It accounted for 31,284 deaths, or 1.3 percent of all U.S. deaths. Suicide rates are typically presented as the number of deaths per 100,000 persons, taking into account the number of people in the population and its age distribution. The age-adjusted suicide rate in the U.S. in 1995 was 11.1 per 100,000, which ranks the U.S. among the countries in the middle in terms of suicide rates among industrialized nations. U.S. suicide rates vary from state to state. In the U.S. suicide rates vary dramatically by age, gender, and racial group.
White males commit suicide at a rate higher than black males and white and black females.
Another way of putting this is that 73 percent of all suicides are committed by white men. However, rates for black males have been rising, particularly those ages 15 to 24, where rates have nearly doubled since 1986. The age group with the highest rate of suicide is older white males. In the United States, the most common method of suicide is death by firearm, which accounts for 60 percent of all suicide methods. Of all firearm deaths, about 80 percent are committed by white men.