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 906 per 100,000 people
1993
> US cancer death rate for the year: 213.5 per 100,000 people – #4 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 926 per 100,000 people
1994
> US cancer death rate for the year: 211.7 per 100,000 people – #7 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 914 per 100,000 people
1995
> US cancer death rate for the year: 209.9 per 100,000 people – #12 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 910 per 100,000 people
1996
> US cancer death rate for the year: 206.7 per 100,000 people – #16 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 894 per 100,000 people
1997
> US cancer death rate for the year: 203.4 per 100,000 people – #18 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 878 per 100,000 people
1998
> US cancer death rate for the year: 200.7 per 100,000 people – #20 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 871 per 100,000 people
1999
> US cancer death rate for the year: 200.8 per 100,000 people – #19 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 876 per 100,000 people
2000
> US cancer death rate for the year: 199.6 per 100,000 people – #21 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 869 per 100,000 people
2001
> US cancer death rate for the year: 196.5 per 100,000 people – #23 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 859 per 100,000 people
2002
> US cancer death rate for the year: 194.3 per 100,000 people – #24 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 856 per 100,000 people
2003
> US cancer death rate for the year: 190.9 per 100,000 people – #27 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 844 per 100,000 people
2004
> US cancer death rate for the year: 186.8 per 100,000 people – #28 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 814 per 100,000 people
2005
> US cancer death rate for the year: 185.1 per 100,000 people – #29 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 815 per 100,000 people
2006
> US cancer death rate for the year: 181.8 per 100,000 people – #30 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 792 per 100,000 people
2007
> US cancer death rate for the year: 179.3 per 100,000 people – #31 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 775 per 100,000 people
2008
> US cancer death rate for the year: 176.4 per 100,000 people – #32 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 775 per 100,000 people
2009
> US cancer death rate for the year: 173.5 per 100,000 people – #33 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 750 per 100,000 people
2010
> US cancer death rate for the year: 172.8 per 100,000 people – #34 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 747 per 100,000 people
2011
> US cancer death rate for the year: 169 per 100,000 people – #35 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 741 per 100,000 people
2012
> US cancer death rate for the year: 166.5 per 100,000 people – #36 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 733 per 100,000 people
2013
> US cancer death rate for the year: 163.2 per 100,000 people – #37 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 732 per 100,000 people
2014
> US cancer death rate for the year: 161.2 per 100,000 people – #38 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 725 per 100,000 people
2015
> US cancer death rate for the year: 158.5 per 100,000 people – #39 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 733 per 100,000 people
2016
> US cancer death rate for the year: 155.8 per 100,000 people – #40 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 729 per 100,000 people
2017
> US cancer death rate for the year: 152.5 per 100,000 people – #41 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 732 per 100,000 people
2018
> US cancer death rate for the year: 149.1 per 100,000 people – #42 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 724 per 100,000 people
2019
> US cancer death rate for the year: 146.2 per 100,000 people – #43 highest between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 715 per 100,000 people
2020
> US cancer death rate for the year: 144.1 per 100,000 people – not ranked between 1950 and 2019
> Overall US death rate for the year: 835 per 100,000 people