In 2022, the most recent year with a confirmed total, approximately 49,500 people died by suicide in the United States. That translates to roughly one death every 11 minutes. The age-adjusted rate that year was 14.2 per 100,000 people, matching the two-decade peak first reached in 2018.
How the Numbers Have Changed Over Time
The national suicide rate climbed steadily for nearly two decades. In 2002, the age-adjusted rate was 10.9 deaths per 100,000 people. By 2018, it had risen 30% to 14.2. The rate dipped slightly through 2020, falling to 13.5, before climbing back to 14.1 in 2021 and 14.2 in 2022. That pattern of a brief decline followed by a rebound means the country has essentially returned to its highest modern rate.
Who Is Most Affected by Age
Adults 85 and older had the highest crude suicide rate in 2023 at 22.7 per 100,000, followed by people aged 75 to 84 (19.4) and 35 to 44 (19.2). The rates for middle-aged adults cluster tightly together: ages 25 through 64 all fall between roughly 18.6 and 19.2 per 100,000. Younger people have lower overall rates, with 15-to-24-year-olds at 13.5 and children aged 10 to 14 at 2.3.
Those overall numbers mask a dramatic split by sex. Among males, the rate is highest for men 75 and older (40.7 per 100,000), nearly double the rate for any female age group. Among females, the rate peaks between ages 45 and 64 at 8.6 per 100,000. Young adults aged 18 to 25 report the highest prevalence of serious suicidal thoughts (12.6%) and are most likely to attempt suicide (2.0% in the past year), even though older adults die at higher rates.
The Gender Gap
Men account for nearly 80% of all suicide deaths despite making up half the population. The 2023 age-adjusted rate for males was 22.7 per 100,000, compared to 5.9 for females. That roughly four-to-one ratio has been consistent for years. Women attempt suicide more often, but men die at far higher rates, a disparity largely driven by differences in method.
Rates by Race and Ethnicity
American Indian and Alaska Native people face the highest suicide rate of any racial or ethnic group. In 2023, their age-adjusted rate was 23.8 per 100,000, with the rate for American Indian/Alaska Native men reaching 35.3. Non-Hispanic white people had the second-highest overall rate at 17.6, followed closely by Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander people at 17.3.
Black Americans (9.1), Hispanic Americans (8.2), and Asian Americans (6.5) had lower overall rates, though these numbers can obscure rising trends within specific age or gender subgroups. Among women, American Indian/Alaska Native females had the highest rate at 12.4, followed by non-Hispanic white females at 7.4. Hispanic women had the lowest rate at 3.0 per 100,000.
Veterans Face Elevated Risk
In 2023, 6,398 veterans died by suicide, 44 fewer than the year before. Despite that small decline in total deaths, the rate per 100,000 veterans actually rose. Male veterans died by suicide at a rate of 37.8 per 100,000, compared to 22.7 for all U.S. males. Female veterans had a rate of 13.9 per 100,000, more than double the 5.9 rate for women overall. The veteran population skews older, more male, and has higher rates of traumatic exposure, all of which contribute to elevated risk.
Where Suicide Rates Are Highest and Lowest
Geography plays a significant role. In 2023, Alaska had the highest age-adjusted suicide rate at 28.15 per 100,000, while the District of Columbia had the lowest at 5.75. Western and rural states consistently rank near the top. States like Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico typically appear among the highest, while northeastern states and urban areas tend to have lower rates. Factors like geographic isolation, longer distances to mental health care, and higher rates of firearm ownership all contribute to the regional pattern.
Suicide as a Leading Cause of Death
Suicide consistently ranks among the top causes of death in the United States, and its position shifts depending on age. For younger Americans, it ranks disproportionately high because competing causes of death (heart disease, cancer) are rare. For adults in midlife and beyond, suicide falls lower on the list even as the actual rate per 100,000 increases, because other causes of death become far more common. Across all ages, suicide claims roughly as many lives each year as car accidents, making it one of the most significant causes of preventable death in the country.