Maternal mortality rates, by state 

In Louisiana, the risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes is more than four times higher than in California, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

In 2023, Louisiana had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the U.S., at 41.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. In California, the rate was 9.5 per 100,000 live births. 

The figures are based on final 2023 data from the CDC. For states with fewer than 10 maternal deaths in 2023, the Commonwealth Fund combined 2022 and 2023 data to meet CDC standards for data suppression and ensure comparability. Rates were calculated by dividing the number of maternal deaths by the number of live births and multiplying by 100,000, in accordance with World Health Organization definitions.

Thirteen states and territories — including Alaska, Delaware and Rhode Island —  were excluded from the report due to insufficient death counts, which remained below CDC’s threshold even after combining years.

The report also benchmarks U.S. state-level maternal and child mortality rates against those in 200 countries. California’s maternal death rate is comparable to Canada’s 9.4 and Kazakhstan’s 10.0, while Louisiana falls between Mexico’s 41.7 and the Seychelles’ 42.0.

“Historically, states that invest more in health coverage, reproductive care and social protections tend to have better health outcomes, in some cases on par with high-income countries, while states that invest less and pass more restrictive policies have outcomes similar to low- and middle-income or politically unstable countries,” the authors wrote.

Here are states ranked by mortality rate, from lowest to highest, according to the report:

California: 9.5 deaths per 100,000 live births 

Washington: 9.7

Massachusetts: 14.0

Michigan: 14.1

Oregon: 14.1

Pennsylvania: 15.0

Nevada: 15.4

Connecticut 15.7 

New Jersey: 15.8 

Colorado: 16.1 

New York: 17.7 

Minnesota: 17.8

Iowa: 17.9

Maryland: 17.9 

Florida: 18.1 

Ohio: 18.1 

Virginia: 18.3

Illinois: 18.4 

Wisconsin: 18.4 

Alabama: 19.0 

Georgia: 19.2 

Kansas: 20.4 

Nebraska: 20.6

South Carolina: 20.8 

Idaho: 22.3 

Oklahoma: 22.9 

Mississippi: 23.1 

Missouri: 23.8 

Texas: 24.2 

Arizona: 24.3 

Kentucky: 25 

Indiana: 26.6

North Carolina: 26.6 

Arkansas: 31.2 

Tennessee: 31.3 

Louisiana: 41.9 

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