U.S. / county disease rankings

Counties with the highest lung cancer death rates (U.S.)

Among 2,725 U.S. counties with published values, the counties with the highest lung cancer death rates are Union County, FL (101.8, 3.37 times the U.S. rate of 30.2), Carter County, MO (91.7, 3.04 times the U.S. rate of 30.2) and Lincoln County, WV (87.6, 2.9 times the U.S. rate of 30.2). Values are per 100,000, age-adjusted. 1,378 of the 2,725 are significantly above the U.S. rate.

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. These are county-level figures, age-adjusted as published by the source, compared with the U.S. rate. A high rate does not prove an environmental cause: age, smoking, income, access to care, screening and chance all move county rates, and small counties swing widely. Significant means the lower bound of the county’s 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate.