Special Report

These Are the Counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area with the Most Deaths from COVID-19

Samuel Stebbins

Published: May 13, 2022 5:00 am

Though cases of the omicron variant appear to have peaked in the United States, the virus continues to claim lives. Nearly 1 million Americans have died from the virus – more than the total number of Americans killed in World War I and World War II combined.

In the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan area, which covers parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, a total of 13,059 deaths have been attributed to the virus, equal to 271 fatalities for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, 303 deaths have been attributed to the virus per 100,000 people.

Though deaths attributable to the virus are less common across the metro area than they are nationwide, this is not the case in some parts of the city.

The broader Boston metro area comprises seven counties or county equivalents — and of them, Essex County has had the most COVID-19 fatalities per capita. So far, the per capita coronavirus death rate in Essex County stands at 352 for every 100,000 people.

Though it has the highest per capita death rate in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area, Essex County ranks among the middle 50% of all U.S. counties or county equivalents by COVID-19 death rate per capita.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of May 11, 2022.

These are all the counties in Massachusetts where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).