White Populations

White and Caucasian are terms used to describe people who are descended from any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.1 These terms can include people from many different ethnic backgrounds. Most national health data sources use the term White and typically separate out Hispanics. On this web page we use the term White, and the data do not include people of Hispanic ethnicity. In 2022, White populations comprised an estimated 58.9% of the U.S. population.2

Suicide rates among White populations increased from 15.5 per 100,000 in 2011 to 16.8 per 100,000 in 2020. The suicide rate among the over overall U.S. population increased from 12.3 per 100,000 in 2011 to 13.5 per 100,000 in 2020.3

As in the overall U.S. population, suicide death rates among White populations increase from age 15 to age 54, followed by a decrease. Rates increase again from age 75 to age 85+.3

As in the overall U.S. population, the suicide death rate among males was more than three to four times the rate among females in White populations between 2011 and 2020. The suicide death rate among White populations was higher than in the overall U.S. population among both males and females.3

In 2020, the percentages of White adults who reported past-year serious thoughts of suicide, a past-year suicide plan, or a past-year suicide attempt were similar to the percentages of the overall U.S. population.4

In 2021, lower percentages of high school youth in White populations reported they felt sad or hopeless, made a suicide plan, attempted suicide, and made a suicide attempt requiring treatment compared to youth in the overall U.S. population. The percentage of high school youth in White populations who reported they seriously considered attempting suicide was slightly higher than the percentage among youth in the overall U.S. population.5

References

  1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2021). 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2020-nsduh-detailed-tables
  2. United States Census Bureau. (2022). Quick Facts. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). 1999-2020 Wide ranging online data for epidemiological research (WONDER), multiple cause of death files [Data file]. National Center for Health Statistics. http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
  4. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2023). 2021 National survey on drug use and health: Detailed tables. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2021-nsduh-detailed-tables
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). 1991-2021 High school youth risk behavior survey data [Data file]. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. http://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/
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.