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Colorado Value:
Number of deaths due to intentional self-harm per 100,000 adults age 65 and older (3-year estimate)
Colorado Rank:
Number of deaths due to intentional self-harm per 100,000 non-Hispanic white adults age 65 and older (3-year estimate)
10.5 - 15.8
15.9 - 20.8
20.9 - 23.7
23.8 - 26.5
26.6 - 41.3
No Data
US Value: 17.6
Top State(s): New York: 9.8
Bottom State(s): Montana: 31.6
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, 2022-2024
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 36%. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2024, 14.3 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 4.6 million made a plan and 2.2 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 2022, 70.6% 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.
Suicide cost the United States more than $51.3 billion in 2023 in medical costs and loss of life.
According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, suicide rates are higher among:
Additionally, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults have higher suicide rates than straight adults. Lifetime discrimination and victimization of LGB 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:
Clinical approaches that incorporate regular assessments of cognitive and physical functioning and counseling interventions around firearm access may help reduce suicide risk among older adults. Doctors and researchers urge caregivers of older adults with dementia, in particular, 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.
Carter, Patrick M., Eve Losman, Jessica S. Roche, Preeti N. Malani, Jeffrey T. Kullgren, Erica Solway, Matthias Kirch, et al. “Firearm Ownership, Attitudes, and Safe Storage Practices Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Older U.S. Adults Age 50 to 80.” Preventive Medicine 156 (March 2022): 106955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.106955.
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 — United States, 2022.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 73, no. 37 (September 19, 2024): 828. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7337a3.
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.
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. 2024 Companion Infographic Report: Results from the 2021 to 2024 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2025.https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt56462/2024-nsduh-companion-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.
