U.S. life expectancy at birth reached an all-time high in 2024 amid a record decline in drug overdose deaths, according to data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Four notes:
1. The death rate for the U.S. population declined by nearly 4% in 2024, according to a Jan. 29 news release from the center.
2. The death rate reached 722.1 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024, down from 750.5 in 2023. As a result, life expectancy at birth increased from 78.4 years in 2023 to 79 years in 2024.
3. The U.S. saw the largest decrease in drug overdose death rates ever recorded, exceeding the record set in 2018. The rate declined 26.2% between 2023 and 2024, from 31.3 to 23.1 per 100,000. A total of 79,384 U.S. residents died from a drug overdose in 2024.
4. A separate CDC report from Jan. 14 found Vermont, Rhode Island and New York had the largest decreases in predicted drug overdose deaths between August 2024 and August 2025, each exceeding 35%.
