US infant mortality reached all-time low in 2025, CDC reports

Key Points:

• U.S. infant mortality rate dropped to a new all-time low in 2025, with fewer than 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, marking a statistically meaningful decline from previous years.
• The total number of infant deaths fell to about 19,350 in 2025, down from approximately 20,050 in 2024 and 20,160 in 2023, continuing a decades-long downward trend.
• Improvements are attributed to medical advances, public health efforts, new RSV prevention measures including an antibody shot for infants and a vaccine for pregnant women, and increased education on safe infant sleeping.
• Despite progress, significant racial disparities persist, with infant mortality rates for Black infants more than twice those of Hispanic, white, and Asian American infants, and wide variation among states, from 9.65 deaths per 1,000 in Mississippi to under 3 in New Hampshire.
• Experts emphasize that ongoing challenges related to poverty, prenatal care access, and community factors continue to affect infant mortality outcomes in the U.S. compared to other high-income countries.