Skin cancer rates are rising, but deaths are going down. Our team of analysts looked at skin cancer (melanoma) rates nationwide going back nearly a decade. We found that while the number of skin cancer cases is up 5%, deaths are down 6%.
Key findings:
- Utah, Vermont and Minnesota have the highest rates of skin cancer
- Texas, Alaska and New Mexico have the lowest rates of skin cancer
- Skin cancer rates rose by as much as 21% in some states
- Nearly 2,500 fewer people died from skin cancer in the last two years
Skin cancer rates nationwide fit a particular pattern. Colder, northern states have a much higher rate of skin cancer than warmer, southern states. We looked at CDC cancer statistics over two four-year periods: 2013-2017 and 2015-2019. We found that cooler states like Utah and Vermont have skin cancer rates nearly three times higher than warmer states like Texas and New Mexico. This is most likely because people living in sunnier states do a better job of protecting themselves from the sun by applying sunscreen, wearing protective clothing and avoiding severe sunburns.
| State | Skin cancer cases per 100k | % change in cases since 2013-2017 | Melanoma-related deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 41 | 8% | 367 |
| Vermont | 37 | 1% | 98 |
| Minnesota | 35 | 13% | 713 |
| New Hampshire | 32 | 4% | 234 |
| Iowa | 30 | 11% | 499 |
| Idaho | 30 | 11% | 276 |
| Nebraska | 29 | 13% | 284 |
| Delaware | 29 | 4% | 169 |
| Montana | 29 | 9% | 169 |
| Kentucky | 28 | 6% | 706 |
| Kansas | 28 | 7% | 434 |
| Arizona | 28 | 21% | 1,005 |
| Maine | 27 | 7% | 227 |
| South Dakota | 27 | 10% | 122 |
| North Carolina | 26 | 6% | 1,341 |
| Georgia | 26 | 4% | 1,099 |
| Washington | 26 | 6% | 1,048 |
| Florida | 26 | 10% | 3,354 |
| Ohio | 26 | 10% | 1,820 |
| Oregon | 26 | -2% | 615 |
| Maryland | 25 | 9% | 641 |
| Wyoming | 24 | 9% | 107 |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 3% | 870 |
| Hawaii | 24 | 14% | 121 |
| Arkansas | 24 | 13% | 356 |
| North Dakota | 24 | 2% | 85 |
| California | 23 | 5% | 4,218 |
| South Carolina | 23 | 3% | 624 |
| Rhode Island | 23 | -2% | 155 |
| Alabama | 23 | 8% | 658 |
| Pennsylvania | 23 | -5% | 1,990 |
| Illinois | 22 | 12% | 1,448 |
| West Virginia | 22 | 7% | 348 |
| Colorado | 22 | 4% | 769 |
| Indiana | 22 | 4% | 942 |
| New Jersey | 22 | 1% | 1,059 |
| Oklahoma | 22 | 1% | 582 |
| Massachusetts | 21 | -3% | 954 |
| Tennessee | 21 | 7% | 1,074 |
| Virginia | 21 | 7% | 1,053 |
| Michigan | 21 | 5% | 1,340 |
| Connecticut | 20 | 0% | 457 |
| Missouri | 19 | -1% | 955 |
| Mississippi | 18 | 6% | 354 |
| Louisiana | 18 | 7% | 416 |
| New York | 18 | 2% | 1,989 |
| New Mexico | 17 | 9% | 292 |
| Alaska | 14 | 3% | 57 |
| Texas | 14 | 13% | 2,500 |
While skin cancer rates are up, the number of skin cancer-related deaths has declined over the last four years. Between 2013 and 2017, there were 44,000 skin cancer-related deaths compared to 41,300 between 2015 and 2019. Wyoming, West Virginia and Idaho have the highest rates of skin cancer deaths at around three per 100,000. The nationwide average is 2.3 deaths per 100,000.
Men are more likely to get skin cancer
Men have a much higher rate of skin cancer than women. Over the last four years, the skin cancer rate for men has been 30.2, compared to 20.2 for women. This disparity is because men are more likely to work outside and less likely to wear sunscreen.
We found that the disparity between men’s and women’s skin cancer rate is highest in Arizona, Hawaii and Delaware and lowest in North Dakota, Maine and Alaska. Overall, 27,000 men died from skin cancer over the last four years compared to 14,000 women.
| State | Male case rate | Female case rate | Male deaths | Female deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 28.8 | 18.4 | 425 | 233 |
| Alaska | 16.1 | 12.4 | 39 | 18 |
| Arizona | 37.2 | 19.9 | 683 | 322 |
| Arkansas | 30.8 | 18.8 | 246 | 110 |
| California | 30.4 | 17.5 | 2,828 | 1,390 |
| Colorado | 27.4 | 18.1 | 489 | 280 |
| Connecticut | 25.3 | 15.6 | 300 | 157 |
| Delaware | 38 | 22 | 110 | 59 |
| Florida | 34.2 | 18.8 | 2,320 | 1,034 |
| Georgia | 34.5 | 20.4 | 721 | 378 |
| Hawaii | 32.9 | 16.4 | 89 | 32 |
| Idaho | 36.1 | 23.9 | 181 | 95 |
| Illinois | 27.4 | 19.1 | 912 | 536 |
| Indiana | 26.5 | 18.9 | 623 | 319 |
| Iowa | 33.3 | 27.7 | 315 | 184 |
| Kansas | 33.6 | 24 | 282 | 152 |
| Kentucky | 34.4 | 24.1 | 474 | 232 |
| Louisiana | 24.8 | 13.6 | 273 | 143 |
| Maine | 29.1 | 25.9 | 130 | 97 |
| Maryland | 33.1 | 19.4 | 417 | 224 |
| Massachusetts | 25.9 | 17.8 | 590 | 364 |
| Michigan | 24.8 | 17.6 | 882 | 458 |
| Minnesota | 40.3 | 31.3 | 428 | 285 |
| Mississippi | 24.7 | 13.9 | 246 | 108 |
| Missouri | 23.3 | 15.8 | 650 | 305 |
| Montana | 33.6 | 25 | 111 | 58 |
| Nebraska | 32.7 | 27 | 189 | 95 |
| New Hampshire | 38.7 | 26.7 | 154 | 80 |
| New Jersey | 28.3 | 17.4 | 663 | 396 |
| New Mexico | 21 | 13.3 | 198 | 94 |
| New York | 23.4 | 14.4 | 1,249 | 740 |
| North Carolina | 34.6 | 20.6 | 840 | 501 |
| North Dakota | 25.5 | 22.9 | 57 | 28 |
| Ohio | 31.2 | 21.9 | 1,166 | 654 |
| Oklahoma | 28.5 | 16.6 | 404 | 178 |
| Oregon | 30.5 | 21.7 | 390 | 225 |
| Pennsylvania | 28.1 | 18.7 | 1,281 | 709 |
| Rhode Island | 28.2 | 19.2 | 96 | 59 |
| South Carolina | 30.2 | 17.7 | 405 | 219 |
| South Dakota | 30.4 | 24.1 | 83 | 39 |
| Tennessee | 27.1 | 16.3 | 706 | 368 |
| Texas | 19.1 | 10.4 | 1,653 | 847 |
| Utah | 49.9 | 34.4 | 248 | 119 |
| Vermont | 43.1 | 33.4 | 63 | 35 |
| Virginia | 27.1 | 16 | 685 | 368 |
| Washington | 31.9 | 22 | 679 | 369 |
| West Virginia | 27.2 | 18.9 | 223 | 125 |
| Wisconsin | 29.2 | 20.5 | 564 | 306 |
| Wyoming | 28.1 | 21.4 | 69 | 38 |
Methodology
We analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to find states with the highest rates of new cancers in the United States. Figures are based on the rate of new melanoma cases in each state. Rate of new melanoma cases is a per-capita figure per 100,000 people from 2013 to 2017 and 2015 to 2019. States with the highest rankings are states with the highest numbers of new melanoma cases per 100,000 people over a four-year period.
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