Maps of clusters of states with the highest leukemia rates in the USA

Below are maps of clusters of states with the highest leukemia rates in the USA. The clusters were found by counting the number of shared borders among states with the highest leukemia incidence and mortality rates for every combination of gender and race/ethnicity.

Included are also the lists of states with the highest leukemia rates.

To learn more about this study, please read the main article. You may also want to read the map guidelines and glossary of terms.

You can view geographic clusters involving other cancers:

White men leukemia mortality rates

Map of USA. A few states are colored red, a few are colored purple, a few are colored green, and most are colored gray.

Figure 1: A cluster of states with the highest leukemia mortality rates of white men

Shared-border ratio: 127%   (19 shared borders among 15 states)

List of states with highest rates:

State Rate (per 100,000) Color
1 Arkansas 11.4
2 Alabama 11
3 Wyoming 11
4 Wisconsin 10.9
5 Oklahoma 10.8
6 Kentucky 10.7
7 South Dakota 10.7
8 Mississippi 10.6
9 Minnesota 10.5
10 Kansas 10.4
11 Illinois 10.3
12 Tennessee 10.3
13 West Virginia 10.2
14 Ohio 10.1
15 Indiana 10

(Number of states in the contiguous U.S. with numerical cancer rates in the CDC file: 49)

White women leukemia mortality rates

Map of USA. A few states are colored red, a few are colored purple, a few are colored green, and most are colored gray.

Figure 2: A cluster of states with the highest leukemia mortality rates of white women

Shared-border ratio: 150%   (33 shared borders among 22 states)

List of states with highest rates:

State Rate (per 100,000) Color
1 Wyoming 6.7
2 Indiana 5.9
3 West Virginia 5.9
4 Alabama 5.8
5 Illinois 5.8
6 Kansas 5.8
7 Oklahoma 5.8
8 Wisconsin 5.8
9 Mississippi 5.7
10 South Dakota 5.7
11 Kentucky 5.6
12 Minnesota 5.6
13 Pennsylvania 5.6
14 Michigan 5.5
15 California 5.4 Not In Cluster
16 Iowa 5.4
17 Louisiana 5.4
18 Maine 5.4 Not In Cluster
19 Missouri 5.4
20 Ohio 5.4
21 Tennessee 5.4
22 Washington 5.4 Not In Cluster

(Number of states in the contiguous U.S. with numerical cancer rates in the CDC file: 49)