Injury Deaths - Children in United States

United States

Accidents, or unintentional injuries, are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States. Between 2019 and 2022, the child firearm death rate increased 46%. In 2020, firearm-related injuries — mainly homicides — surpassed motor vehicle accidents to become the leading cause of death among children ages 1-19, and by 2022, the U.S. was averaging seven child deaths per day due to firearms. Meanwhile, drug overdose and poisoning deaths increased 103%, and were a leading cause of child mortality in 2021. 

Suicide is also a serious concern among children and teens. It is the second-leading cause of death among children ages 10-14, and third among those ages 15-19. In the last decade, there has been an increase in deaths by suicide within these age groups.

The economic burden associated with injury is high — 2019 estimates put the cost of injuries at $369 billion for those ages 0-14 , and $512 billion for those ages 15-24.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of deaths due to injury is higher among:

• Children ages 15-19 compared with younger children.
• Boys compared with girls.
• American Indian/Alaska Native and Black children, who both have a prevalence more than four times the rate of non-Hispanic Asian children, the group with the lowest prevalence.

Additional research has found that unintentional injury deaths are higher among children living in rural areas and children living in high-poverty counties.

To combat injury as the leading cause of child mortality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a National Action Plan for Child Injury Prevention to raise awareness about child injury, highlight prevention solutions and mobilize action to reduce this under-recognized public health problem. 

The CDC lists effective and promising youth violence prevention strategies, including universal school-based programs, also recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force. The CDC has partnered with 26 state health departments to further address issues related to injury and violence through the Core State Injury Prevention Program. This program has produced multiple successful state responses to suicide, adverse childhood experiences and traumatic brain injury, as well as motor vehicle injury deaths.

Injury prevention strategies can be effectively implemented at home. Parents and caregivers can find tips online to protect their children from accidental injuries. The CDC also offers recommendations for caretakers on keeping children healthy and safe from injury. Households with firearms can improve safety by ensuring all guns inside the home are unloaded and locked away securely and all lock combinations, codes and storage keys are kept hidden. However, removing all guns from the home is the best way to ensure children’s safety. 

Improving access to mental health resources can help prevent suicide. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential support for people in distress 24/7, everywhere in the U.S. Additional forms of crisis support are available on the website, and the previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (1-800-273-8255) remains active.

Healthy People 2030 has the following goals related to injury deaths:

• Reducing the overall death rate among children and adolescents. 
• Reducing suicide attempts by adolescents. 
• Reducing fatal injuries.
• Reducing unintentional injury deaths.
• Reducing overdose deaths involving opioids. 
• Reducing deaths from motor vehicle crashes.
• Reducing firearm-related deaths.

Garnett, Matthew F., Merianne Rose Spencer, and Holly Hedegaard. “Urban-Rural Differences in Unintentional Injury Death Rates Among Children Aged 0–17 Years: United States, 2018–2019.” NCHS Data Brief No. 421. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, October 2021. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:110040.

Goldstick, Jason E., Rebecca M. Cunningham, and Patrick M. Carter. “Current Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States.” New England Journal of Medicine 386, no. 20 (May 19, 2022): 1955–56. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2201761.

“National Action Plan for Child Injury Prevention: An Agenda to Prevent Injuries and Promote the Safety of Children and Adolescents in the United States.” Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2012. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/12060.

Peterson, Cora, Gabrielle F. Miller, Sarah Beth L. Barnett, and Curtis Florence. “Economic Cost of Injury — United States, 2019.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 70, no. 48 (December 3, 2021): 1655–59. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7048a1.