In a US family, whose age group is most likely to die from a fall on ice or snow: relatives aged 45 to 54, those 65 to 74, or those 85 and older?
The oldest, by far. From 2018 to 2024, people 85 and older died from falls on ice and snow at about 45 per 10 million residents a year, or about 1 in 220,000 a year. At ages 65 to 74 the rate was about 7.5 per 10 million residents a year (about 1 in 1.3 million), and at 45 to 54 it was under 2 per 10 million residents a year (about 1 in 5.7 million) (CDC WONDER, ICD-10 W00; rates are our arithmetic).
Side by side, the rate at 85 and older is about 6 times the rate at 65 to 74 and about 26 times the rate at 45 to 54 (our arithmetic). Count and rate point the same way: about 78 in 100 of these deaths were people 65 and older, and about 57 in 100 were 75 and older (our arithmetic).
About 120 deaths a year
From 2018 to 2024, CDC death records list 841 US deaths with a fall on ice and snow as the underlying cause, about 120 a year on average (our arithmetic). Single years ran from 84, in 2020 and again in 2024, to 171 in 2019. Spread across the whole population, that is about 1 in 2.8 million residents a year, counted in pooled person years rather than people (our arithmetic).
The 171 deaths in 2019 are the most in any year since 1999 across the two WONDER files we read; the lowest year in that longer run was 2012, with 31. No source we opened explains why the yearly count swings so widely.
What the code counts, and what it leaves out
The count comes from ICD-10 code W00, “Fall on same level involving ice and snow,” recorded as the underlying cause on US death certificates. WONDER covers deaths in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by the legal residence of the person who died.
Ski, skate and skateboard falls have their own code, W02, so a fatal fall on a ski slope is not in this count. Falls on icy or snowy stairs and steps are coded W10, with other stair falls, so they are not in this count either. Ordinary slips and trips are W01, other falls on the same level are W18, and unspecified falls are W19. Hypothermia, crashes on icy roads and falls through ice into water are counted elsewhere. Our reading: when a death certificate does not record ice or snow, the fall is coded under one of those other headings, so W00 is best read as a floor, not a ceiling (inference).
January and February hold more than half
January and February together account for 473 of the 841 deaths from 2018 to 2024, more than half in two months (our arithmetic). In 2024 alone, those two months held 60 of the year’s 84 deaths, about 71 in 100 (our arithmetic). That describes past winters. It is not a forecast for this one, whatever the snow shovel on the porch suspects.
Men and women
Men were 617 of the 841 deaths from 2018 to 2024, about 73 in 100, or about 2.8 male deaths for every female death (our arithmetic). Women accounted for 224. The gap shows up even though women made up slightly more of the resident population over those years, counted in person years. None of the sources we opened says why men are the majority, so this page reports the split and stops there.
Data limits
This count includes only deaths where a fall on ice or snow on the same level is the underlying cause, so ski falls (W02), falls on icy stairs and steps (W10), icy road crashes and hypothermia are not in it, and falls where ice went unrecorded land in other codes, which is why we treat W00 as a floor (our inference). WONDER hides counts of 1 to 9, so some months and some younger age groups show no number, although the totals still include those deaths. Every rate here is deaths per 10 million residents a year, not per trip outside or per icy day, so none of it is the odds attached to any single walk on ice. The latest year in the file is 2024, whose final deaths reached WONDER in February 2026; 2025 is not in this file yet.
The short version
From 2018 to 2024, CDC death records counted about 120 US deaths a year on average from falls on ice and snow as the underlying cause. People 85 and older had by far the highest rate: about 45 per 10 million residents a year, or about 1 in 220,000 a year (our arithmetic). That is a rate per resident, per year, not per step onto an icy walk.
Last checked: 2026-10-19, against CDC WONDER Underlying Cause of Death (2018 to 2024).
This article was machine-checked against the sources above and has not been expert-reviewed. Spotted an error or a newer public figure? Please tell us on our contact page with the article link and we will review it.
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Mortality 2018 to 2024 on CDC WONDER Online Database (Underlying Cause of Death, Single Race), released in 2026. ICD-10 code W00, results by year, month, ten year age group and sex. https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10-expanded.html (accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- CDC WONDER, Underlying Cause of Death, 1999 to 2020 (bridged race), ICD-10 code W00, results by year. https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html (accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- CDC WONDER, “Underlying Cause of Death by Single Race 2018 to 2024” documentation (suppression of counts of 1 to 9, coverage by legal residence, WHO definition of underlying cause, 2024 data release). https://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/help/ucd-expanded.html (accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- World Health Organization, ICD-10 Version 2019, block W00 to W19 (falls). https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/W00-W19 (accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- Method: rates per 10 million residents a year, shares (“in 100”) and “1 in” figures are Book of Odds arithmetic from WONDER’s printed death counts and populations, 2018 to 2024 pooled. The point that W00 undercounts falls on ice is our inference from the code titles, not a statement in any source.