Which states had the highest and lowest child mortality rates in the USA in 2024?
Executive summary
Available national sources do not provide a single, definitive ranked list of U.S. states’ overall “child mortality” (broadly ages 0–19 or 1–14) for calendar year 2024 in the search results provided; reporting tends to split by age group (infant <1 year vs. older children) and uses different denominators and time windows, so comparisons require care (not found in current reporting). State-level infant mortality tables and maps exist for recent years in CDC/NCHS and March of Dimes reporting (e.g., infant mortality by state for 2022–2023) rather than a simple 2024 child-mortality ranking [1] [2].
1. No single “2024 state ranking” for child mortality in the provided reporting
The CDC/NCHS materials in the search results offer state maps and tables for infant mortality and national summaries through 2022–2023, and the Vital Statistics reports present state infant-rate figures for 2022, but none of the provided items give a statewide ranking of “child mortality” for 2024 across the full child age range (0–19 or 1–14) that your question asks for; therefore a direct answer naming the highest and lowest states in 2024 is not supported by the available sources [1] [3] [2].
2. Different definitions: infant mortality vs. child mortality vs. age windows
Reporting in these sources separates infant mortality (deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births) from child or youth mortality (often ages 1–14 or 0–19) and sometimes uses age-adjusted death rates per 100,000. For example, CDC’s Vital Statistics and provisional infant dashboards focus on infant rates per 1,000 live births [3] [1], while KFF’s State Health Facts tracks “Rate of Child Deaths (1–14) per 100,000 children,” a different metric and age group [4]. Comparing states requires the same definition and denominator; mixing infant and child metrics yields misleading conclusions [4] [1].
3. Where to find state-by-state infant rates (closest available match)
If you are primarily interested in infant mortality (a commonly used proxy for early-child survival), CDC’s state map and table for infant mortality provide state rates and rankings (though the search result notes some materials are based on 2023 age‑adjusted death rates and cautions about instability in small numbers) — see CDC’s “Infant Mortality | Stats of the States” and the Vital Statistics report that includes a figure of infant mortality by state for 2022 [5] [1]. The March of Dimes PeriStats also publishes state infant mortality rates by year (e.g., 2023 values based on NCHS data) and notes which states met Healthy People 2030 targets [2].
4. For older children (1–14 or 0–19) look to KFF and America’s Health Rankings
State-level rates for child deaths in older age groups are reported by organizations such as KFF for ages 1–14 (Rate of Child Deaths per 100,000 children) and America’s Health Rankings for child mortality measures and leading causes; these sources provide the comparative state-level perspective you would need but the provided search snippets show those pages generally as indicators rather than a single 2024 state ranking [4] [6]. Use the KFF “Rate of Child Deaths (1–14) per 100,000 Children” for state comparisons when your focus is beyond infancy [4].
5. Important methodological cautions that affect state rankings
CDC cautions that when the number of deaths is small, differences between states and rankings may be unreliable due to statistical instability; many sources also present age-adjusted rates and note changes in definitions across data releases [5] [7]. County Health Rankings recently expanded the child definition to 0–19 and warned about comparability across years because of method changes, a reminder that apparent “highest” or “lowest” states can shift for technical reasons rather than sudden health changes [7].
6. Known inequities: race, place, and cause matter
The scholarly and public reports in the results emphasize disparities: infant mortality is higher for Black and certain Indigenous populations, and rising child mortality has disproportionately affected Black and Native American youth in recent years per academic reporting; causes differ by age group (injury, firearms, crashes, poisoning for older children; birthweight and perinatal factors for infants) [8] [9] [6]. Any state-level comparison should therefore consider demographic composition and cause-specific patterns rather than treating a state’s crude rate as a single explanation [8] [6].
7. How you can get a definitive 2024 answer
To identify the single highest and lowest state for “child mortality in 2024” you will need a specific age definition (e.g., infant <1 per 1,000 live births; children 1–14 per 100,000; or 0–19 per 100,000) and then consult the matching state table from CDC/NCHS, KFF, or America’s Health Rankings for 2024 or the closest available year. The CDC Vital Statistics and the NCHS infant dashboards and KFF state health facts pages are the appropriate primary sources referenced above [1] [3] [4].
If you tell me which exact age range and metric you want (infant per 1,000 live births, child deaths 1–14 per 100,000, or deaths before age 20 per 100,000), I will extract and summarize the state rankings from the corresponding source[10] listed in the search results.