2024 NC Resident Child Deaths

Table 2: Leading Causes of Child Death by Age Group: Ages 15 to 17

Back to 2024 Child Deaths

Rank Cause # of Deaths Percent
1 Motor vehicle injuries 66 27.7%
2 Homicide 45 18.9%
3 Unintentional Injuries not related to Motor Vehicles 32 13.4%
4 Suicide 26 10.9%
5 Cancer 14 5.9%
6 Diseases of the heart 8 3.4%
7 Congenital anomalies (birth defects) 4 1.7%
8 In-situ/benign neoplasms 3 1.3%
9 Chronic lower respiratory diseases 2 0.8%
9 Diabetes mellitus 2 0.8%
9 Pneumonia & influenza 2 0.8%
9 Septicemia 2 0.8%
  All other causes (Residual) 32 13.4%
  Total Deaths --- All Causes 238 100%

*Leading causes of death are generated from a list of 51 causes of death categories developed by the National Center for Health Statistics to promote comparability in analyses of mortality.

For deaths under one year of age, a list of 72 causes of death was used. See Appendices for the ICD-10 codes for these lists of causes.

Prepared by NC Department of Health and Human Services, Title V Office in Collaboration with the State Center for Health Statistics, 17 APR 2026.