2024 NC Resident Child Deaths

Table 2: Leading Causes of Child Death by Age Group: All Ages, 0-17

Back to 2024 Child Deaths

Rank Cause # of Deaths Percent
1 Conditions originating in the perinatal period 387 27.9%
2 Congenital anomalies (birth defects) 172 12.4%
3 Unintentional Injuries not related to Motor Vehicles 133 9.6%
4 Motor vehicle injuries 111 8.0%
5 Homicide 83 6.0%
6 Cancer 51 3.7%
7 Suicide 44 3.2%
8 Diseases of the heart 35 2.5%
9 Pneumonia & influenza 17 1.2%
10 Chronic lower respiratory diseases 9 0.6%
  All other causes (Residual) 344 24.8%
  Total Deaths - All Causes 1,386 100%

*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.