Suicide Deaths in the United States

From 2011 to 2020, the total age-adjusted suicide death rate increased from 12.3 to 13.5 per 100,000 people. Over the same time period, the rate increased from 20 to 22 per 100,000 for males. Among females, the rate increased from 5.2 in 2011 to 5.5 in 2020.1

Suicides consistently outnumber homicides. Historically, the homicide rate has not consistently shown the upward trend that we see with the suicide rate. However, the homicide rate did increase from 2019 to 2020 with rates of 6 and 7.8, respectively.1

Suicide rates are generally highest in Alaska and in the western and northwestern United States, with the exception of southern California and parts of Washington. Rural counties generally have higher rates of suicide than urban counties. 2,3

Alaska has the highest suicide rates in several counties (indicated by the red shading). Hawaii has lower suicide rates in some counties (yellow and green shading) but also has some counties with the second highest suicide rates (blue shading).2

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2021). 1999-2019 Wide Ranging Online Data for Epidemiological Research (WONDER), Underlying Cause of Death files [Data file]. Retrieved from https://wonder.cdc.gov/Deaths-by-Underlying-Cause.html
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Wonder, 2014-2020, United States, Age-Adjusted Death Rates per 100,000 Population [map]. All Injury, Suicide, All Races, All Ethnicities, Both Sexes, All Ages. (January 2022). Mapped using Tableau Public. Retrieved from https://wonder.cdc.gov
  3. Rosen, L. M., Hedegaard, H., Kahn, D., & Warner, M. (2018). County-level trends in suicide rates in the U.S., 2005–2015. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 55(1), 72-79.
The charts and graphs in this section are also available as a PowerPoint slide set. Feel free to use this slide set to deliver a presentation about the scope of the suicide problem.