Suicide in America: A Closer Look at the Statistics

Suicide in America: A Closer Look at the Statistics

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Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In 2023 alone, more than 49,000 people died by suicide across the country—equivalent to one death every 11 minutes.

In this map, we use data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to show suicide rates by state in 2023, measured as age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 people.

Suicide Rates Among Men Far Exceed Those of Women

According to CDC data, an estimated 12.8 million adults in the U.S. have seriously considered suicide. Of those, 3.7 million created a plan, and 1.5 million went on to attempt suicide.

Over time, suicide rates have shown troubling trends. Between 2000 and 2018, rates rose by 37%, before declining slightly by 5% from 2018 to 2020. However, they returned to peak levels by 2022.

Rank	State	Suicide Rate
1	Alaska	28.15
2	Montana	26.65
3	Wyoming	26.31
4	Idaho	23.28
5	New Mexico	22.76
6	Oklahoma	21.79
7	Utah	21.51
8	Colorado	20.89
9	South Dakota	20.66
10	Nevada	20.31
11	Arkansas	20.23
12	Kansas	19.56
13	Oregon	19.41
14	Arizona	19.22
15	West Virginia	18.57
16	Maine	18.47
17	Missouri	18
18	Vermont	17.85
19	North Dakota	17.75
20	Kentucky	17.47
21	Tennessee	17.34
22	Indiana	17
23	Alabama	16.8
24	Washington	15.7
25	Louisiana	15.56
26	Iowa	15.54
27	Mississippi	15.53
28	Hawaii	15.28
29	Wisconsin	14.97
30	Michigan	14.93
31	Georgia	14.77
32	Ohio	14.73
33	South Carolina	14.69
34	New Hampshire	14.56
35	Nebraska	14.47
36	Florida	14.38
37	Pennsylvania	14.32
38	North Carolina	14.25
39	Texas	14.25
40	Minnesota	13.83
41	Virginia	13.6
42	Delaware	12.81
43	Illinois	11.88
44	California	10.16
45	Rhode Island	9.41
46	Maryland	9.26
47	Connecticut	9.1
48	Massachusetts	8.58
49	New York	8.3
50	New Jersey	7.19

Certain groups are more vulnerable than others. In 2023, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native people, along with non-Hispanic White people, had the highest suicide rates among racial and ethnic groups.

Additionally, men are at significantly higher risk. In 2023, the suicide rate among males was approximately four times higher than that of females. Although men represent 50% of the population, they accounted for nearly 80% of all suicides.

Finally, suicide disproportionately affects older adults. People aged 85 and older had the highest suicide rates of any age group in 2023.

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