We appreciate you taking the time to help America’s Health Rankings better understand our audiences. Your feedback will allow us to optimize our website and provide you with additional resources in the future. Thank you.
Explore national- and state-level data for hundreds of health, environmental and socioeconomic measures, including background information about each measure. Use features on this page to find measures; view subpopulations, trends and rankings; and download and share content.
United States Value:
Number of deaths due to intentional self-harm per 100,000 adults age 65 and older (3-year estimate)
Number of deaths due to intentional self-harm per 100,000 adults age 85 and older (3-year estimate)
11.2 - 18.4
18.5 - 22.9
23.0 - 26.3
26.4 - 31.4
31.5 - 72.1
No Data
US Value: 17.7
Top State(s): New Jersey, Rhode Island: 9.6
Bottom State(s): Montana: 32.1
Definition: Number of deaths due to intentional self-harm per 100,000 adults age 65 and older (3-year estimate)
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Multiple Cause of Death by Single Race Files via CDC WONDER Online Database, 2021-2023
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Multiple Cause of Death by Single Race Files via CDC WONDER Online Database, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2026.
Suicide is a troubling public health issue that leaves a lasting impact on families and communities. Between 2000 and 2022, the suicide rate in the United States increased by 36%. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2022, 13.2 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.8 million made a plan and 1.6 million attempted suicide.
Suicide attempts among older adults are more likely to be fatal than suicide attempts among younger people. Older adults may be frail and are often isolated, decreasing their chances of rescue; they are also more likely to have a determined plan and use more lethal means. Firearm suicide rates are highest among adults age 65 and older; in 2018, 70% of older adults who committed suicide used a firearm.
Older adults may also exhibit passive self-harm behaviors that can cause death, such as refusing food, medications or liquids; these are rarely recorded as suicide attempts or as deaths by suicide.
The economic burden of suicide among adults age 65 and older was estimated at more than $42.6 billion in direct and indirect costs in 2019.
According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, suicide rates are higher among:
Additionally, lesbian, gay and bisexual adults have higher suicide rates than straight adults. Lifetime discrimination and victimization of LGBTQ+ individuals may contribute to this higher suicide rate.
Risk factors for suicide among older adults include mental illness, depression, previous suicide attempts, substance use problems, chronic pain, physical illness, declining function, disability, family discord or loss, family history of suicide and social isolation. Dementia and other forms of impaired cognitive ability have also been linked to suicidal behavior in older adults.
Suicide is often preventable. Preventing suicide among older adults may require the use of multiple and aggressive interventions because of the lethality of their attempts.
Several interventions have proven effective at preventing suicide and reducing risk factors among older adults, including:
Some doctors and researchers are urging caregivers of older adults with dementia to secure or eliminate firearms from their environment.
SAMHSA, in partnership with the Administration on Aging, has published a brief to help health care and social services organizations prevent suicide among older adults. Additionally:
Reducing the overall suicide rate is a Healthy People 2030 leading health indicator.
Betz, Marian E., Alexander D. McCourt, Jon S. Vernick, Megan L. Ranney, Donovan T. Maust, and Garen J. Wintemute. “Firearms and Dementia: Clinical Considerations.” Annals of Internal Medicine 169, no. 1 (July 3, 2018): 47. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0140.
Conwell, Yeates, Kimberly Van Orden, and Eric D. Caine. “Suicide in Older Adults.” Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Geriatric Psychiatry: Advances and Directions, 34, no. 2 (June 1, 2011): 451–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2011.02.002.
Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I., and Anna Muraco. “Aging and Sexual Orientation: A 25-Year Review of the Literature.” Research on Aging 32, no. 3 (May 2010): 372–413. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027509360355.
Garnett, Matthew F. “QuickStats: Percentage of Suicides and Homicides Involving a Firearm Among Persons Aged ≥10 Years, by Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2020.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 71, no. 19 (May 13, 2022): 670. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7119a5.
Kiosses, Dimitris N., Katalin Szanto, and George S. Alexopoulos. “Suicide in Older Adults: The Role of Emotions and Cognition.” Current Psychiatry Reports 16, no. 495 (September 18, 2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-014-0495-3.
Lapierre, Sylvie, Annette Erlangsen, Margda Waern, Diego De Leo, Hirofumi Oyama, Paolo Scocco, Joseph Gallo, et al. “A Systematic Review of Elderly Suicide Prevention Programs.” Crisis 32, no. 2 (January 1, 2011): 88–98. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000076.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2020. https://doi.org/10.17226/25663.
“Older Americans Behavioral Health Issue Brief 4: Preventing Suicide in Older Adults.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Administration on Aging, 2012. https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/programs/2016-11/Issue%20Brief%204%20Preventing%20Suicide.pdf.
Peterson, Cora, Gabrielle F. Miller, Sarah Beth L. Barnett, and Curtis Florence. “Economic Cost of Injury — United States, 2019.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 70, no. 48 (December 3, 2021): 1655–59. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7048a1.
Price, James H., and Jagdish Khubchandani. “Firearm Suicides in the Elderly: A Narrative Review and Call for Action.” Journal of Community Health 46, no. 5 (October 2021): 1050–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-021-00964-7.
Ramchand, Rajeev, Megan S. Schuler, Michael Schoenbaum, Lisa Colpe, and Lynsay Ayer. “Suicidality Among Sexual Minority Adults: Gender, Age, and Race/Ethnicity Differences.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 62, no. 2 (February 1, 2022): 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.07.012.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Results From the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: A Companion Infographic.” Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2022. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt42730/2022-nsduh-infographic-report.pdf.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.
