Michigan’s Top 10 Leading Causes of Death

Death is one of the few certainties in life, as ironic as an obvious statement can be. Completely unavoidable and unpredictable, though something many of us try to tuck away in the back of our minds, leaning on the idea that we won't have to deal with death until a day long in the future.

Unfortunately, life just doesn't work that way. That's why it's so important to take note of what exactly is killing us the most here in Michigan.

The death rate in Michigan does appear to be falling after the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the deaths spike in the state by nearly 20,000 people. The total number of Michigan deaths dropped under 117k for the first time in two years in 2022, down to approximately 110k.

Still, the death rate in Michigan is significantly higher than the United States average. The average rate in America is 9.9 while the rate here in Michigan is 11.0. Michigan's death rate in 2019 before the pandemic was 9.9, for context, while the country's was 8.7.

To compound the issue, Michigan's death rate is currently higher than its birth rate. In 2022, more than 10,000 more people died than were born in the state.

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Though Michigan has a higher death rate than the rest of the country, it still manages to follow the basic trends in America. Ohio, interestingly, has a higher death rate than Michigan, but based on the number of preventable deaths among working-age people, it helps explain the Buckeye State's trouble in that regard.

Unfortunately, Michigan does not present comprehensive statistics on the death rate in age groups, as after the top 10, the data simply reads 'all other causes', leaving far too much ambiguity for which cause of death would fill the role of a disease that only affects seniors.

Nonetheless, the gallery below shows the top 10 leading causes of death in the state of Michigan.