People in U.S. Rural Areas Die at Higher Rates Than Those in Urban Areas

People in Rural Areas Die at Higher Rates Than Those in Urban Areas Deaths from heart disease, cancer and COVID are all higher in rural areas than urban ones in the U.S., and the gap is only widening Tanya Lewis Scientific American

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According to a 2021 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on mortality data from 1999 to 2019, people living in rural areas die at higher rates than those living in urban areas—and the gap has been widening. Rates for the top 10 causes of death in 2019 (including heart disease, cancer and accidents) were all higher in rural areas. And the pandemic has only exacerbated things: COVID is now the third leading cause of death nationwide, and rural areas account for a higher share of those deaths per capita than urban areas.

Compared with people living in cities, rural residents are less likely to have access to health care and more likely to live in poverty. Rural states and counties also tend to lean Republican, and many of them have resisted adopting public policies known to improve health.

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