Infant Mortality in the United States, 2024: Data From the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File

This report presents final 2024 infant mortality statistics by age at death, maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal age, gestational age, leading causes of death, and maternal state of residence. Trends in infant mortality are also examined.

Descriptive tabulations of data are presented and interpreted for infant deaths and infant mortality rates using the 2024 period linked birth/infant death file. The linked birth/infant death file is based on birth and death certificates registered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

A total of 20,048 infant deaths were reported in the United States in 2024, which was not significantly different from 2023 (20,162). The U.S. infant mortality rate was 5.52 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which was not significantly different from the rate in 2023 (5.61). The change in the neonatal mortality rate from 3.65 in 2023 to 3.66 in 2024 was not significant. The postneonatal mortality rate declined 4.6% from 1.96 in 2023 to 1.87 in 2024. Changes in mortality rates for infants by maternal race and Hispanic origin and among Hispanic-origin subgroups were not significant. Infants of Black non-Hispanic women had the highest mortality rate (10.98) in 2024, followed by infants of American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic (9.20) and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander non-Hispanic (7.90), Hispanic (4.88), White non-Hispanic (4.41), and Asian non-Hispanic (3.72) women. The mortality rate decreased from 2023 to 2024 for infants born at 39-40 weeks of gestation (1.64 to 1.55), but the rate change was not significantly different for other gestational age categories. Among the five leading causes of infant death in 2024, mortality rates for sudden infant death syndrome declined compared with 2023. Infant mortality rates by state for 2024 ranged from a low of 2.97 in New Hampshire to a high of 9.65 in Mississippi.