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Suicide Statistics


U.S. Suicide Statistics:

2001 Suicide Statistics
2004 Suicide Statistics
2005 Suicide Statistics

Suicide Rates, 1950-2003


Click Here for International Suicide Statistics

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Emergency Room Visits

  • Emergency room visits for self-inflicted injury: 400,000

All suicides

  • Number of deaths: 30,622
  • Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.8

Firearm Suicides

  • Number of deaths: 16,869
  • Deaths per 100,000 population: 5.9

Suffocation Suicides

  • Number of deaths: 6,198
  • Deaths per 100,000 population: 2.2

Poisoning Suicides

  • Number of deaths: 5,191
  • Deaths per 100,000 population: 1.8

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity / Young, Old Age Groups

                                             Rate Per
                   Number        Per Day      100,000    % of Deaths    
Total .............30,622..........83.9.........10.8..........1.3 
Males .............24,672..........67.6.........17.6..........2.1 
Females.............5,950..........16.3..........4.1..........0.5 
Whites.............27,710..........75.9.........11.9..........1.3 
Nonwhites...........2,912...........8.0..........5.6..........0.9 
Blacks..............1,957...........5.4..........5.3..........0.7 
Elderly (65+ yrs.) .5,393..........14.8.........15.3..........0.3 
Young (15-24 yrs.)..3,971..........10.9..........9.9.........12.3


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Further Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity


                             Rate Per
Group        # of Suicides   100,000
White Male.......22,328........19.5
White Female .....5,382.........4.6
Nonwhite Male ....2,344.........9.3
Nonwhite Female ....568.........2.1
Black Male .......1,627.........9.2
Black Female........330.........1.7
Hispanic...........1850.........5.0


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Suicide Methods

                                      Rate Per
                          Number      100,000     % of Total
Firearms..................16,869........5.9.........55.1
All Other Methods.........13,753........4.8.........49.9
Hanging or Suffocation.....6,198........2.2.........20.2
Poisoning..................5,191........1.8.........17.0
Falls........................651........0.2..........2.1
Cutting / Pieercing..........458........0.2..........1.5
Drowning.....................339........0.1..........1.1
Fire.........................147........0.1..........0.5

Note that firearms are, by far, the most common method for suicide (55% of all suicides are completed with a firearm). Thus it is imperative that a suicidal person not have access to a firearm.

Hanging or suffocation is used in about one out of five suicides, which is why you can never leave an acutely suicidal person alone for a second. People who have died by hanging have used virtually every conceivable thing to hang themselves with, including shoe laces, electric cords, belts, bedsheets,etc. Again, never leave an acutely suicidal person alone.

Poisoning accouts for slightly less than one out of five suicides.

The three most common methods of suicide – firearms, hanging, and poisoning – account for 92.3% of all suicides.


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Actual Suicides

1.3% of all deaths are from suicide.

On average, one suicide occurs every 17 minutes.

On average, an elderly person dies by suicide every 1 hour and 37 minutes.

On average, a young person (age 15-24) dies by suicide every 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death for all Americans.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 year olds.
(1st = accidents, 2nd = homicide)

Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death for young people aged 5-14 year olds.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.

Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for males.

Suicide is the nineteenth leading cause of death for females.

More males die from suicide than females.
(4 male deaths by suicide for each female death by suicide.)

More people die from suicide than from homicide.
(Suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death; Homicide ranks 13th.)

73% of all suicide deaths are white males.

80% of all firearm suicide deaths are white males.

Among the highest rates (when categorized by gender and race) are suicide deaths for white men over 85. (54 per 100,000)


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Attempted Suicides

There are approximately 750,000 suicide attempts each year.

An estimated 5 million living Americans have attempted suicide.

More females attempt suicide than males.
(3 female attempts for each male attempt.)


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Survivors of Suicide

Each suicide intimately affects at least 6 other people. (estimate)

Based on the 742,000+ suicides from 1977 through 2001, it is estimated that the number of survivors of suicides is 4.45 million (1 out of every 64 Americans).

Since, on average, a suicide occurs every 17 minutes, then there are about 6 new suicide survivors every 17 minutes as well.


U.S. Suicide Statistics (1990-2001)

Suicide Rates

Breakdown by Age Groups

                             (Rates Per 100,000)
 
Age       1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

5-14       0.8  0.7  0.9  0.9  0.9  0.9  0.8  0.8  0.8  0.6  0.8  0.7 
15-24     13.2 13.1 13.0 13.5 13.8 13.3 12.0 11.4 11.1 10.3 10.4  9.9 
25-34     15.2 15.2 14.5 15.1 15.4 15.4 14.5 14.3 13.8 13.5 12.8 12.8 
35-44     15.3 14.7 15.1 15.1 15.3 15.2 15.5 15.3 15.4 14.4 14.6 14.7 
45-54     14.8 15.5 14.7 14.5 14.4 14.6 14.9 14.7 14.8 14.2 14.6 15.2 
55-64     16.0 15.4 14.8 14.6 13.4 13.3 13.7 13.5 13.1 12.4 12.3 13.1 
65-74     17.9 16.9 16.5 16.3 15.3 15.8 15.0 14.4 14.1 13.6 12.6 13.3 
75-84     24.9 23.5 22.8 22.3 21.3 20.7 20.0 19.3 19.7 18.3 17.7 17.4 
85+       22.2 24.0 21.9 22.8 23.0 21.6 20.2 20.8 21.0 19.2 19.4 17.5 
65+       20.5 19.7 19.1 19.0 18.1 18.1 17.3 16.8 16.9 15.9 15.3 15.3 
Total     12.4 12.2 12.0 12.1 12.0 11.9 11.6 11.4 11.3 10.7 10.7 10.8 

Note the relatively low suicide rate in the 5-14 range. But keep in mind that very young children can, and sometimes do, die by suicide.

Also note the significant increase in the suicide rate in the 75+ range. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to suicide, and it is up to us to be alert for warning signs, and to get immediate help for those in need.


U.S. Suicide Statistics (1990-2001)

Suicide Rates

Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity

                             (Rates Per 100,000)
 
Group     1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Males     20.4 20.1 19.6 19.9 19.8 19.8 19.3 18.7 18.6 17.6 17.5 17.6 
Females    4.8  4.7  4.6  4.6  4.5  4.4  4.4  4.4  4.4  4.1  4.1  4.1 
White     13.5 13.3 13.0 13.1 12.9 12.9 12.7 12.4 12.4 11.7 11.7 11.9 
Nonwhite   7.0  6.8  6.8  7.1  7.2  6.9  6.7  6.5  6.2  6.0  5.9  5.6 
Black      6.9  6.7  6.8  7.0  7.0  6.7  6.5  6.2  5.7  5.6  5.6  5.3 

Note the significant difference in the rates between males and females – there are about 4 male deaths by suicide for each female death by suicide. But keep in mind that there are about 3 female attempts for every male attempt.


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)
Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity /
Young, Old Age Groups

All Ages Combined
Elderly (65+ yrs)
Youth (15-24 yrs)
Group
Number of Suicides
Rate of Suicide
Elderly Suicides
Elderly Suicide Rate
Youth Suicides
Youth Suicide Rate

Nation

32,439

11.1

5,198

14.3

4,316

10.4

Men

25,566

17.7

4,397

29.0

3,596

16.8

Women

6,873

4.6

801

3.8

720

3.6

Whites

29,251

12.3

4,924

15.4

3,610

11.0

Nonwhites

3,188

5.8

274

6.2

706

7.9

Blacks

2,019

5.2

148

4.8

465

7.2

White Men

23,081

19.6

4,180

31.1

3,016

17.9

White Women

6,170

5.1

744

4.0

594

3.8

Nonwhite Men

2,485

9.3

217

12.4

580

12.8

Nonwhite Women

703

2.4

57

2.2

126

2.8

Black Men

1,655

9.0

134

11.3

396

12.2

Black Women

364

1.8

14*

0.7

69

2.2

There were 32,439 suicides in 2004.

On average, someone attempts suicide every 40 seconds in the U.S.

On average, 88 people die by suicide each day in the U.S.

The national suicide rate is 11.1 per 100,000.

The highest suicide rate is for 65+ white males = 29.0 per 100,000

The highest rate for all ages combined is white males = 17.7 per 100,000

The lowest rate for all ages combined is black females = 1.8 per 100,000

Note that the elderly rate of 14.3 is significantly higher than the all-ages-combined rate of 11.1, which clearly indicates that people 65 or older are more likely to die by suicide than those below 65 years of age.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)
Suicide Methods

Method
Percent of Total (32,439 suicides)
Number of Suicides

Firearms

51.6%
16,750

Hanging, strangulation, suffocation

22.6%
7,336

Poisons

17.9%
5,800

All other methods

7.9%
2,553

Firearms are still the most common method for suicide (51.6%), however when we break down the statistice by gender, we see that women use poisining more frequently than firearms (see below).

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)
Suicide Methods by Gender
Method
Men
Women
Men - Percent of Total
Men - Number of Suicides (25,566 total)
Women - Percent of Total
Women - Number of Suicides (6,873 total)
Firearms
56.8%
14,523
32.4%
2,227
Hanging, strangulation, suffocation
23.4%
5,980
19.7%
1,356
Poisons
12.5%
3,200
37.8%
2,600
All other methods
7.3%
1,863
10.0%
690

The most common suicide method for men is firearms = 56.8%

The most common suicide method for women is poison (overdosing, etc) = 37.8%

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)
Suicide Rates by Region (2004)

Region (Subdivision Abbreviations)

Rate

Number

West

12.4

8,373

South

11.8

12,557

Nation

11.1

32,439

Midwest

10.8

7,114

Northeast

8.1

4,395

The suicide rate is highest in the western region of the U.S. and lowest in the northeastern region.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)
Suicide Rates by States and Washington, DC (2004)

(Please note that state data can vary dramatically from one year to the next)
Rank
State
Number
Rate

1

Alaska

155

23.6

2

Montana

175

18.9

2

Nevada

440

18.9

4

New Mexico

356

18.7

5

Wyoming

88

17.4

6

Colorado

797

17.3

7

Idaho

236

16.9

8

West Virginia

285

15.7

9

Utah

377

15.6

10

Oregon

555

15.5

11

Arizona

880

15.3

12

Vermont

93

15.0

13

South Dakota

112

14.5

14

Oklahoma

506

14.4

15

Florida

2,389

13.7

16

Kansas

370

13.5

16

Kentucky

560

13.5

18

Tennessee

792

13.4

18

Washington

830

13.4

20

Arkansas

361

13.1

21

Maine

171

13.0

22

Missouri

715

12.4

23

Mississippi

350

12.1

24

North Carolina

1,027

12.0

24

Wisconsin

662

12.0

24

Alabama

541

12.0

27

Louisiana

537

11.9

28

Iowa

343

11.6

29

Ohio

1,319

11.5

29

South Carolina

482

11.5

29

North Dakota

73

11.5

32

Pennsylvania

1,410

11.4

33

Indiana

704

11.3

34

Delaware

93

11.2

35

Virginia

828

11.1

--

Total

32,439

11.1

36

Georgia

973

10.9

36

Michigan

1,098

10.9

38

Minnesota

524

10.3

39

New Hampshire

133

10.2

39

Texas

2,300

10.2

41

Nebraska

166

9.5

42

California

3,368

9.4

43

Hawaii

116

9.2

44

Maryland

500

9.0

45

Connecticut

294

8.4

46

Illinois

1,028

8.1

47

Rhode Island

85

7.9

48

New Jersey

597

6.9

49

Massachusetts

425

6.6

50

New York

1,187

6.2

51

District of Columbia

33

6.0

Alaska has the highest suicide rate = 23.6 per 100,000

Washington, DC, has the lowest rate = 6.0 per 100,000


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2005)

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2005)
Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity /
Young, Old Age Groups

All Ages Combined
Elderly (65+ yrs)
Youth (15-24 yrs)
Group
Number of Suicides
Rate of Suicide
Elderly Suicides
Elderly Suicide Rate
Youth Suicides
Youth Suicide Rate

Nation

32,637

11.0

5,404

14.7

4,212

10.0

Men

25,907

17.7

4,550

29.5

3,498

16.2

Women

6,730

4.5

854

4.0

714

3.5

Whites

29,527

12.3

5,410

15.9

3,540

10.7

Nonwhites

3,110

5.5

264

5.8

672

7.4

Blacks

1,992

5.1

152

4.8

437

6.7

White Men

23,478

19.7

4,361

32.1

2,945

17.3

White Women

6,049

5.0

779

4.2

595

3.7

Nonwhite Men

2,429

9.0

189

10.5

553

12.0

Nonwhite Women

681

2.3

75

2.7

119

2.7

Black Men

1,621

8.7

124

10.3

382

11.5

Black Women

371

1.8

28

1.4

55

1.7


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2005)
Suicide Methods

Method
Percent of Total (32,439 suicides)
Number of Suicides

Firearms

52.1%
17.002

Hanging, strangulation, suffocation

22.2%
7,248

Poisons

17.6%
5,744

All other methods

8.1%
2,643

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2005)
Suicide Methods by Gender
Method
Men
Women
Men - Percent of Total
Men - Number of Suicides (25,566 total)
Women - Percent of Total
Women - Number of Suicides (6,873 total)
Firearms
57.6%
14,916
31.0%
2,086
Hanging, strangulation, suffocation
22.7%
5,887
20.2%
1,361
Poisons
12.0%
3,112
39.1%
2,632
All other methods
7.7%
1,992
9.7%
651

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2005)
Suicide Rates by Region (2005)

Region (Subdivision Abbreviations)

Rate

Number

West

12.1

8,265

South

11.8

12,664

Midwest

11.1

7,292

Nation

11.0

32,637

Northeast

8.1

4,416


U.S. Suicide Statistics (2005)
Suicide Rates by States and Washington, DC (2005)

(Please note that state data can vary dramatically from one year to the next)

Rank
State
Number
Rate
1
Montana
206
22.0
2
Nevada
480
19.9
3
Alaska
131
19.7
4
New Mexico
342
17.7
4
Wyoming
90
17.7
6
Colorado
800
17.1
7
Idaho
228
16.0
8
Arizona
945
15.9
9
South Dakota
121
15.6
10
Oregon
560
15.4
11
Oklahoma
522
14.7
12
North Dakota
92
14.5
13
Arkansas
400
14.4
13
Tennessee
856
14.4
15
Utah
348
14.1
16
West Virginia
255
14.0
17
Kentucky
566
13.6
18
Maine
175
13.2
18
Florida
2,347
13.2
18
Kansas
362
13.2
21
Washington
822
13.1
22
Missouri
727
12.5
22
Vermont
78
12.5
24
Mississippi
363
12.4
24
New Hampshire
162
12.4
26
South Carolina
510
12.0
27
Indiana
745
11.9
28
Alabama
535
11.7
28
Ohio
1,341
11.7
30
North Carolina
1,009
11.6
30
Wisconsin
643
11.6
32
Pennsylvania
1,430
11.5
32
Virginia
866
11.4
34
Iowa
333
11.2
34
Louisiana
505
11.2
Total
32,637
11.0
36
Michigan
1,108
10.9
37
Minnesota
547
10.7
38
Nebraska
187
10.6
38
Texas
2,418
10.6
40
Georgia
924
10.2
41
Delaware
83
9.8
42
California
3,206
8.9
43
Illinois
1,086
8.5
44
Maryland
472
8.4
44
Connecticut
295
8.4
44
Hawaii
107
8.4
47
Massachusetts
480
7.5
48
Rhode Island
71
6.6
49
New York
1,189
6.2
50
New Jersey
536
6.1
51
District of Columbia
33
6.0

 

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2005)

Actual Suicides

1.3% of all deaths are from suicide.

On average, one suicide occurs every 16 minutes.

Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death for all Americans.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 year olds.
(1st = accidents, 2nd = homicide)

Suicide is the second leading waus of death for 25-34 year olds.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.

More males die from suicide than females.
(4 male deaths by suicide for each female death by suicide.)

More people die from suicide than from homicide.
(Suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death; Homicide ranks 13th.)

There were over 800,000 suicide attempts in 2005


U.S. Suicide Rates, 1950–2003
(per 100,000 population)

 1950196019701980199019952000200120022003
All ages, age adjusted13.213.213.213.212.511.810.410.710.910.8
5–14 years0.20.30.30.40.80.90.70.70.60.6
15–24 years4.55.28.812.313.213.010.29.99.99.7
15–19 years2.73.65.98.511.110.38.07.97.47.3
20–24 years6.27.112.216.115.115.812.512.012.412.1
25–44 years11.612.215.415.615.215.113.413.814.013.8
25–34 years9.110.014.116.015.215.012.012.812.612.7
35–44 years14.314.216.915.415.315.114.514.715.314.9
45–64 years23.522.020.615.915.313.913.514.414.915.0
45–54 years20.920.720.015.914.814.414.415.215.715.9
55–64 years26.823.721.415.916.013.212.113.113.613.8
65 years and over30.024.520.817.620.517.915.215.315.614.6
65–74 years29.623.020.816.917.915.712.513.313.512.7
75–84 years31.127.921.219.124.920.617.617.417.716.4
85 years and over28.826.019.019.222.221.319.617.518.016.9
Male, all ages21.220.019.819.921.520.317.718.218.418.0
Female, all ages5.65.67.45.74.84.34.04.04.24.2

Note that:

The suicide rate has decreased from the 1950-1980 rate of 13.2 to the present rate of about 11.

The suicide rate for ages 5-24 (youth suicide) increased dramatically from 1950 to the early to mid 1990s but then began to decrease thereafter.

The suicide rate for ages 45-85+ decreased significatnly from 1950 to present.


Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)


We all must be alert to anyone who is potentially suicidal and get them the help that they need as soon as possible.

Please review the Suicide Warning Signs page so you will be familiar with what to look for.


If you are suicidal, immediate action is required; so please read the information on the home page of this website and take immediate action.

Thank you,

Kevin Caruso

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