Accidents
Drowning
Odds
1 in 1,006
lifetime (US) · United States
What this means
More common as a lifetime fatality risk than shark attacks or plane crashes (per flight), and highly age- and setting-dependent.
Methodology
Order-of-magnitude US lifetime drowning odds from public injury-fact summaries. Age, swimming ability, and open-water exposure change risk sharply.
Updated 2026-01-15
Source
NSC / CDC summaries (illustrative) ↗Share
Odds of drowning: 1 in 1,006 (lifetime (US)). — How Likely Is That? https://www.howlikelyisthat.com/odds/odds-of-drowning
Compare this event
See how it stacks up against something else — get a shareable “N× more likely” line.