Unintentional Fall Deaths Among Adults Age 65 and Older: United States, 2023

NCHS Data Brief No. 532, June 2025

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Matthew F. Garnett, M.P.H., Julie D. Weeks, Ph.D., and Anne M. Zehner, M.P.H.

Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults age 65 and older (1). Older adults have higher death rates from unintentional falls than adults in other age groups. This Data Brief updates a previous report (2), presenting the most recent final data on older adult fall death rates along with trends starting from 2003.

Keywords: injury; older adults; mortality; race and Hispanic origin; National Vital Statistics System

Men age 65 and older had higher rates of unintentional fall deaths compared with women.

• In 2023, the unintentional fall death rate for adults age 65 and older was 69.9 per 100,000 population and was higher for men (74.2) compared with women (66.3) (Figure 1, Table 1).
• For each age group, men had higher rates than women.
• Among adults age 65 and older, rates of unintentional fall deaths were lowest for those ages 65-74 (24.7 and 14.2 for men and women, respectively) and highest for those age 85 and older (373.3 and 319.7, respectively).

Rates of unintentional fall deaths among older adults increased with age for all race and Hispanic-origin groups.

• Among adults ages 65-74, Asian non-Hispanic (subsequently, Asian) people had a lower rate (11.1 per 100,000 population) than all other race and Hispanic-origin groups except for Hispanic people (12.5). White non-Hispanic (subsequently, White) people had the highest rate (21.5) of all race and Hispanic-origin groups except for American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic (subsequently, American Indian and Alaska Native) people (18.7) (Figure 2, Table 2).
• Among adults ages 75-84, Black non-Hispanic (subsequently, Black) people had the lowest rate (35.6), and White (84.7) and American Indian and Alaska Native (67.1) people had the highest rates of unintentional fall deaths.
• Among adults age 85 and older, Black people had the lowest rate (123.9), and White people had the highest rate (395.5). Rates for Asian (174.3), Hispanic (179.2), and American Indian and Alaska Native (202.3) people were not significantly different from each other.
• Among older adults of all race and Hispanic-origin groups, rates of unintentional fall deaths were lowest for those ages 65-74 and greatest for those age 85 and older.

Unintentional fall death rates among older adults increased for both men and women from 2003 to 2023.

• Among men and women age 65 and older, death rates due to unintentional falls increased for all age groups between 2003 and 2023, with varying rates of change across each group (Figure 3, Table 3).
• Among adults ages 65-74, the rate for men increased from 14.3 per 100,000 population in 2003 to 24.7 in 2023, and the rate for women increased from 8.3 to 14.2.
• Among adults ages 75-84, the rate for men increased from 51.3 in 2003 to 89.6 in 2023, and the rate for women increased from 33.6 to 62.8.
• The greatest increases in rates from 2003 to 2023 for both men and women were among adults age 85 and older. Rates for this age group doubled for men (from 178.3 to 373.3) and increased 2.5 times for women (from 128.5 to 319.7).

In 2023, rates of unintentional fall deaths for adults age 65 and older varied by state.

• The rate of unintentional fall deaths among adults age 65 and older ranged across states from a low of 29.5 in Alabama to a high of 158.4 in Wisconsin per 100,000 population (Figure 4, Table 4).
• The five states with the highest rates were Wisconsin (158.4), Minnesota (132.6), Maine (126.5), Oklahoma (122.2), and Vermont (120.9).
• The five states with the lowest rates were Alabama (29.5), New Jersey (34.6), California, (40.0), Louisiana (45.6), and Georgia (45.9).

Summary

In 2023, the national rate of unintentional fall deaths for adults age 65 and older was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 population. Men had higher death rates than women across all older adult age groups, and rates increased with age for both sexes in 2023. The ratio of rates for men compared with women was largest for adults ages 65-74 and narrowed with increasing age, even as overall rates increased by age group for both men and women.

Fall death rates varied by race and Hispanic origin in 2023. Among adults ages 65-74, Asian people had the lowest rates, although the difference between Hispanic and Asian people was not statistically significant, and for adults ages 75-84 and 85 and older, Black people had the lowest rates. The highest rates among people ages 65-74, 75-84, and 85 and older were for White people, although the difference in rates between White and American Indian and Alaska Native people were not statistically significant for the 65-74 and 75-84 age groups.

Rates of unintentional fall deaths increased for all older adult age groups between 2003 and 2023 and were highest among those age 85 and older. Both men and women experienced increasing rates in this period, although at varying rates of change. Rates varied widely across the United States: Wisconsin had the highest rate (158.4), five times greater than Alabama (29.5), which had the lowest rate.

Data sources and methods

National Vital Statistics System underlying cause-of-death mortality data for 2003-2023 were used to study unintentional fall deaths for adults age 65 and older by sex, age group, and race and Hispanic origin (3,4). Unintentional fall deaths were identified using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision underlying cause-of-death codes W00-W19 (5). Rates for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander non-Hispanic people are not reported because of small numbers and unstable rates.

Crude rates (deaths per 100,000 population) were calculated. Pairwise comparisons of rates (such as crude rates for men compared with those for women) were conducted using a z test with an alpha level of 0.05 (two-sided) (6). Statistically significant differences between rates based on fewer than 100 deaths and other rates were determined by comparing 95% confidence intervals of the rates for the two groups. Trends in death rates were evaluated using the Joinpoint Regression Program (Version 5.0.2) (7). Joinpoint software fitted weighted least-squares regression models to the rates on the log-transformation scale. The permutation tests for model (number of joinpoints) significance were set at an overall alpha level of 0.05 (8).

Race and Hispanic origin were categorized based on the Office of Management and Budget's 1997 standards for federal statistical and administrative reporting (9). All race categories are single race, meaning that only one race was reported on the death certificate. Data shown for Hispanic people include people of any race. Misclassification of race and Hispanic origin on death certificates results in the underestimation of death rates by as much as 34% for American Indian and Alaska Native people and 3% for Asian and Hispanic people (10,11).

About the authors

Matthew F. Garnett, Julie D. Weeks, and Anne M. Zehner are with the National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Analysis and Epidemiology.

References

1. National Center for Health Statistics. Mortality data on CDC WONDER: All ages deaths by underlying cause. Available from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/deaths-by-underlying-cause.html.
2. Garnett MF, Weeks JD, Spencer MR. Unintentional fall deaths among adults aged 65 and over: United States, 2020. NCHS Data Brief. 2022 Nov;(449):1-8. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:121836
3. National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER: Underlying cause of death 1999-2020. 2021. Available from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/deaths-by-underlying-cause.html.
4. National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER: Underlying cause of death 2018-2023. 2025. Available from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/deaths-by-underlying-cause.html.
5. World Health Organization. International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision (ICD-10). 5th ed. 2016.
6. Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, Xu JQ, Arias E. Deaths: Final data for 2021. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2024 Oct;73(8):1-139. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/158787.
7. National Cancer Institute. Joinpoint Regression Program (Version 5.0.2) [computer software]. 2023.
8. Ingram DD, Malec DJ, Makuc DM, Kruszon-Moran D, Gindi RM, Albert M, et al. National Center for Health Statistics guidelines for analysis of trends. Vital Health Stat 2. 2018 Apr;(179):1-71. PMID: 29775435.
9. Office of Management and Budget. Revisions to the standards for the classification of federal data on race and ethnicity. Fed Regist. 1997 Oct 30;62(210):58782-90.
10. Arias E, Heron M, Hakes J. The validity of race and Hispanic-origin reporting on death certificates in the United States: An update. Vital Health Stat 2. 2016 Aug 1;(172):1-21. PMID: 28436642.
11. Arias E, Xu JQ, Curtin S, Bastian B, Tejada-Vera B. Mortality profile of the non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native population, 2019. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2021 Nov;70(12):1-27. National Center for Health Statistics. 2021. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:110370.

Suggested citation

Garnett MF, Weeks JD, Zehner AM. Unintentional fall deaths in adults age 65 and older: United States, 2023. NCHS Data Brief. 2025 Jun;(532):1-11. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/174601.

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health Statistics

Brian C. Moyer, Ph.D., Director
Amy M. Branum, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science

Division of Analysis and Epidemiology

Irma E. Arispe, Ph.D., Director
Kimberly A. Lochner, Sc.D., Associate Director for Science