Accidents, specifically motor vehicle crashes, are the number one cause of death for teenagers in the United States. Among adolescents ages 15 to 19, the three leading causes of death are accidents (unintentional injuries), homicide, and suicide, accounting for the majority of the roughly 11,400 deaths recorded in this age group in 2024. While firearms have become the leading cause of death for the broader category of children and teens ages 1 to 17, car crashes remain the single largest killer when looking specifically at the teenage years.
Why Motor Vehicle Crashes Top the List
About 2,800 teens ages 13 to 19 are killed in motor vehicle crashes each year, and another 227,000 are injured. Teens ages 16 to 19 have a fatal crash rate nearly three times higher than drivers age 20 and older per mile driven. That gap comes down to a combination of inexperience, risk-taking behavior, and the situations teens tend to drive in.
Nighttime driving is especially dangerous. The fatal crash rate at night for teen drivers is about three times that of adult drivers per mile driven, and 44% of teen motor vehicle deaths occur between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Half of all fatal crashes involving teens happen on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays.
Seatbelt use is a major factor: among teen drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 killed in car crashes, 56% were not wearing a seatbelt. Speeding plays a significant role too, contributing to 35% of fatal crashes involving male teen drivers and 18% involving female teen drivers. Nearly 4 in 10 high school students who drive have texted or emailed behind the wheel in the past month. And 29% of teen drivers killed in crashes had been drinking alcohol.
Firearms and Violence
Gun deaths have risen dramatically among young people, increasing 106% since 2013 among those ages 1 to 17. Since 2020, firearms have been the leading cause of death in that broad age range, surpassing motor vehicles. In 2022, there were 2,526 gun deaths among 1- to 17-year-olds, averaging nearly 7 per day. Much of this is driven by homicide, which ranks as the second leading cause of death for teens ages 15 to 19.
The ranking can look different depending on exactly which ages you examine. For the full 1 to 17 range, guns now kill more young people than anything else. For the narrower 15 to 19 group, unintentional injuries (dominated by car crashes) still hold the top spot, with homicide close behind.
Suicide Among Teenagers
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for teens ages 15 to 19 and has been climbing for over a decade. The suicide rate in this age group rose 57% between 2009 and 2017, going from 7.5 deaths per 100,000 to 11.8. Since 2017, the rate has held roughly steady rather than continuing to climb, but it remains far higher than it was in the early 2000s.
Among younger adolescents ages 10 to 14, the trend is even more striking. The suicide rate in that group tripled between 2007 and 2018, rising from 0.9 to 2.9 per 100,000. Across the full 10 to 24 age range, the suicide rate increased 62% from 2007 through 2021.
Drug Overdoses and Fentanyl
Drug overdose deaths among teens nearly doubled in the first year of the pandemic, jumping from 282 deaths in 2019 to 546 in 2020. By 2023, the number had risen to 708. Fentanyl is behind most of this increase. Deaths involving fentanyl surged 177% from 2019 to 2020, and by 2023, 76% of all adolescent drug fatalities involved the synthetic opioid.
Much of the risk comes from counterfeit pills. In 2023, seven out of every ten fake opioid pills tested by the Drug Enforcement Administration contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. Teens who think they’re taking a prescription painkiller or anxiety medication bought outside a pharmacy may be getting something far more dangerous. While overdose deaths remain much smaller in absolute numbers than crashes, homicide, or suicide, they represent one of the fastest-growing threats to this age group.
Who Is Most at Risk
Male teenagers die at higher rates than female teenagers across every racial and ethnic group, largely because they’re more likely to be involved in fatal crashes, homicides, and suicides. Among male adolescents, American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic Black teens have the highest death rates. Among female adolescents, American Indian/Alaska Native teens face the highest risk.
These disparities reflect differences in access to safe roads, healthcare, mental health services, and community violence exposure rather than anything inherent to the groups themselves. Geography matters too: rural teens face longer emergency response times and higher speed limits, while urban teens are more exposed to gun violence.
What Actually Reduces Teen Deaths
Because motor vehicle crashes remain the top killer, the most effective interventions target driving. Graduated driver’s license (GDL) laws, which phase in driving privileges over time by restricting nighttime driving and the number of passengers for new teen drivers, have consistently reduced fatal crashes in states with strong versions of these policies. Laws targeting drunk driving, including zero-tolerance policies for underage drivers, also make a measurable difference.
Seatbelt enforcement is one of the simplest levers. Given that more than half of teen crash deaths involve someone not buckled in, consistent seatbelt use alone would prevent hundreds of deaths each year. For parents, the practical takeaway is that the first two years after a teen gets a license are the most dangerous period, and restrictions on night driving and teen passengers during that window directly lower risk.
On firearms, secure storage laws and programs that encourage locking up guns in homes with teenagers reduce both homicides and suicides. For overdose prevention, awareness that street-purchased pills frequently contain fentanyl is critical, since many teen overdose deaths involve someone who didn’t know what they were actually taking.