The Florida Mortality Atlas provides a visual display of the most recent leading causes of death in Florida. Age groups are divided into roughly ten year increments to display the difference in the top five leading causes of death. Causes of death are presented for the total population as well as whites, blacks, and Hispanics. Additionally, a breakdown of each cause of death also shows the difference in age and sex. Maps are color coded to show which areas of the state have highest and lowest rates for the selected cause of death. Counties with the darkest color represent the highest age-adjusted death rates and those with the lightest color represent the lowest age-adjusted death rates.

Age-adjusted death rates remove the difference between populations due to differences in age composition. Using age-adjusted rates is a common practice that makes it possible to compare rates across populations. Age-adjusted rates are calculated using the US 2000 Standard Population.

Data for 1970-78, 1979-98, and 1999-present are not fully comparable due to changes in coding causes of death. Consequently, increases or decreases in 1979 and 1999 may not be due to changes in disease trends but rather coding changes.

The sources of data for the Florida Mortality Atlas are the Florida Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Statistics and the Florida Legislature Office of Economic and Demographic Research.