U.S. Suicides Rose Again in 2021, With Sharp Increases Among Young Black People

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit 988lifeline.org.

Suicide is a serious public health problem in the United States. After two years of decline — 47,511 suicides in 2019 and 45,979 in 2020 — the number rose to 48,183 in 2021, almost back to the 2018 peak of 48,344. The age-adjusted rate was 14.1 per 100,000, against 14.2 in 2018. This CDC MMWR note looks at how the rise was spread across racial and ethnic groups and ages from 2018 to 2021.

By race and ethnicity

• American Indian or Alaska Native people had both the highest rate in 2021 and the largest relative increase.
• Rates also rose significantly among Black and Hispanic people.
• White people were the only group whose overall rate fell.

By age

• Ages 10–24: among Black young people the rate rose from 8.2 to 11.2 per 100,000, a 36.6% increase.
• Ages 25–44: rates rose overall (5%) and among American Indian or Alaska Native (33.7%), Black (22.9%), Hispanic (19.4%) and multiracial (20.6%) people.
• Ages 45–64: rates fell overall (−12.4%) and among Asian (−15.9%), Hispanic (−9.3%) and White (−11.5%) people.
• 65 and older: no significant change.

Why it matters

The increases among young Black people and across several groups aged 25–44 are of particular concern. Suicide has many risk factors — problems in relationships, at work or school, or with money; mental illness; substance use; social isolation; historical trauma; barriers to health care; and easy access to lethal means for people at risk. Suicide rates can hold steady or even fall during a disaster, then rise as its longer-term effects play out on people, families and communities. As the country deals with the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19, the authors urge continued vigilance in prevention, especially where the pandemic's effects may deepen existing inequities.

Suicide is preventable through a comprehensive public health approach: using data to guide decisions, partnerships across sectors, and culturally relevant prevention strategies that are carried out and evaluated. CDC's Suicide Prevention Resource for Action helps states and communities choose the best-supported interventions.

How it was measured

Deaths came from the National Vital Statistics System's multiple-cause-of-death files for 2018–2021. Rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population; Hispanic people may be of any race, and the other groups are non-Hispanic. Children under 10 were left out of the age analyses because intent is hard to establish at that age; some age-specific rates could not be reported because numbers were small; and race and ethnicity may be misclassified on death records.

Sources

• Stone DM, Mack KA, Qualters J. "Notes from the Field: Recent Changes in Suicide Rates, by Race and Ethnicity and Age Group — United States, 2021." MMWR, CDC, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7206a4.htm
• Help: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.