Change Indicator

Child death rate, detailed in Maine

Child death rate, detailed

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Note: Non-consecutive years appear adjacent in the trend line
because one or more years have been deselected.

Why This Indicator Matters

The child and teen death rate reflects a broad array of factors: physical and mental health; access to health care; community factors; use of safety practices and the level of adult supervision. Accidents, primarily those involving motor vehicles, are the leading cause of death for children and youth.

What the data shows

At a national level, child deaths are down from the rates 1900-2010, but have not changed very much since that time and have been 16 or 17 per 10,000 since 2010.  KIDS COUNT Child Death Rate   By way of national rankings, in 2021, 3 states were not ranked, but Maine tied for seventeenth among those states that were ranked for the lowest child death rates. Of the four New England states that were ranked, Maine had the highest child death rate.

In Maine, in 2017-2021, the child death rate for ages 1 to 14 was 1.7 per 10,000 children. This is the highest rate since the 5-year period 2010-2014. The previous overlapping years rate for 2016-2020 was 1.4 per 10,000 children.

For the latest 5-year period, 2017-2021, county data was suppressed  in 8 counties due to child deaths over the 5-year period being less than 6. For the remaining 8 counties, Cumberland was the only county with a rate below 1 child per 10,000 children. Knox had the highest rate at 4.1, while Oxford was at 2.5 while Somerset and Kennebec were at 2.4 per 10,000 children respectively.  
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Definition and Source

PROVIDER

Definition

The rate of deaths from all causes to children ages 1 to 14. The rate is per 10,000 children ages 1 to 14. The data are reported by the child's place of residence, not the place of death. The year 2021 represents data for the period 2017-2021, as these are 5-year averages.

Notes

LNE (Low number event): Data has been suppressed to preserve confidentiality. Maine CDC revised their rules to suppress both numbers and rates for sub-state level such as counties when the number is  less than 6.

Data represent five-year averages, with the ultimate year of the five-year spread indicated here; 2020 represents the average of data from 2017- 2021 represents the average of data from 2017-2021; 2016-2020, etc. The rate is per 10,000 Maine children ages 1 to 14.

Last Updated

October 2023