In 1989, 132,037 people died in Florida, a deathÊrate of 10.3 people per 1000 inhabitants. The crudeÊdeathÊrate among nonwhites in Florida was lower than that for the whites because of the large number of aged whites in the population. The highest white death rates occur in counties where retirees are numerous. Counties where death rates are high among the nonwhite population are in rural north Florida. The infantÊmortality rate is usually higher in rural than urban areas and is much higher among nonwhites than whites. When deathÊrates are adjusted for age, whites in all age groups have lower death rates than nonwhites. Throughout the 1980s the age-adjustedÊdeathÊrates for whites have continued to fall, but for nonwhites have remained stationary.
Florida's white death rate declined between 1936 and 1956. In 1956 the rate began to rise because of the larger number of retirees settling in the state. The greatest decrease in the nonwhite death rate occurred between 1926 and 1962, when it fell from 20.0 to 9.9 per 1000.
