Roger Moore

In June 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report documenting the high – and growing – number of suicides across the United States. In 2016, the last year for which the CDC has comprehensive data, 45,000 people died by suicide, an increase of 25.4 percent over 1999 levels. Nevada, where deaths by suicide were down 1 percent between 1999-2016, was the only state that did not experience an increase during this period.

Seven of the 15 states in the South, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia, experienced increases in suicide rates between 1999-2016 that were higher than the national average of 25.4 percent. The remaining seven states in the region were below the average, from a high of 24.2 percent in Tennessee, to a low of 10.6 percent in Florida.

Among Southern states, Oklahoma had the highest number of deaths by suicide per capita in 2016, with 21 per 100,000, followed by West Virginia, Missouri and Arkansas, all of which were among the top 15 nationally in this category. Meanwhile, North Carolina, Mississippi and Texas had the fewest number of suicides per 100,000 in the South, with rates of 13.0, 12.7 and 12.6, respectively. The national average was 13.5 deaths by suicide per 100,000, a number surpassed by 10 states in the SLC region.

There are many factors that can cause a person to consider suicide, including relationship problems, substance abuse disorders, financial difficulties, deterioration in physical health, personal crises, legal problems and loss of housing. Additionally, approximately 46 percent of suicide cases in 2016 included individuals with known mental health conditions.

State and local leaders have multiple options at their disposal to mitigate the rise in suicides, including expanding temporary assistance to those struggling financially due to job loss or other hardship, providing mental health access in all communities, ensuring as many individuals as possible have accessible healthcare options, and encouraging schools to promote education that can help students address the many challenges they might encounter now and in the future.

Deaths by Suicide 2016

Ranking	State	Total Number of Suicides 2016	Suicide Rate per 100,000 People 2016	Suicide Rate Percent Change 1999-2016
1	North Dakota	140	19.0	57.6
2	Vermont	118	17.3	48.6
3	New Hampshire	244	17.2	48.3
4	Utah	620	21.8	46.5
5	Kansas	514	17.9	45.0
6	South Dakota	163	20.2	44.5
7	Idaho	351	21.4	43.2
8	Minnesota	745	13.2	40.6
9	Wyoming	144	25.2	39.0
10	South Carolina	815	15.7	38.3
11	Montana	267	25.9	38.0
12	Oklahoma	822	21.0	37.6
13	Alaska	193	25.8	37.4
14	West Virginia	362	19.3	37.1
15	Arkansas	555	18.2	36.8
16	Kentucky	756	16.8	36.6
17	Missouri	1,133	18.4	36.4
18	Iowa	451	14.6	36.2
19	Ohio	1,707	14.2	36.0
20	Massachusetts	631	8.8	35.3
21	Pennsylvania	1,970	14.7	34.3
22	Colorado	1,168	20.5	34.1
23	Rhode Island	126	11.2	34.1
24	Michigan	1,364	13.3	32.9
25	Indiana	1,034	15.4	31.9
26	Louisiana	677	14.2	29.3
27	New York	1,679	8.1	28.8
28	Oregon	772	17.8	28.2
29	Maine	226	15.9	27.4
30	Wisconsin	866	14.7	25.8
31	Tennessee	1,111	16.3	24.2
32	Illinois	1,415	10.7	22.8
33	Alabama	788	15.7	21.9
34	Connecticut	397	10.1	19.2
35	New Jersey	687	7.2	19.2
36	Texas	3,488	12.6	18.9
37	Washington	1,141	14.9	18.8
39	New Mexico	471	22.5	18.3
38	Hawaii	174	12.1	18.3
40	Mississippi	383	12.7	17.8
41	Virginia	1,166	13.2	17.4
42	Arizona	1,271	17.7	17.3
43	Georgia	1,409	13.3	16.2
44	Nebraska	246	13.1	16.2
45	California	4,294	10.5	14.8
46	North Carolina	1,373	13.0	12.7
47	Florida	3,143	14.0	10.6
48	Maryland	586	9.4	8.5
49	Delaware	119	11.5	5.9
50	Nevada	650	21.4	-1.0

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Suicide Mortality by State;
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Suicide Rates Across the U.S., 1999-2016