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Also see: Leading Causes of Death in Los Angeles County by Sex, Race & Age
In order to compare "apples to apples" in collecting and coding cause-of-death data, categories used by the California Department of Public Health, reflected in the tables below, are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury." The categories here reflect only the 14 leading causes of death during any year. What is not specifically reflected is the enormous number of deaths from the outlier COVID-19 virus, although, this can be seen in the dramatic increase in all deaths for 2020 and 2021. During 2020, Los Angeles County suffered 11,101 deaths related to COVID-19 (see breakdown for 2020), according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In 2021, the county saw an even greater loss - more than 17,000 COVID-19 deaths. Numerically, that would rank COVID-19 as the county's leading cause of death during 2021, dethroning heart disease from its long reign as the county's number one killer.
Ranked in order of age-adjusted death rate.
| Cause of Death | 2018-2020 Deaths (Total) | 2018-2020 Deaths (Average) | Crude Death Rate* | Age-Adjusted Death Rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Causes | 210,430 | 70,143.3 | 686.9 | 601.3 |
| Cancer (All Forms) | 43,889 | 14,629.7 | 143.3 | 124.4 |
| Coronary Heart Disease | 34,651 | 11,550.3 | 113.1 | 96.6 |
| Alzheimer’s Disease | 13,537 | 4,512.3 | 44.2 | 37.9 |
| Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke) | 11,591 | 3,863.7 | 37.8 | 32.9 |
| Cause of Death | 2018-2020 Deaths (Total) | 2018-2020 Deaths (Average) | Crude Death Rate* | Age-Adjusted Death Rate* |
| Accidents (Unintentional Injuries) | 9,493 | 3,164.3 | 31.0 | 29.5 |
| Diabetes | 9,208 | 3,069.3 | 30.1 | 26.1 |
| Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease | 8,957 | 2,985.7 | 29.2 | 25.4 |
| Lung Cancer | 7,283 | 2,427.7 | 23.8 | 20.6 |
| Prostate Cancer | 2,694 | 898.0 | 17.8 | 18.6 |
| Cause of Death | 2018-2020 Deaths (Total) | 2018-2020 Deaths (Average) | Crude Death Rate* | Age-Adjusted Death Rate* |
| Female Breast Cancer | 3,513 | 1,171.0 | 22.7 | 18.3 |
| Influenza & Pneumonia | 6,143 | 2,047.7 | 20.1 | 17.4 |
| Drug Induced Deaths | 4,465 | 1,488.3 | 14.6 | 14.1 |
| Chronic Liver Disease & Cirrhosis | 4,485 | 1,495.0 | 14.6 | 12.8 |
| Colorectal Cancer | 4,344 | 1,448.0 | 14.2 | 12.3 |
| Cause of Death | 2018-2020 Deaths (Total) | 2018-2020 Deaths (Average) | Crude Death Rate* | Age-Adjusted Death Rate* |
| Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes | 2,643 | 881.0 | 8.6 | 8.3 |
| Suicide | 2,653 | 884.3 | 8.7 | 8.2 |
| Deaths | 2,253 | 751.0 | 7.4 | 7.3 |
| Homicide | 1,820 | 606.7 | 5.9 | 6.0 |
* The crude death rate is the total number of deaths divided by the total population and is expressed per 100,000 population. The age-adjusted death rate is the death rate that would occur per 100,000 population using the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Source: California Department of Public Health
Number of Deaths. Percentage in parentheses reflect numerical increase (+) or decrease (-) for that cause-of-death over previous year.
| Rank | 2021 (Preliminary) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Causes | All causes 83,300 (+0.6%) |
All causes 81,728 (+26.7%) |
All causes 64,502 (+0.5%) |
All causes 64,200 (+0.8%) |
All causes 63,688 (+1.1%) |
| #1 | Diseases of heart 17,146 (-7.2%) |
Diseases of heart 18,216 (+9.6%) |
Diseases of heart 16,616 (-0.6%) |
Diseases of heart 16,720 (+1.4%) |
Diseases of heart 16,489 (+1.0%) |
| #2 | Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,479 (-2.8%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,588 (-0.1%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,603 (-0.6%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,698 (+0.6%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,604 (+0.7%) |
| #3 | Alzheimer's disease 4,572 (-7.6%) |
Alzheimer's disease 4,991 (+12.7%) |
Alzheimer's disease 4,429 (+7.6%) |
Alzheimer's disease 4,117 (-1.5%) |
Alzheimer's disease 4,181 (+4.3%) |
| #4 | Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 4,016 (-0.8%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 4,055 (+7.2%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 3,784 (+0.9%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 3,752 (-0.2%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 3,760 (+1.9%) |
| #5 | Cerebrovascular diseases 4,001 (-0.9%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 3,877 (+30.1%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,979 (+13.0%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 3,088 (+0.1%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 3,084 (-0.9%) |
| #6 | Diabetes mellitus 3,506 (-2.3%) |
Diabetes mellitus 3,535 (+18.9%) |
Diabetes mellitus 2,973 (+10.1%) |
Diabetes mellitus 2,700 (+1.3%) |
Diabetes mellitus 2,666 (+7.2%) |
| #7 | Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2,602 (-13.1%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2,940 (+0.4%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2,929 (-5.1%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,637 (+1.7%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,593 (-1.2%) |
| #8 | Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,958 (-11.2%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 2,147 (+18.4%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 1,814 (-16.9%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 2,182 (+11.3%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 1,961 (-5.7%) |
| #9 | Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,838 (+3.8%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,760 (+14.6%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,536 (+2.7%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,495 (+6.1%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,421 (-1.9%) |
| #10 | Influenza & pneumonia 1,769 (+3.9%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,615 (+13.7%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,421 (-1.9%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,449 (+2.0%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,409 (+8.8%) |
| #11 | Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 1,571 (+1.5%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 1,524 (+12.5%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 1,355 (-0.1%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 1,356 (+2.0%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 1,330 (+12.8%) |
| #12 | Parkinson's disease 892 (-8.2%) |
Parkinson's disease 972 (+10.8%) |
Parkinson's disease 877 (+7.7%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 940 (+5.9%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 888 (+5.6%) |
| #13 | Assault (homicide) 868 (+0.6%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 849 (-1.7%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 864 (-8.1%) |
Parkinson's disease 814 (+2.8%) |
Parkinson's disease 792 (+17.7%) |
| #14 | Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 794 (+9.5%) |
Assault (homicide) 706 (+34.2%) |
Assault (homicide) 526 (-10.5%) |
Assault (homicide) 588 (-4.4%) |
Assault (homicide) 615 (-3.5%) |
Source: California Department of Public Health
Number of Deaths. Percentage in parentheses reflect numerical increase (+) or decrease (-) for that cause-of-death over previous year.
| Rank | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Causes | All causes 62,987 (+1.2%) |
All causes 62,210 (+6.3%) |
All causes 58,515 (-2.1%) |
All causes 59,764 (+2.0%) |
All causes 58,592 (+0.9%) |
| #1 | Diseases of heart 16,332 (+0.3%) |
Diseases of heart 16,287 (+5.8%) |
Diseases of heart 15,394 (-4.8%) |
Diseases of heart 16,167 (+2.2%) |
Diseases of heart 15,814 (-2.5%) |
| #2 | Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,498 (-0.3%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,537 (+2.9%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,128 (+1.7%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 13,888 (-1.9%) |
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 14,164 (+1.6%) |
| #3 | Alzheimer's disease 4,007 (+5.2%) |
Alzheimer's disease 3,810 (+32.2%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 3,201 (-3.2%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 3,307 (-1.7%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 3,363 (+3.2%) |
| #4 | Cerebrovascular diseases 3,689 (+0.0%) |
Cerebrovascular diseases 3,690 (+15.3%) |
Alzheimer's disease 2,883 (+11.8%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2,988 (+8.4%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2,757 (-8.6%) |
| #5 | Chronic lower respiratory diseases 3,112 (+4.4%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2,982 (+7.0%) |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2,787 (-6.7%) |
Alzheimer's disease 2,579 (+4.1%) |
Alzheimer's disease 2,478 (+5.6%) |
| #6 | Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,624 (+11.0%) |
Diabetes mellitus 2,379 (+4.0%) |
Diabetes mellitus 2,287 (+5.2%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 2,266 (+2.9%) |
Diabetes mellitus 2,203 (+0.4%) |
| #7 | Diabetes mellitus 2,488 (+4.6%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,365 (+7.0%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,210 (+0.5%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,198 (+7.0%) |
Accidents (+unintentional injuries) 2,054 (-0.4%) |
| #8 | Influenza & pneumonia 2,080 (-2.3%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 2,128 (+3.3%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 2,061 (-9.0%) |
Diabetes mellitus 2,173 (+6.1%) |
Influenza & pneumonia 2,048 (+10.3%) |
| #9 | Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,449 (-6.8%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,554 (+18.0%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,317 (-0.2%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,320 (+3.5%) |
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis 1,275 (+2.0%) |
| #10 | Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,295 (-2.6%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,329 (+16.1%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,145 (-4.4%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,198 (-3.7%) |
Essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease 1,244 (+17.8%) |
| #11 | Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 1,179 (-3.7%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 1,224 (+23.8%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 989 (+5.9%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 934 (+4.9%) |
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome & nephrosis 890 (+3.5%) |
| #12 | Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 841 (+0.8%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 834 (+3.6%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 805 (+2.0%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 789 (+4.0%) |
Intentional self-harm (+suicide) 759 (-1.2%) |
| #13 | Parkinson's disease 673 (-0.1%) |
Parkinson's disease 674 (+12.9%) |
Parkinson's disease 597 (+8.0%) |
Assault (homicide) 586 (-2.0%) |
Assault (homicide) 598 (-2.1%) |
| #14 | Assault (homicide) 637 (+1.6%) |
Assault (homicide) 627 (+15.0%) |
Assault (homicide) 545 (-7.0%) |
Parkinson's disease 553 (+8.9%) |
Parkinson's disease 508 (-5.0%) |
Source: California Department of Public Health
