Skin Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity

The rate of people getting melanoma of the skin or dying from melanoma of the skin varies by race and ethnicity.

Rate of Melanoma of the Skin by Race and Ethnicity

"Incidence rate" means how many people out of a given number get the disease each year. The graph below shows how many people out of 100,000 got melanoma of the skin each year during the years 1975–2005. The year 2005 is the most recent year for which numbers have been reported. The melanoma of the skin incidence rate is grouped by race and ethnicity.

For example, you can see that white people had the highest incidence rate for melanoma of the skin. Hispanic people had the second highest incidence of getting melanoma of the skin, followed by Asian/Pacific Islander people.

Melanoma of the Skin SEER Incidence Rates* by Race and Ethnicity, U.S., 1975–2005

Incidence source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, National Cancer Institute (NCI) 1975–1991 = SEER 9; 1992–2005 = SEER 13.
*Rates are per 100,000 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups - Census P25-1130). Rates for blacks and American Indians/Alaska Natives are not displayed because fewer than 16 cases were reported for at least one year within the time interval.
‡Hispanics are not mutually exclusive from whites, blacks, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Incidence data for Hispanics are based on NHIA and exclude cases from the Alaska Native Registry.

Deaths from Melanoma of the Skin by Race and Ethnicity

From 1975–2005, the rate of people dying from melanoma of the skin has varied, depending on their race and ethnicity. The graph below shows that in 2005, white people were more likely to die of melanoma of the skin than any other group. Hispanic people had the second highest rate of deaths from melanoma of the skin, followed by people who are Asian/Pacific Islander and black.

Melanoma of the Skin U.S. Death Rates* by Race and Ethnicity, 1975–2005

Mortality source: U.S. Mortality Files, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.
*Rates are per 100,000 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups - Census P25-1130). Rates for American Indians/Alaska Natives are not displayed because fewer than 16 cases were reported for at least one year within the time interval.
‡Hispanics are not mutually exclusive from whites, blacks, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Mortality data for Hispanics do not include cases from Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Vermont.