California has the most COVID-19 deaths, but fewer per capita than most states

California now has more COVID-19 deaths than any other state, a distinction reflecting both its large population and the ravages of a winter coronavirus wave that has only recently begun to recede.

All told, 45,007 Californians have died from COVID-19, with 514 fatalities reported Tuesday alone, according to data compiled by The Times.

New York, which was crushed in the pandemic’s early days by a heavy death toll and became the poster child for how rapidly the virus could spin out of control, has recorded 44,969 fatalities.

The raw numbers, though bleak, don’t paint a complete picture. California, with its roughly 40 million people, has reported 114 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 residents — the 18th-lowest rate among all states.

SourceL KTLA5