The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that, in 2020, deaths due to COVID-19 became the third leading cause of death in the United States. The death rate that year was highest in most urban areas at 97.7 deaths per 100,000 people. But the second-highest rate of death was in the most rural areas at 90.6 deaths per 100,000 people. Among males under age 65, those in the most urban areas had the highest COVID-19 death rates; among females, rates were highest in the most rural areas.
