5 Worst States for Working-Age Deaths This Year (So Far)

COVID-19 continued to be a menace in the first half of this year for advisors who were trying to help working-age clients fine-tune life insurance and retirement planning arrangements.

The change in the number of deaths of people ages 25 through 64 ranged from a decrease of 2.5%, in Hawaii, up to an increase of more than 36%, in one state, with a median of 15.5%.

For a look at the five states with the biggest working-age death count increases, based on preliminary weekly data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, see the gallery above.

For data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, which would have ranked third in the gallery if it were a state, see the chart below.

What It Means

COVID-19, the effects of the pandemic on the economy and the health care system, and other medical, social and economic trends, are continuing to have a devastating effect on mortality for working-age people.

That means advisors and their clients may continue to face high levels of uncertainty about what life expectancy estimates to put into income planning calculators and other planning systems.

The Backdrop

About 1.6 million U.S. residents died from all causes between the week ending Jan. 5 and the week ending June 26, according to the CDC weekly death data.

The figures for the past few weeks are based on incomplete, adjusted death counts that might increase as more states send complete data to the CDC.

The total U.S. death count was down 0.8% from the total for the first half of 2021, but still 15.3% higher than the total for the first half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

For working-age people — people ages 25 through 64 — the number of deaths increased 14.8% between the first half of 2019 and the first half of this year, to about 380,000.

The rate of increase is down from 24% between the first half of 2019 and the first half of 2021, but it appears to be one of the biggest mortality increases for working-age U.S. residents recorded between the end of World War II and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Deaths From All Causes

Deaths, by Age Group, for the period running from the week ending Jan. 5 through the Week ending June 26.
2022 deaths of people ages 25-64, as a share of deaths of all people ages 25 and older
Change in the number of deaths, since 2019, for …

25-44
45-64
25-64
25 and older
Adults ages 25-64
Adults ages 25 and older

Alabama
1,485
6,268
7,753
29,506
26.3%
13.0%
15.6%

Alaska
131
590
721
2,358
30.6%
10.2%
20.9%

Arizona
2,056
6,658
8,714
36,984
23.6%
22.5%
24.9%

Arkansas
943
3,755
4,698
18,335
25.6%
17.5%
17.8%

California
8,565
27,218
35,783
151,572
23.6%
15.5%
14.7%

Colorado
1,189
4,224
5,413
23,073
23.5%
9.6%
20.3%

Connecticut
939
2,883
3,822
18,645
20.5%
22.9%
19.9%

Delaware
187
959
1,146
5,599
20.5%
22.6%
31.9%

District of Columbia
221
834
1,055
3,085
34.2%
32.4%
23.3%

Florida
5,689
20,257
25,946
118,926
21.8%
11.4%
16.6%

Georgia
2,199
10,084
12,283
48,456
25.3%
5.2%
18.7%

Hawaii
121
1,036
1,157
6,192
18.7%
-2.5%
9.6%

Idaho
349
1,355
1,704
8,079
21.1%
36.2%
17.8%

Illinois
2,978
10,797
13,775
58,114
23.7%
17.8%
14.6%

Indiana
1,767
6,908
8,675
35,605
24.4%
10.9%
12.0%

Iowa
492
2,627
3,119
16,226
19.2%
7.9%
11.3%

Kansas
784
2,640
3,424
15,018
22.8%
24.8%
16.9%

Kentucky
1,452
5,910
7,362
27,318
26.9%
12.5%
16.0%

Louisiana
1,531
5,252
6,783
24,669
27.5%
9.5%
12.8%

Maine
420
1,417
1,837
8,166
22.5%
33.6%
14.9%

Maryland
1,541
5,153
6,694
27,021
24.8%
7.4%
11.4%

Massachusetts
1,436
4,999
6,435
30,965
20.8%
7.8%
7.2%

Michigan
2,584
9,865
12,449
53,588
23.2%
15.1%
15.6%

Minnesota
1,021
3,866
4,887
24,038
20.3%
13.1%
12.2%

Mississippi
982
4,030
5,012
17,824
28.1%
14.3%
15.9%

Missouri
1,519
6,995
8,514
35,464
24.0%
11.3%
15.1%

Montana
256
956
1,212
5,574
21.7%
25.2%
12.9%

Nebraska
355
1,448
1,803
8,922
20.2%
6.3%
8.7%

Nevada
898
3,087
3,985
15,735
25.3%
16.4%
22.4%

New Hampshire
233
1,192
1,425
6,789
21.0%
19.5%
16.8%

New Jersey
1,687
6,830
8,517
39,986
21.3%
11.1%
11.6%

New Mexico
942
2,097
3,039
10,875
27.9%
21.4%
19.9%

New York
2,274
8,838
11,112
54,485
20.4%
18.7%
12.1%

New York City
1,748
5,917
7,665
29,491
26.0%
15.8%
13.2%

North Carolina
3,001
10,999
14,000
54,722
25.6%
19.2%
17.5%

North Dakota
154
666
820
3,610
22.7%
26.2%
7.2%

Ohio
3,404
12,870
16,274
67,567
24.1%
13.7%
14.2%

Oklahoma
1,105
4,756
5,861
22,857
25.6%
14.5%
19.6%

Oregon
1,010
3,544
4,554
21,002
21.7%
17.0%
16.4%

Pennsylvania
3,199
12,265
15,464
72,006
21.5%
11.0%
10.4%

Puerto Rico
764
2,466
3,230
16,556
19.5%
1.5%
15.8%

Rhode Island
124
844
968
5,290
18.3%
13.9%
6.4%

South Carolina
1,524
5,599
7,123
28,524
25.0%
13.2%
19.5%

South Dakota
106
750
856
4,197
20.4%
23.0%
10.2%

Tennessee
2,720
9,351
12,071
42,836
28.2%
17.5%
18.3%

Texas
7,269
24,479
31,748
118,468
26.8%
19.9%
21.7%

Utah
695
1,799
2,494
10,933
22.8%
11.0%
18.9%

Vermont
11
569
580
3,233
17.9%
 *
*

Virginia
2,107
7,443
9,550
39,895
23.9%
19.5%
19.8%

Washington
1,693
5,702
7,395
32,705
22.6%
15.8%
15.5%

West Virginia
747
2,796
3,543
13,396
26.4%
19.4%
20.0%

Wisconsin
1,377
4,979
6,356
29,058
21.9%
21.5%
13.7%

Wyoming
12
440
452
2,492
18.1%
11.3%
21.9%

TOTAL
81,996
299,262
381,258
1,606,030
23.7%

MEDIAN

23.5%
15.5%
15.8%

Source: Weekly Counts of Deaths by Jurisdiction and Age. Complete Vermont data for 2019 is not currently available. New York City reports its data separately from the data for New York state.

(Image: Imillian/Adobe Stock)