Title: The 20 States with the Highest Cancer Rates | The Healthy
Headings: The 20 States with the Highest Cancer Rates
The 20 States with the Highest Cancer Rates
The U.S. cancer risk isn't spread evenly across the states: Here are the 20 states with the highest cancer rates.
The cancer report
Kentucky
Delaware
Pennsylvania
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Louisiana
Rhode Island
West Virginia
Maine
Iowa
Connecticut
Mississippi
Arkansas
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Lauren Cahn

Content: Mihai_Andritoiu/Shutterstock
New Jersey
Tied with New York, New Jersey has the fifth highest cancer rate in the country—about 483.4 per 100,000—and a cancer death rate of 153.5, Jersey’s high diagnosis rate may have something to do with the levels of radon: As many as one in six New Jersey homes may register some level of contamination, according to this map from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. But again, there are a lot of risk factors for cancer that can complicate the picture, and better screening can also raise the rates. Here’s what you need to know about radon testing. ItzaVU/Shutterstock
New York
With a rate of about 482 per 100,000, New York is sixth in the nation for cancer diagnoses. New York is below the national average death rate, coming in at 151per 100,000. In 2016, pancreatic cancer became one of the top three causes of cancer death in New York. This is why pancreatic cancer is so hard to treat. f11photo/Shutterstock
Louisiana
Louisiana is the seventh highest state for cancer diagnoses, with 481 per 100,000. The state’s death rate of roughly 183 per 100,000, however, is higher than the nation’s average, placing it tenth in the nation for cancer deaths.