This map shows where there were more deaths than births last year

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This map shows where there were more deaths than births last year
  • The Census Bureau recently published data comparing deaths and births in every US county last year.
  • Rhode Island was one of four states where every county saw natural decrease.

Around three-fourths of the 3,143 counties in the US saw more deaths than births in 2021.

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That's based on natural population change data, comparing the number of births and deaths, from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 for counties that was recently published by the Census Bureau.

"In 2021, fewer births, an aging population and increased mortality — intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic — contributed to a rise in natural decrease," or an excess of deaths over births, the Census Bureau wrote in a press release.

Only about a quarter of US counties had a natural increase, or more births than deaths, during this time. The above map of the 3,143 US counties shows what natural change per 1,000 residents looked like across the nation. A county in red means it experienced natural decrease, while blue means it experienced a natural increase during this period.

One notable takeaway is that none of the counties in New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, and Rhode Island saw natural increase. According to the press release from the Census Bureau and as seen in the above map, the counties that make up these four states all had more deaths than births.

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Maine, for instance, had a natural decrease of 6,344, because there were 11,291 births from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 and 17,635 deaths during this same period.

The following table shows the counties with 2020 populations of at least 10,000 that had the largest natural increase per 1,000 residents:

Similarly, the following table shows the counties with at least 10,000 residents as of July 1, 2020 that had the largest natural decrease per 1,000 residents:

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