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., October 15 release reflects data through June 30). 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	6,113
02/2026	5,049
03/2026	5,219
04/2026	4,777
05/2026	5,006
06/2026	4,773

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

City/Town of Death	YTD Deaths
Abington	74
Acton	71
Acushnet	46
Adams	40
Agawam	203
Alford	3
Amesbury	80
Amherst	99
Andover	135
Aquinnah	0
Arlington	159
Ashburnham	26
Ashby	16
Ashfield	14
Ashland	71
Athol	79
Attleboro	209
Auburn	109
Avon	21
Ayer	53
Barnstable	243
Barre	26
Becket	5
Bedford	78
Belchertown	65
Bellingham	55
Belmont	81
Berkley	28
Berlin	10
Bernardston	8
Beverly	187
Billerica	190
Blackstone	28
Blandford	6
Bolton	11
Boston	1,980
Bourne	125
Boxborough	14
Boxford	29
Boylston	26
Braintree	204
Brewster	83
Bridgewater	108
Brimfield	16
Brockton	428
Brookfield	12
Brookline	143
Buckland	6
Burlington	132
Cambridge	223
Canton	144
Carlisle	11
Carver	63
Charlemont	8
Charlton	58
Chatham	68
Chelmsford	186
Chelsea	137
Cheshire	22
Chester	4
Chesterfield	9
Chicopee	276
Chilmark	7
Clarksburg	7
Clinton	57
Cohasset	26
Colrain	13
Concord	81
Conway	6
Cummington	4
Dalton	37
Danvers	186
Dartmouth	161
Dedham	154
Deerfield	28
Dennis	126
Dighton	36
Douglas	29
Dover	12
Dracut	141
Dudley	55
Dunstable	8
Duxbury	67
East Bridgewater	70
East Brookfield	10
East Longmeadow	109
Eastham	42
Easthampton	90
Easton	109
Edgartown	26
Egremont	9
Erving	2
Essex	16
Everett	119
Fairhaven	91
Fall River	466
Falmouth	209
Fitchburg	194
Florida	5
Foxborough	70
Framingham	276
Franklin	124
Freetown	48
Gardner	118
Georgetown	25
Gill	9
Gloucester	168
Goshen	3
Gosnold	0
Grafton	67
Granby	34
Granville	9
Great Barrington	48
Greenfield	116
Groton	41
Groveland	38
Hadley	34
Halifax	40
Hamilton	29
Hampden	34
Hancock	3
Hanover	74
Hanson	60
Hardwick	9
Harvard	21
Harwich	95
Hatfield	17
Haverhill	320
Hawley	1
Heath	3
Hingham	149
Hinsdale	7
Holbrook	48
Holden	73
Holland	10
Holliston	61
Holyoke	198
Hopedale	29
Hopkinton	48
Hubbardston	20
Hudson	87
Hull	63
Huntington	7
Ipswich	73
Kingston	66
Lakeville	48
Lancaster	38
Lanesborough	8
Lawrence	258
Lee	50
Leicester	46
Lenox	46
Leominster	193
Leverett	6
Lexington	132
Leyden	3
Lincoln	31
Littleton	50
Longmeadow	99
Lowell	424
Ludlow	98
Lunenburg	51
Lynn	357
Lynnfield	55
Malden	219
Manchester	20
Mansfield	72
Marblehead	95
Marion	36
Marlborough	172
Marshfield	123
Mashpee	122
Mattapoisett	38
Maynard	51
Medfield	33
Medford	223
Medway	67
Melrose	110
Mendon	25
Merrimac	28
Methuen	230
Middleborough	133
Middlefield	4
Middleton	43
Milford	131
Millbury	86
Millis	42
Millville	8
Milton	99
Monroe	1
Monson	41
Montague	38
Monterey	3
Montgomery	4
Mount Washington	1
Nahant	18
Nantucket	47
Natick	163
Needham	103
New Ashford	0
New Bedford	462
New Braintree	2
New Marlborough	5
New Salem	5
Newbury	28
Newburyport	95
Newton	291
Norfolk	30
North Adams	87
North Andover	126
North Attleborough	118
North Brookfield	17
North Reading	57
Northampton	146
Northborough	50
Northbridge	96
Northfield	16
Norton	76
Norwell	54
Norwood	151
Oak Bluffs	23
Oakham	11
Orange	48
Orleans	56
Otis	9
Oxford	67
Palmer	55
Paxton	19
Peabody	373
Pelham	7
Pembroke	87
Pepperell	48
Peru	3
Petersham	4
Phillipston	9
Pittsfield	290
Plainfield	2
Plainville	47
Plymouth	353
Plympton	7
Princeton	10
Provincetown	29
Quincy	392
Randolph	138
Raynham	77
Reading	98
Rehoboth	50
Revere	222
Richmond	5
Rochester	21
Rockland	103
Rockport	52
Rowe	3
Rowley	25
Royalston	4
Russell	6
Rutland	39
Salem	150
Salisbury	44
Sandisfield	11
Sandwich	106
Saugus	143
Savoy	4
Scituate	89
Seekonk	55
Sharon	67
Sheffield	12
Shelburne	13
Sherborn	10
Shirley	19
Shrewsbury	144
Shutesbury	4
Somerset	123
Somerville	182
South Hadley	111
Southampton	31
Southborough	29
Southbridge	100
Southwick	46
Spencer	60
Springfield	643
Sterling	53
Stockbridge	15
Stoneham	115
Stoughton	148
Stow	12
Sturbridge	33
Sudbury	71
Sunderland	9
Sutton	36
Swampscott	77
Swansea	105
Taunton	267
Templeton	52
Tewksbury	164
Tisbury	15
Tolland	1
Topsfield	28
Townsend	35
Truro	17
Tyngsborough	53
Tyringham	1
Upton	29
Uxbridge	64
Wakefield	120
Wales	13
Walpole	107
Waltham	189
Ware	68
Wareham	161
Warren	27
Warwick	6
Washington	3
Watertown	138
Wayland	60
Webster	124
Wellesley	90
Wellfleet	18
Wendell	5
Wenham	15
West Boylston	65
West Bridgewater	35
West Brookfield	27
West Newbury	15
West Springfield	141
West Stockbridge	9
West Tisbury	8
Westborough	87
Westfield	199
Westford	79
Westhampton	4
Westminster	30
Weston	37
Westport	82
Westwood	72
Weymouth	252
Whately	5
Whitman	65
Wilbraham	84
Williamsburg	15
Williamstown	35
Wilmington	100
Winchendon	56
Winchester	96
Windsor	3
Winthrop	80
Woburn	190
Worcester	764
Worthington	8
Wrentham	71
Yarmouth	203

Note: Towns are listed in alphabetical order.

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

Cause of Death	YTD Deaths
All Other Causes	6,706
Cancer	6,363
Heart Disease	5,847
Stroke	1,316
Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease	1,244
Alzheimer’s Disease	1,179
Unintentional Injuries	1,113
Nephritis	718
Diabetes	705
Influenza & Pneumonia	644
Ill Defined Conditions	620
Overdose	604
Parkinson’s Disease	473
Septicemia	423
Chronic Liver Disease	402
Pneumonitis	382
Hypertension	321
Nutritional Deficiencies	265
Suicide	219
In Situ Neoplasms	199
Other Infections	193
Covid	122
Other Artery	113
Certain Infections	111
Aortic Aneurysm	85
Congenital Malformations	83
Homicide	63
Anemias	61
Cholelithiasis	53
Perinatal Conditions	48
Medical Complication	39
Peptic Ulcer	36
HIV/AIDS	33
Kidney Infection	23
Hernia	21
Injuries of Undetermined Intent	19
Atherosclerosis	17
Hyperplasia of Prostate	16
Viral Hepatitis	16
Pneumoconioses	6
Pregnancy	6
Appendix Disease	5
Tuberculosis	5
Acute Bronchitis	5
Meningitis	5
Legal Intervention	4
Viral Encephalitis	2
Inflammatory Female Pelvic Disease	2
Syphilis	1
Meningococcal	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	10,530
Decedent's Residence	8,791
Nursing Home	5,139
Hospital - ER/Outpatient	1,940
Hospice Facility	1,619
Assisted Living Facility or Rest Home	1,307
Other	1,286
Hospital - DOA	194
Secondary Residence	131

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.

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

Sex	YTD Deaths
Male	15,548
Female	15,386

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	107
1-4 years	23
15-24 years	137
25-34 years	326
35-44 years	687
45-54 years	1,122
5-14 years	47
55-64 years	2,797
65-74 years	5,739
75-84 years	8,883
85+ years	11,069

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	79
Asian / Pacific Islander non-Hispanic	949
Black non-Hispanic	1,792
Hispanic	1,700
Other NH	185
Unknown	70
White non-Hispanic	26,162

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	28,341
Accident	1,924
Suicide	278
Pending Investigation	183
Could Not Be Determined	104
Homicide	71
Therapeutic Complication	36

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	60,008	59,856
Total Resident Deaths	Age-Adjusted Rate	722.8	709.7	671.3	656.4	652.0
Total Resident Deaths	Crude Rate	903.3	907.8	874.4	857.1	854.9
Women	Number	30,757	31,583	30,428	30,275	29,838
Women	Age-Adjusted Rate	600.0	600.8	567.4	564.3	554.4
Men	Number	32,401	31,805	30,790	29,732	30,016
Men	Age-Adjusted Rate	876.3	842.9	798.9	771.5	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	1,662
Asian / Pacific Islander non-Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	438.1	393.7	376.0	373.8	381.0
Black non-Hispanic	Number	3,419	3,589	3,386	3,320	3,415
Black non-Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	741.2	750.2	684.2	680.2	701.8
Hispanic	Number	3,379	3,235	3,114	3,156	3,137
Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	605.8	546.3	502.4	522.7	530.5
White non-Hispanic	Number	53,869	54,219	52,450	51,117	51,032
White non-Hispanic	Age-Adjusted Rate	738.2	728.5	693.0	671.5	666.7

Notes:

1. 2021-2024 data are from Massachusetts closed death files. 2025 data are from Massachusetts open death files. 2024-2025 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 June 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 2,787 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 June 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 910 opioid related overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending June 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 (2019-2024 data) and Open Death Files (2025-2026 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

Deaths of Massachusetts Residents - Data Dashboard Deaths of Massachusetts Residents - Data Dashboard +

Learn More

Deaths in Massachusetts - Annual Reports Deaths in Massachusetts - Annual Reports +

Learn More