Massachusetts Provisional Death Data

The Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS) is introducing a new format for reporting provisional mortality data, making current-year death data available to the public. This report includes early estimates of death totals, leading causes of death, and shifts in trends across Massachusetts.

This report is refreshed on a quarterly basis. Quarterly refreshes occur on April 15, July 15, October 15, and January 15, with each release containing data lagged by four months (e.g., July 15 release reflects data through March 31). The Department of Public Health cautions users against drawing conclusions from provisional data, particularly when analyzing small numbers of events. All data in this publication are resident data unless otherwise stated.

If you have questions about data presented in this report or would like to create a custom data request, please reach out to [e-mail].

Table 1. Massachusetts Resident Death Counts by Month, 2026 Year-to-Date

Month/Year	Monthly Death Count
01/2026	6,107
02/2026	5,045
03/2026	5,211

Table 2. Massachusetts Resident Death Counts by City/Town of Residence, 2026 Year-to-Date

City/Town of Death	YTD Deaths
Abington	36
Acton	43
Acushnet	28
Adams	18
Agawam	102
Alford	1
Amesbury	45
Amherst	62
Andover	71
Arlington	82
Ashburnham	17
Ashby	8
Ashfield	4
Ashland	33
Athol	38
Attleboro	108
Auburn	60
Avon	12
Ayer	21
Barnstable	111
Barre	13
Becket	3
Bedford	42
Belchertown	34
Bellingham	30
Belmont	37
Berkley	20
Berlin	5
Bernardston	4
Beverly	99
Billerica	115
Blackstone	11
Blandford	3
Bolton	3
Boston	1,029
Bourne	56
Boxborough	7
Boxford	14
Boylston	13
Braintree	109
Brewster	41
Bridgewater	67
Brimfield	7
Brockton	217
Brookfield	7
Brookline	76
Buckland	2
Burlington	75
Cambridge	129
Canton	84
Carlisle	6
Carver	29
Charlemont	3
Charlton	31
Chatham	31
Chelmsford	97
Chelsea	81
Cheshire	10
Chester	3
Chesterfield	2
Chicopee	149
Chilmark	5
Clarksburg	4
Clinton	33
Cohasset	13
Colrain	7
Concord	47
Conway	5
Cummington	3
Dalton	24
Danvers	108
Dartmouth	82
Dedham	86
Deerfield	18
Dennis	74
Dighton	20
Douglas	14
Dover	7
Dracut	71
Dudley	27
Dunstable	4
Duxbury	33
East Bridgewater	36
East Brookfield	4
East Longmeadow	63
Eastham	24
Easthampton	48
Easton	58
Edgartown	15
Egremont	6
Essex	9
Everett	60
Fairhaven	46
Fall River	240
Falmouth	115
Fitchburg	104
Florida	1
Foxborough	41
Framingham	143
Franklin	63
Freetown	31
Gardner	55
Georgetown	16
Gill	4
Gloucester	92
Goshen	3
Grafton	30
Granby	15
Granville	3
Great Barrington	32
Greenfield	63
Groton	17
Groveland	18
Hadley	17
Halifax	18
Hamilton	17
Hampden	18
Hancock	2
Hanover	39
Hanson	30
Hardwick	2
Harvard	10
Harwich	46
Hatfield	11
Haverhill	158
Hawley	1
Heath	1
Hingham	77
Hinsdale	5
Holbrook	26
Holden	42
Holland	5
Holliston	35
Holyoke	105
Hopedale	18
Hopkinton	27
Hubbardston	11
Hudson	54
Hull	32
Huntington	5
Ipswich	42
Kingston	32
Lakeville	19
Lancaster	19
Lanesborough	3
Lawrence	136
Lee	22
Leicester	28
Lenox	21
Leominster	105
Leverett	4
Lexington	76
Leyden	3
Lincoln	16
Littleton	27
Longmeadow	57
Lowell	223
Ludlow	47
Lunenburg	24
Lynn	207
Lynnfield	25
Malden	119
Manchester	6
Mansfield	36
Marblehead	43
Marion	19
Marlborough	96
Marshfield	58
Mashpee	75
Mattapoisett	25
Maynard	30
Medfield	14
Medford	123
Medway	28
Melrose	56
Mendon	13
Merrimac	13
Methuen	128
Middleborough	65
Middlefield	1
Middleton	21
Milford	74
Millbury	54
Millis	21
Millville	3
Milton	47
Monson	21
Montague	25
Montgomery	1
Nahant	12
Nantucket	25
Natick	81
Needham	64
New Bedford	237
New Braintree	1
New Marlborough	2
New Salem	2
Newbury	21
Newburyport	46
Newton	153
Norfolk	14
North Adams	44
North Andover	75
North Attleborough	64
North Brookfield	6
North Reading	27
Northampton	75
Northborough	19
Northbridge	57
Northfield	8
Norton	43
Norwell	32
Norwood	83
Oak Bluffs	12
Oakham	5
Orange	29
Orleans	23
Otis	2
Oxford	31
Palmer	29
Paxton	7
Peabody	195
Pelham	3
Pembroke	48
Pepperell	21
Peru	2
Petersham	2
Phillipston	5
Pittsfield	155
Plainfield	1
Plainville	29
Plymouth	172
Plympton	5
Princeton	6
Provincetown	14
Quincy	214
Randolph	62
Raynham	41
Reading	49
Rehoboth	35
Revere	120
Richmond	4
Rochester	8
Rockland	61
Rockport	27
Rowe	1
Rowley	16
Royalston	2
Russell	3
Rutland	19
Salem	77
Salisbury	18
Sandisfield	5
Sandwich	54
Saugus	83
Savoy	2
Scituate	49
Seekonk	35
Sharon	45
Sheffield	5
Shelburne	7
Sherborn	4
Shirley	11
Shrewsbury	89
Shutesbury	2
Somerset	69
Somerville	94
South Hadley	59
Southampton	20
Southborough	13
Southbridge	52
Southwick	33
Spencer	33
Springfield	326
Sterling	29
Stockbridge	8
Stoneham	70
Stoughton	79
Stow	5
Sturbridge	16
Sudbury	32
Sunderland	5
Sutton	18
Swampscott	44
Swansea	56
Taunton	142
Templeton	26
Tewksbury	87
Tisbury	11
Topsfield	14
Townsend	16
Truro	10
Tyngsborough	31
Unknown	2
Upton	21
Uxbridge	40
Wakefield	64
Wales	5
Walpole	44
Waltham	110
Ware	35
Wareham	85
Warren	15
Warwick	3
Watertown	77
Wayland	33
Webster	69
Wellesley	51
Wellfleet	8
Wendell	1
Wenham	4
West Boylston	40
West Bridgewater	21
West Brookfield	17
West Newbury	9
West Springfield	90
West Stockbridge	4
West Tisbury	4
Westborough	43
Westfield	99
Westford	38
Westhampton	2
Westminster	21
Weston	21
Westport	43
Westwood	38
Weymouth	146
Whately	3
Whitman	43
Wilbraham	40
Williamsburg	8
Williamstown	14
Wilmington	49
Winchendon	29
Winchester	52
Windsor	1
Winthrop	34
Woburn	89
Worcester	390
Worthington	3
Wrentham	39
Yarmouth	109

Notes: 

1. Towns are listed in alphabetical order. 
2. 0 deaths were reported in the specified time period for the towns of Aquinnah, Erving, Gosnold, Monroe, Monterery, Mount Washington, New Ashford, Tolland, Tyringham, and Washington.

Table 3. Massachusetts Resident Death Counts by Underlying Cause of Death, 2026 Year-to-Date

Cause of Death	YTD Deaths
All Other Causes	3,395
Cancer	3,174
Heart Disease	3,128
Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease	699
Stroke	679
Alzheimer's Disease	629
Unintentional Injuries	568
Influenza & Pneumonia	457
Ill Defined Conditions	413
Nephritis	396
Diabetes	376
Overdose	300
Parkinson's Disease	260
Septicemia	238
Pneumonitis	222
Chronic Liver Disease	216
Hypertension	167
Nutritional Deficiencies	146
Other Infections	114
Suicide	108
Covid	107
In Situ Neoplasms	101
Certain Infections	68
Other Artery	62
Aortic Aneurysm	52
Anemias	40
Congenital Malformations	38
Homicide	29
Perinatal Conditions	22
Cholelithiasis	21
Peptic Ulcer	19
Medical Complication	18
HIV/AIDS	14
Hernia	13
Injuries of Undetermined Intent	13
Atherosclerosis	12
Viral Hepatitis	9
Hyperplasia of Prostate	9
Kidney Infection	8
Pneumoconioses	4
Acute Bronchitis	4
Appendix Disease	3
Tuberculosis	3
Meningitis	2
Viral Encephalitis	2
Inflammatory Female Pelvic Disease	2
Legal Intervention	1
Meningococcal	1
Pregnancy	1

Notes: 

1. Causes of death are listed in descending order. 
2. Causes of death in this table are based upon the underlying cause of death and classified according to ICD-10 codes. The underlying cause of death is disease or injury that initiated the series of events leading to death, or the circumstances of the unintentional or intentional injury that resulted in the death. 
3. An overdose death may also be counted as an unintentional injury (accident), suicide, homicide, or injury of undetermined intent. Deaths from all other causes on this list are counted in only one cause-of-death category.

Table 4. Death Counts by Place of Death, Massachusetts Residents, 2026 Year-to-Date

Place of Death	YTD Deaths
Hospital - Inpatient	5,703
Decedent's Residence	4,555
Nursing Home	2,723
Hospital - ER/Outpatient	1,077
Hospice Facility	831
Assisted Living Facility or Rest Home	667
Other	649
Hospital - DOA	99
Secondary Residence	59

Notes: 

1. Place of death is determined by and formally recorded by the attending physician, a hospital medical officer, or a medical examiner, who documents it on the death certificate. 
2. Places of death are listed in descending order.Place of death is determined by and formally recorded by the attending physician, a hospital medical officer, or a medical examiner, who documents it on the death certificate.

Table 5. Death Counts by Sex of Decedent, Massachusetts Residents, 2026 Year-to-Date

Sex	YTD Deaths
Male	8,235
Female	8,127

Note: Individuals of unknown sex are not included in this table.

Table 6. Death Counts by Age of Decedent at Time of Death, Massachusetts Residents, 2026 Year-to-Date

Age Group	YTD Deaths
0-1 year	49
1-4 years	10
15-24 years	61
25-34 years	159
35-44 years	337
45-54 years	596
5-14 years	26
55-64 years	1,481
65-74 years	3,030
75-84 years	4,693
85+ years	5,921

Note: Individuals with unknown age at time of death are excluded from this table.

Table 7. Death Counts by Race and Hispanic ethnicity of Decedent, Massachusetts Residents, 2026 Year-to-Date

Race/Ethnicity	YTD Deaths
American Indian / Alaska Native non-Hispanic	35
Asian / Pacific Islander non-Hispanic	483
Black non-Hispanic	930
Hispanic	905
Other NH	98
Unknown	30
White non-Hispanic	13,882

Notes:

1. Counts by race/ethnicity may not sum to state total. 
2. Counts by race/ethnicity are presented in alphabetical order.

Table 8. Death Counts by Manner of Death, Massachusetts Residents, 2026 Year-to-Date

Manner of Death	YTD Deaths
Natural	15,047
Accident	967
Suicide	143
Pending Investigation	104
Could Not Be Determined	54
Homicide	37
Therapeutic Complication	11

Notes:

1. ‘Pending investigation’ indicates that the case is under review by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). 
2. ‘Could Not be Determined’ indicates that manner of death was unable to be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). An example of this could be an overdose death where there was not enough information of the circumstances surrounding the death to determine if the overdose was intentional (suicide as manner) or unintentional (accident as manner).
3. Counts are listed in descending order.

Table 9. Five-Year Historical Trends in Massachusetts Resident Mortality: 2021-2025

Demographic	Metric	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Total Resident Deaths	Number	63,158	63,390	61,219	60,003	59,847
Total Resident Deaths	Age-Adjusted Rate	722.8	709.7	671.3	656.3	651.9
Total Resident Deaths	Crude Rate	903.3	907.8	874.4	857.0	854.8
Women	Number	30,757	31,583	30,428	30,272	29,832
Women	Age-Adjusted Rate	600.0	600.8	567.4	564.3	554.3
Men	Number	32,401	31,805	30,790	29,730	30,013
Men	Age-Adjusted Rate	876.3	842.9	798.9	771.4	773.9
American Indian / Alaska Native non-Hispanic	Number	128	141	99	99	129
American Indian / Alaska Native non-Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	844.1	936.9	623.6	657.8	807.6
Asian / Pacific Islander non-Hispanic	Number	1,716	1,625	1,642	1,644	1,664
Asian / Pacific Islander non-Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	438.1	393.7	376.0	373.8	381.5
Black non-Hispanic	Number	3,419	3,589	3,386	3,318	3,412
Black non-Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	741.2	750.2	684.2	679.9	701.4
Hispanic	Number	3,379	3,235	3,114	3,154	3,135
Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	605.8	546.3	502.4	522.4	530.3
White non-Hispanic	Number	53,869	54,219	52,450	51,116	51,027
White non-Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	738.2	728.5	693.0	671.4	666.6

Notes:

1. 2021-2023 data are from Massachusetts closed death files. 2024-2025 data are from Massachusetts open death files. 2023-2025 data are considered preliminary at this time. 
2. Age-adjusted mortality rates were calculated by weighting the age-specific rates for a given year by the age distribution of the 2000 US Standard Population. The weighted age-specific rates are then added to produce the adjusted rate for all ages combined. Age-Adjusted mortality rates are expressed per 100,000 resident population. 
3. Crude mortality rates were calculated using the number of deaths divided by the total state population. Crude rates are expressed per 100,000 residents. 
4. Race group ‘Other NH’ and ‘Unknown’ are not included in rate calculations based on the availability of population denominators. 
5. Counts by race/ethnicity will not sum to state total.

Figure 1. 12 Month-Ending Provisional Counts of Opioid-Related and total overdose deaths

Figure 1 is entitled ‘12 Month-Ending Provisional Counts of Opioid-Related and total overdose deaths’. There are two dotted lines on the graph, a dark blue line labeled ‘Total Overdoses’, and a light blue line labeled ‘Opioid-Related Overdoses’ . The vertical axis is named ‘Number of Deaths’, beginning with 0 to 3,000 in increments of 500. The horizontal axis is labeled ‘12 Month-Ending Period’ and lists all months and years from January 2015 to March 2026. “12-month ending periods,” are defined as the number of deaths occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated. In the graph, the ‘Total Overdoses’ line starts at 1,567 overdose deaths in the 12 month period ending January 2015, reaches a peak of 2,878 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending January 2023, and declines to a 10-year low of 1,277 overdose deaths in the 12 month period ending March 2026. The ‘Opioid Related Overdose’ line starts at 1,395 in the 12 month period ending January 2015, peaks at 2,456 deaths in the 12 month period ending January 2023 and declines to 892 opioid related overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending March 2026.

Download:  To complement the Figure 1 image, an Excel file is available to download. Data Download - 12 Month-Ending Provisional Counts of Opioid-Related and Total Overdose Deaths (Excel) 

Notes: 

1. Overdose and opioid-related overdose deaths were identified using ICD-10 codes as defined by the CDC’s case definition: The following International Classification of Disease (ICD10) codes for mortality were selected from the underlying cause of death field to identify poisonings/overdoses: X40-X44 (unintentional), X60-X64( suicide), X85 (homicide), and Y10-Y14 (undetermined). All multiple cause of death fields were then used to identify an opioid-related overdose death: T40.0, T40.1, T40.2, T40.3, T40.4, and T40.6. Opium (T40.0); heroin (T40.1); natural opioid analgesics (T40.2); methadone (T40.3); synthetic opioid analgesics other than methadone (T40.4); or other and unspecified narcotics (T40.6).
2. Provisional death counts presented in this data visualization are for “12-month ending periods,” defined as the number of deaths occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated.

General Data Notes

Data Sources: The data in this report were obtained from Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS) Closed Death Files (2019-2023 data) and Open Death Files (2024-2026 data). Closed files are stable datasets used for annual reporting. Open files contain the most recent available data, and they continue to be updated over time. Counts published by RVRS may differ from counts obtained through National Center for Health Statistics/CDC WONDER because MADPH/RVRS closes their annual files later than NCHS to get more complete reporting of events.

Preliminary vs Provisional Data: Data products based on open files include a “Provisional Data” or “Preliminary Data” note indicating that the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, have not yet been fully verified, and are subject to revision as additional information becomes available Preliminary data represents completed observations or results but simply hasn’t passed the final, rigorous vetting or approval stages. The “preliminary data” note is removed once the annual report for a given year has been published on our website.

Resident death: The death of a person whose usual place of residence or permanent address (as reported by the informant) is in one of the 351 cities or towns of Massachusetts, regardless of where the death took place. All data in this report are resident data.

Death Certificates: A vital record can be signed by a licensed physician doctor (which includes medical examiners), a Nurse Practitioner, or a Physician Assistant. Starting in 2016 Physician Assistants (PA) could also sign. Some data elements found on the death certificate are causes of death, decedent’s name, gender, birth date, place of residence, and place of occurrence. The underlying cause of death is the disease or injury that initiated the events leading to the death. Cause of death information in this report is based on ICD-10 codes.

Race and Hispanic Ethnicity: The 2003 revision of the Standard Certificate of Death allows the reporting of more than one race. in accordance with the revised standards issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1997. In order to provide uniformity and comparability of the data during the transition period, before multiple-race data are available for all reporting areas, it is necessary to “bridge” the responses of those who reported more than one race to a single-race. The method used to bridge responses for those who report more than one race to a single race is based on a procedure whereby multiple races are assigned to the smallest minority group first (i.e., Asian and White becomes Asian, or Black and Native American becomes Native American). All respondents reporting Hispanic/Latino ethnicity are included in the Hispanic/Latino category regardless of race. Even though we bridge responses down to seven categories (American Indian / Alaska Native NH, Asian/Pacific Islander NH, Black NH, Hispanic, White NH, Other NH, and Unknown) not all categories are used in each table or figure that compares race and ethnicity data. There are well-known difficulties in calculating accurate mortality rates for smaller populations such as Asian/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans. Please use caution when interpreting these small numbers.

Population Denominators: Population estimates are from State, County, and Small Area Population Estimates 2020-2030, (Version 2025), generated by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Health. Detailed population estimates at fine levels of geography are prone to estimation error. Estimated error was best described by age and population size and was used to adjust final population numbers, however a margin of error exists for all estimates.

Additional Resources

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