Women attempt suicide more often than men, but men die by suicide at significantly higher rates. This pattern, known in research as the “gender paradox” of suicide, is one of the most consistent findings in mental health data. Beyond gender, suicide attempt rates also vary sharply by age, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and economic circumstances.
Women Attempt More, Men Die More
Women have higher rates of both suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts than men. Men, however, account for a disproportionate share of suicide deaths. The core reason is method choice. Men tend to use more immediately lethal methods like firearms and hanging, while women more commonly use drug overdoses, which are less likely to be fatal. In one study of hospitalized suicide attempters, about 73% of women used drug overdose compared to 51% of men, while men were roughly three times more likely to use hanging.
This difference in method has real consequences for survival. Male suicide attempts more frequently require intensive care and carry a higher risk of death. The research characterizes women as more likely to be “attempters and survivors” while men are more likely to complete suicide on their first attempt. Depression, which occurs more frequently in women, is a major driver of the higher attempt rate. Meanwhile, men are more prone to impulsive, aggressive behavior during a crisis, which contributes to the use of more violent methods.
Age Changes the Risk Profile
Younger people attempt suicide far more often than older adults, but older adults who attempt are much more likely to die. Among people who arrive at an emergency department after a suicide attempt, older adults have roughly three times the completion rate of younger attempters: 16.2% compared to 5.4% in one study. Younger people, by contrast, are about three times more likely to have made a previous attempt (39.6% vs. 13.5%).
This means suicide attempts in older adults tend to be fewer but far more dangerous. Older individuals are more likely to use highly lethal methods, less likely to seek help beforehand, and more physically vulnerable to the medical consequences of an attempt.
Transgender and LGBTQ+ Youth
Transgender and nonbinary young people report more than four times the rate of suicide attempts compared to their cisgender peers. In Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, 34% of transgender students reported a suicide attempt, compared to 7% of cisgender students. The gap in suicidal thinking is similarly stark: 44% of transgender students seriously considered attempting suicide versus 16% of cisgender youth.
These elevated rates hold even when comparing transgender youth to cisgender lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer youth, who already face higher risk than their heterosexual peers. Research consistently points to identity acceptance as a protective factor. When transgender young people feel accepted in their identity by the people around them, their rates of suicide attempts drop substantially.
Differences by Race and Ethnicity
American Indian and Alaska Native individuals report the highest lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts at 11.9%, nearly double the next highest group. White, non-Hispanic individuals follow at 6.1%, with Hispanic individuals at 5.5%, Black individuals at 4.9%, and Asian and Pacific Islander individuals at the lowest rate of 2.1%.
These numbers tell a somewhat different story than suicide death rates, where White individuals have historically had the highest per-capita totals. The gap for American Indian and Alaska Native communities is especially pronounced and persists even after accounting for differences in income, mental health diagnoses, and other demographic factors. Economic disadvantage, historical trauma, and limited access to mental health services in tribal communities all contribute to this disparity.
Economic Hardship and Attempt Rates
Financial strain is a consistent risk factor for suicide. CDC data shows that suicide rates are lower in counties with higher household income, greater health insurance coverage, and better internet access. In the starkest example, the suicide rate among American Indian and Alaska Native people in the highest-income counties was half the rate of the lowest-income counties.
The connection isn’t just about money itself. Higher income correlates with more stable housing, easier access to healthcare, and stronger social connections. Even something as simple as home internet access plays a role, because it enables telehealth appointments, job searches, and staying in touch with friends and family. Counties with more broadband access have lower suicide rates.
What Happens After a First Attempt
About three-quarters of non-fatal suicide attempts involve drug overdose, followed by cutting at roughly 13%. The majority of people who survive an attempt do not go on to die by suicide, but the risk of a subsequent attempt is real. In a large study tracking people after their first emergency department visit for self-harm, a critical finding emerged: most of those who eventually died by suicide had used a low-lethality method in their initial attempt but switched to a more lethal method later.
This pattern underscores why any suicide attempt, regardless of the method or perceived severity, is a significant warning sign. Someone who takes a small overdose is not simply “not serious.” They are in a genuinely elevated risk category for future attempts that may involve more dangerous methods. About 11% of people whose first attempt was a drug overdose eventually used a more lethal method in a subsequent episode.
The Big Picture
As of early 2026, roughly 148 out of every 100,000 emergency department visits in the United States are related to suspected suicide attempts. The groups with the highest attempt rates, women, young people, transgender youth, and American Indian and Alaska Native communities, are not always the same groups with the highest death rates. This disconnect matters because prevention strategies need to reach both the populations attempting most frequently and the populations most likely to die.
The single biggest modifiable factor across nearly every demographic is access: to mental health care, to economic stability, to social support, and to environments where people feel accepted. Reducing access to highly lethal methods, particularly firearms, also consistently lowers the rate at which attempts become deaths.