Vital records

Maternal and paternal ages have grew up constant since 2006, with the median age for Iowa mothers, or parent A, at 29 and fathers, or parent B, at 31 in 2023.

Almost 100 more males than females were born in Iowa in 2023. The birth rate and death rate have remained stable for the past 20 years in Iowa.

In 2023, 161 girls were named Charlotte and 194 boys were given the name Oliver, these were top names for the year.

The percentage of premature births remained the same from 2022 to 2023, but increased 1.6 percent from 2000. And overall, there were 36,505 babies born in Iowa in 2023, about 1,000 fewer than were born in 2019, according to the department.

Heart disease was the number one cause of death in Iowafollowed by cancer in 2023. Cancer as a cause of death declined slightly from 2013, while the death rate from heart disease remained about the same at about 18 per 10,000 people.

Other leading causes of death for 2023 and over the past 20 years include cerebrovascular diseases (including stroke), chronic lower respiratory diseases and unintentional injuries, including transport accidents and natural disasters.

The 2023 data also shows men reported dying from most of these causes at higher rates than women.

Death by suicide fell in Iowa in 2023 to less than 500 for the first time since 2018. The number peaked in 2022 with nearly 600 suicide deaths reported in Iowa.

The suicide rate in teenagers for the state, however, it increased from 3.1 percent in 2022 to 5.2 percent in 2023. County-specific data is also available on the state data portal, which shows that teens die by suicide at rates higher in Polk County than in the entire state.

The website says “suicide is many times more common than homicide in the state and can affect any Iowan, regardless of age, location or other factors.”