Suicide

Facts at a Glance 2015

Suicide

• Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death for all 

ages in 2013.1

• There were 41,149 suicides in 2013 in the United 

States—a rate of 12.6 per 100,000 is equal to 113 

suicides each day or one every 13 minutes.1

• Based on data about suicides in 16 National Violent 

Death Reporting System states in 2010, 33.4% of 

suicide decedents tested positive for alcohol, 23.8% 

for antidepressants, and 20.0% for opiates, including 

heroin and prescription pain killers.2

• Suicide results in an estimated $51 billion in combined 

medical and work loss costs.1

Nonfatal Suicidal 

Thoughts and Behavior

• Among adults aged ≥18 years in the United States 

during 2013:3

• An estimated 9.3 million adults (3.9% of the adult 

U.S. population) reported having suicidal thoughts in 

the past year. 

• The percentage of adults having serious thoughts 

about suicide was highest among adults aged 18 to 

25 (7.4%), followed by adults aged 26 to 49 (4.0%), 

then by adults aged 50 or older (2.7%).

• An estimated 2.7 million people (1.1% ) made a plan 

about how they would attempt suicide in the past year.

• The percentage of adults who made a suicide plan in 

the past year was higher among adults aged 18 to 25 

(2.5%) than among adults aged 26 to 49 (1.35%) and 

those aged 50 or older (0.6%).

• An estimated 1.3 million adults aged 18 or older 

(0.6%) attempted suicide in the past year. Among 

these adults who attempted suicide, 1.1 million also 

reported making suicide plans (0.2 million did not 

make suicide plans). 

• Among students in grades 9-12 in the U.S. during 

2013:4

• 17.0% of students seriously considered attempting 

suicide in the previous 12 months (22.4% of females 

and 11.6% of males).

• 13.6% of students made a plan about how they 

would attempt suicide in the previous 12 months 

(16.9% of females and 10.3% of males).

• 8.0% of students attempted suicide one or more 

times in the previous 12 months (10.6% of females 

and 5.4% of males).

• 2.7% of students made a suicide attempt that 

resulted in an injury, poisoning, or an overdose that 

required medical attention (3.6% of females and 

1.8% of males).

Gender Disparities

•	 Males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate 

of females and represent 77.9% of all suicides.1

•	 Females are more likely than males to have suicidal 

thoughts.3

•	 Suicide is the seventh leading cause of death for males 

and the fourteenth leading cause for females.1

•	 Firearms are the most commonly used method of 

suicide among males (56.9%).1

•	 Poisoning is the most common method of suicide for 

females (34.8%).1

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 

Division of Violence Prevention
Suicide Facts at a Glance 2015

Racial and Ethnic Disparities

•	 Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death among 

American Indians/Alaska Natives across all ages.1

•	 Among American Indians/Alaska Natives aged 10 to 34

years, suicide is the second leading cause of death.1

•	 The suicide rate among American Indian/Alaska Native 

adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 34 (19.5 per 

100,000) is 1.5 times higher than the national average 

for that age group (12.9 per 100,000).1

•	 The percentages of adults aged 18 or older having

suicidal thoughts in the previous 12 months were 

2.9% among blacks, 3.3% among Asians, 3.6% among 

Hispanics, 4.1% among whites, 4.6% among Native 

Hawaiians /Other Pacific Islanders, 4.8% among 

American Indians/Alaska Natives, and 7.9% among 

adults reporting two or more races.3

•	 Among Hispanic students in grades 9-12, the

prevalence of having seriously considered attempting 

suicide (18.9%), having made a plan about how they 

would attempt suicide (15.7%), having attempted 

suicide (11.3%), and having made a suicide attempt 

that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or overdose that 

required medical attention (4.1%) was consistently 

higher than white and black students.4

Age Group Differences

• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 

persons aged 10-14, the second among persons 

aged 15-34 years, the fourth among persons aged 

35-44 years, the fifth among persons aged 45-54 

years, the eighth among person 55-64 years, and the 

seventeenth among persons 65 years and older.1

• In 2011, middle-aged adults accounted for the largest 

proportion of suicides (56%)1, and from 1999-2010, the 

suicide rate among this group increased by nearly 30%.5

• Among adults aged 18-22 years, similar percentages 

of full-time college students and other adults in 

this age group had suicidal thoughts (8.0 and 8.7%, 

respectively) or made suicide plans (2.4 and 3.1%).3

• Full-time college students aged 18-22 years were less 

likely to attempt suicide (0.9 vs. 1.9 percent) or receive 

medical attention as a result of a suicide attempt in the 

previous 12 months (0.3 vs. 0.7%).3

Nonfatal, Self-Inflicted Injuries*

• In 2013, 494,169 people were treated in emergency 

departments for self-inflicted injuries.1

• Nonfatal, self-inflicted injuries (including hospitalized 

and emergency department treated and released) 

resulted in an estimated $10.4 billion in combined 

medical and work loss costs.1

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Web-based 

Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. 

(2013, 2011) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 

CDC (producer). Available from http://www.cdc.gov/injury/

wisqars/index.html.

2. Parks SE, Johnson LL, McDaniel DD, Gladden M. Surveillance for 

Violent Deaths– National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 

states, 2010. MMWR 2014; 63(ss01): 1-33. Available from http://

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6301a1.htm. 

3. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 

Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: 

Mental Health Findings, NSDUH Series H-49, HHS Publication 

No. (SMA) 14-4887. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services, 2014. Available at http://www.samhsa.gov/data/

sites/default/files/NSDUHmhfr2013/NSDUHmhfr2013.pdf. 

4. Kann L, Kinchen S, Shanklin SL, et al. Youth Risk Behavior 

Surveillance — United States, 2013. MMWR 2014; 63(ss04): 1-168. 

Available from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/

ss6304a1.htm.

5. Sullivan EM, Annest JL, Luo F, Simon TR, Dahlberg LL. Suicide 

Among Adults Aged 35-36 Years – United States, 1999-2010. 

MMWR 2013; 62(17): 321-325. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/

mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6217a1.htm.

References

*The term “self-inflicted injuries” refers to suicidal and non-suicidal behaviors such as self-mutilation.

1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636) • www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention