Cumulative death rates from COVID-19 varied tremendously across the U.S., a comprehensive state-by-state analysis revealed. Income, race, political affiliation and trust were key factors driving state performance in both infection rates and mortality.
"We found that states with higher rates of poverty, lower educational attainment and lower rates of interpersonal trust — which is the trust that we place in one another — were all states that exhibited higher death rates and higher infection rates," Emma Castro, PhD, a researcher at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation and co-author of the study said in a video statement shared with Becker's.
The study, published in The Lancet, is said to be the "first time researchers have comprehensively examined the driving forces behind wide variations in SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 deaths across all states," for an extended time period, according to a news release shared with Becker's.
"Even after accounting for age and underlying illnesses, we observed a nearly four-fold difference in COVID-19 death rates across states, suggesting that the country as a whole could have performed much better," Dr. Castro said.
The analysis looked at cumulative COVID-19 death rates between January 2020 and July 2022. Results were also standardized for age and comorbidities.
Here are the 10 states with the highest death rates per 100,000 people:
- Arizona: 581 per 100,000
- District of Columbia: 526
- New Mexico: 521
- Mississippi: 488
- Colorado: 473
- Idaho: 469
- Utah: 467
- Nevada: 453
- Georgia: 447
- Alaska: 443
States found to have the lowest death rates per 100,000 people include:
- Hawaii:147 per 100,000
- New Hampshire: 215
- Maine: 218
- Vermont: 249
- Maryland: 285
- Washington: 286
- Connecticut: 293
- Ohio: 293
- Pennsylvania: 297
- Nebraska: 298