Breast Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity

The rate of women getting breast cancer or dying from breast cancer varies by race and ethnicity.

Incidence Rates by Race/Ethnicity

"Incidence rate" means how many women out of a given number get the disease each year. The graph below shows how many women out of 100,000 got breast cancer each year during the years 1999–2008. The year 2008 is the most recent year for which numbers have been reported. The breast cancer incidence rate is grouped by race and ethnicity.

For example, you can see that in 2008, white women had the highest incidence rate for breast cancer. Black women had the second highest rate of getting breast cancer, followed by Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.

Female Breast Cancer
Incidence Rates* by Race and Ethnicity, U.S., 1999–2008

Incidence source: Combined data from the National Program of Cancer Registries as submitted to CDC and from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program as submitted to the National Cancer Institute in November 2010.
*Rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups – Census P25-1130). Incidence rates cover approximately 100% of the U.S. population.
^†Hispanic origin is not mutually exclusive from race categories (white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native).

Death Rates by Race/Ethnicity

From 1999–2008, the rate of women dying from breast cancer has varied, depending on their race and ethnicity. The graph below shows that in 2008, black women were more likely to die of breast cancer than any other group. White women had the second highest rate of deaths from breast cancer, followed by women who are Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander.

Female Breast Cancer
Death Rates* by Race and Ethnicity, U.S., 1999–2008

Mortality source: U.S. Mortality Files, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.
*Rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups – Census P25-1130). Death rates cover 100% of the U.S. population.
^†Hispanic origin is not mutually exclusive from race categories (white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native).