U.S. Suicide Rates, 2001–2021: A Rise to 2018, Two Years of Decline, Then the Largest Jump

In 2021, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States — 10th in 2019 and 12th in 2020. It is the second leading cause of death for people aged 10–34 and the fifth for those aged 35–54, so it takes many lives early. This NCHS Data Brief (No. 464, April 2023) gives final suicide rates for 2001–2021 by sex and age, and for 2020–2021 by race and Hispanic origin, from the National Vital Statistics System.

The overall trend

The male rate was three to four and a half times the female rate throughout.

Figure 1. Age-adjusted suicide rates by sex, United States, 2001–2021. NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

Women and girls, by age

• Rates tended to rise in every age group except 75 and over, whose rate had spells of decline and stability — until a significant rise from 3.9 to 4.4 in 2020–2021, the only significant change among females that year.
• Rates fell for women 45–64 from 2018 to 2020 (9.8 → 7.9) and for women 65–74 from 2017 to 2020 (6.2 → 5.6).
• Women 45–64 had the highest rates throughout; girls 10–14 the lowest — but the largest percentage rise, from 0.6 in 2001 to 2.3 in 2021.

Figure 2. Suicide rates for females by age group, 2001–2021. NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

Men and boys, by age

Every male age group had a higher rate in 2021 than in 2001.

Males 75 and over had the highest rates throughout; boys 10–14 the lowest.

Figure 3. Suicide rates for males by age group, 2001–2021. NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

By race and Hispanic origin, 2020–2021

Race groups below are non-Hispanic; rates are age-adjusted, per 100,000.

Figure 4. Age-adjusted suicide rates for females by race and Hispanic origin, 2020 and 2021. NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

Figure 5. Age-adjusted suicide rates for males by race and Hispanic origin, 2020 and 2021. NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

Death certificates misclassify race and Hispanic origin, so these rates understate deaths by as much as 34% for American Indian or Alaska Native people and 3% for Asian and Hispanic people (by an unknown amount for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people). The rates here are not adjusted for this.

What changed in 2021

Declines seen in 2019–2020 for several groups — women 25–74, men 45–64 and 65–74 — may have slowed or reversed. Rates for the youngest groups, 10–14 and 15–24, have generally risen over the period for both sexes; in 2021, girls 10–14 saw a rise and boys 10–14 a slight fall, neither significant.

How the rates were made

• Deaths: National Vital Statistics System multiple cause-of-death files, 2001–2021, using ICD-10 codes U03, X60–X84 and Y87.0.
• Age adjustment: the direct method, to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Deaths of children 5–9 count in totals but are not shown by age, as there are so few.
• Trends: the Joinpoint Regression Program; year-to-year comparisons by z test, at 0.05.
• Race: 1997 Office of Management and Budget standards, which differ from the bridged-race categories used before 2018; groups are single-race.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the United States.

Sources

Based on Garnett MF, Curtin SC, "Suicide Mortality in the United States, 2001–2021," NCHS Data Brief No. 464, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2023; a work of the United States government in the public domain. Its figures, which did not come across with the page, were recovered from the Internet Archive's copy of CDC's files; the source's description of Figure 4 belongs to another report and is not used.