Infant Mortality

In 2003, 6,620 infants born to residents of cities in the United States with populations over 250,000 died in the first year of life. The city infant mortality rate was 7.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, higher than the rate of 6.8 for the nation as a whole. Although the infant mortality rate in cities has routinely been higher than the rate nationwide, it has declined over the past decade. Between 1990 and 2000, infant mortality in cities declined by roughly one-third; the decline nationwide in the same period was 25 percent. Between 2001 and 2002 there was an increase of 0.1 and 0.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively, in cities and nationwide.

> Line Chart: Infant Mortality Rates in U.S. Cities: 1990-2003