This State Has the Most COVID-19 Deaths in America

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Dec 16, 11:00AM EST

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This State Has the Most COVID-19 Deaths in America — © Victor J. Blue / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Ironically, the nation that is considered the most medically advanced in the world has the highest number of both confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. The U.S. recorded just over 50.2 million cases, which is 18% of the world’s total. Deaths, at just over 798,000, are 15% of the world’s total. Contributing considerably to these counts is California, the state with the most COVID-19 deaths in America.

The U.S. was hit very hard early in the pandemic. Deaths and cases in New York City and surrounding areas exploded in March, April, and May 2020. Another wave hit the Western states in summer 2020. A third hammered most of the U.S. a year ago, when death rates and cases hit all-time highs. The current wave started in early September and has continued. Holiday gatherings this year could increase infection rates again, particularly as the omicron variant spreads.

Since COVID-19 began to affect people in late 2019 or early 2020, there have been over 270 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 5.2 million deaths. Many experts consider these numbers to be much too low.

When the worldwide death figure crossed 5 million, Amber D’Souza, professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told National Geographic, “It’s quite possible that the number of deaths is double what we see.” U.S. case and death counts are also undercounted, according to most experts. (Find out which states are doing a better job fighting the virus: COVID-19: These are the states fighting it most successfully.)

To find the state with the most COVID-19 deaths, 24/7 Wall St. used data from state and local governments current as of Dec. 13.

The state where the most people have died of COVID-19 is California. Confirmed deaths sit at 75,554, or close to 10% of the national total. Confirmed cases, at 5,171,240, are also about 10% of the national figure. California’s population is just below 40 million, or about 12% of the American total.

California almost completely missed the first wave of COVID-19 in America, which ran from March to May 2020. It was hit, at a moderate level, by the summer surge last year. The surge that started a year ago and ran until late January was the devastating one in California. Highly-populated parts of the state like Los Angeles County ran out of intensive care beds. (Find out if California is among the states where the most people are vaccinated.)

California is part of the current surge in the U.S. and faces two challenges in the months ahead. One is the likely spread due to holiday gatherings. Another is the arrival of the omicron variant.

Click here to see the state that has the most COVID-19 deaths in America

Vermont
>Confirmed Deaths: 432 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 56,084 as of Dec 13

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Alaska
>Confirmed Deaths: 862 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 152,422 as of Dec 13

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Hawaii
>Confirmed Deaths: 1,055 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 89,014 as of Dec 13

District of Columbia
>Confirmed Deaths: 1,199 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 68,702 as of Dec 13

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Maine
>Confirmed Deaths: 1,367 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 129,997 as of Dec 13

Wyoming
>Confirmed Deaths: 1,472 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 112,862 as of Dec 13

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New Hampshire National Guard by The National Guard

New Hampshire National Guard (CC BY 2.0) by The National Guard

New Hampshire
>Confirmed Deaths: 1,781 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 174,456 as of Dec 13

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North Dakota National Guard by The National Guard

North Dakota National Guard (CC BY 2.0) by The National Guard

North Dakota
>Confirmed Deaths: 1,989 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 167,312 as of Dec 13

Delaware
>Confirmed Deaths: 2,218 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 160,768 as of Dec 13

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South Dakota
>Confirmed Deaths: 2,407 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 171,583 as of Dec 13

Montana
>Confirmed Deaths: 2,830 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 193,947 as of Dec 13

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Rhode Island
>Confirmed Deaths: 2,969 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 203,708 as of Dec 13

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Nebraska National Guard by The National Guard

Nebraska National Guard (CC BY 2.0) by The National Guard

Nebraska
>Confirmed Deaths: 3,263 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 322,477 as of Dec 13

Utah
>Confirmed Deaths: 3,661 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 613,350 as of Dec 13

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COVID Response (CC BY 2.0) by The U.S. Army

Idaho
>Confirmed Deaths: 4,030 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 311,719 as of Dec 13

West Virginia
>Confirmed Deaths: 5,107 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 308,204 as of Dec 13

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Oregon
>Confirmed Deaths: 5,381 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 400,188 as of Dec 13

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New Mexico
>Confirmed Deaths: 5,474 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 329,778 as of Dec 13

Kansas
>Confirmed Deaths: 6,902 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 490,078 as of Dec 13

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Iowa
>Confirmed Deaths: 7,550 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 589,445 as of Dec 13

Nevada
>Confirmed Deaths: 8,201 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 479,762 as of Dec 13

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Arkansas
>Confirmed Deaths: 8,848 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 538,426 as of Dec 13

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Connecticut
>Confirmed Deaths: 8,972 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 447,316 as of Dec 13

Washington
>Confirmed Deaths: 9,602 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 793,129 as of Dec 13

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Colorado
>Confirmed Deaths: 9,830 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 859,545 as of Dec 13

Minnesota
>Confirmed Deaths: 10,042 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 960,549 as of Dec 13

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Mississippi
>Confirmed Deaths: 10,326 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 519,115 as of Dec 13

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Wisconsin
>Confirmed Deaths: 10,386 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,024,195 as of Dec 13

Maryland
>Confirmed Deaths: 11,255 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 592,912 as of Dec 13

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Oklahoma
>Confirmed Deaths: 11,384 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 681,346 as of Dec 13

Kentucky
>Confirmed Deaths: 11,610 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 816,108 as of Dec 13

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South Carolina
>Confirmed Deaths: 14,375 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 929,077 as of Dec 13

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Louisiana
>Confirmed Deaths: 14,884 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 777,106 as of Dec 13

Virginia
>Confirmed Deaths: 14,957 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,000,694 as of Dec 13

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Missouri
>Confirmed Deaths: 15,718 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 956,218 as of Dec 13

Alabama
>Confirmed Deaths: 16,265 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 852,574 as of Dec 13

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Tennessee
>Confirmed Deaths: 17,729 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,336,078 as of Dec 13

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Indiana
>Confirmed Deaths: 18,014 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,154,552 as of Dec 13

North Carolina
>Confirmed Deaths: 19,020 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,575,243 as of Dec 13

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Massachusetts
>Confirmed Deaths: 19,634 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 969,589 as of Dec 13

Arizona
>Confirmed Deaths: 23,040 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,318,580 as of Dec 13

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Michigan
>Confirmed Deaths: 26,880 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,564,627 as of Dec 13

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Ohio
>Confirmed Deaths: 27,371 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,787,029 as of Dec 13

New Jersey
>Confirmed Deaths: 28,589 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,306,722 as of Dec 13

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Illinois
>Confirmed Deaths: 29,954 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,908,614 as of Dec 13

Georgia
>Confirmed Deaths: 30,798 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,676,787 as of Dec 13

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Pennsylvania
>Confirmed Deaths: 34,618 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 1,843,137 as of Dec 13

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New York
>Confirmed Deaths: 59,784 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 2,853,344 as of Dec 13

Florida
>Confirmed Deaths: 62,026 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 3,713,214 as of Dec 13

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Texas
>Confirmed Deaths: 74,939 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 4,387,404 as of Dec 13

California
>Confirmed Deaths: 75,554 as of Dec 13
>Confirmed Cases: 5,171,240 as of Dec 13

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.