Compared to counties with the lowest levels of these factors, suicide rates were:
- 26% lower in counties with the highest health insurance coverage
- 44% lower in counties where most homes have broadband internet access
- 13% lower in counties with the most household income
These findings reinforce other studies that show that the conditions where people are born, grow, live, work, and age can play an important role in shaping suicide prevention efforts.
Suicide rates have increased during the last 20 years and remain high. Tragically, more than 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022, and provisional data indicate a similar number of people died by suicide in 2023.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34, and other groups continue to have high rates: American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons (27.1 per 100,000), males (23.0 per 100,000), rural residents (20.0 per 100,000), and people aged 45-64 (19 per 100,000).
This latest Vital Signs also explores the association of these three factors with suicide rates overall, and what these relationships look like in groups most affected by suicide-- all to help inform suicide prevention programs in communities across the country.
Preventing suicide requires multiple interventions. This Vital Signs report stresses the importance of a comprehensive approach to prevent suicide in the first place, and support people at increased risk. Improving conditions in communities can include strengthening household financial security so people can afford food, housing, and medical expenses; fostering healthy connections through community engagement that build social networks; and increasing healthcare provider availability and rapid and remote access to telehealth, mental health services, and crisis intervention, especially in underserved areas.
CDC continues to take action to prevent suicide by:
- Providing data systems, scientific and technical expertise, strong collaboration, and funding to state health departments, tribes and tribal organizations, territories, academic institutions, and other local coalitions and organizations to help prevent suicide.
- Funding 28 programs around the country to carry out comprehensive suicide prevention programs using proven strategies from CDC's Suicide Prevention Resource for Action. These strategies are focused on populations most affected by suicide.
- Supporting rapid response in communities to investigate unexpected increases in suicides in a particular location and/or over a certain time frame. These events, known as suicide clusters, often require emergency assistance from CDC experts rapidly deployed to states, tribes, and communities.