Mental Health Challenges Reached Unprecedented Highs, Even as More Help Becomes Available

by America's Health Rankings, 04/29/2025

A growing number of American adults are facing mental health challenges. Depression, frequent mental distress and suicide have all seen sharp increases in recent years. Between 2011 and 2023, the share of adults in the U.S. with depression rose by more than a quarter, climbing from 17.5% to 22.0%. Frequent mental distress jumped nearly one-third in the same period, from 11.7% to 15.4% of adults reporting poor mental health for at least two weeks of the past month. Meanwhile, suicide rates are up 23% since 2009, from 12.0 to 14.8 deaths per 100,000 population.

While some behavioral health trends are worsening, others are moving in a more positive direction. Excessive drinking, for example, has dropped 16% since 2011 from 19.8% to 16.7% of adults. However, alcohol use still causes an estimated 178,000 deaths annually. Younger adults are more likely to drink excessively: In 2023, the prevalence of excessive drinking was 3.3 times higher among adults aged 18-44 compared with adults 65 and older.

Drug deaths have surged in recent years. The national drug death rate has nearly tripled over the past 15 years, rising from 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people in 2007 to 32.4 in 2022, and resulting in an estimated 107,900 American lives lost in 2022 alone. Older adults experienced the largest spike: Drug deaths among people ages 65-74 rose 375% in that period. Differences by race/ethnicity remain, too, with the rate 11.4 times higher among American Indian/Alaska Natives than among Asian populations in 2022, the groups with the highest and lowest rates, respectively.

Meanwhile, more adults are misusing prescription or illegal drugs. Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of adults who reported non-medical drug use in the past 12 months rose from 15.9% to 17.6%. Non-medical drug use rates vary dramatically by state, with some states experiencing rates five times higher than others.

While these mental health challenges have grown, there has also been an encouraging increase in the number of mental health providers to help address these challenges. The mental health provider workforce has been consistently expanding since 2018, the first year it was reported in America’s Health Rankings. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of mental health providers grew, reaching approximately 1.2 million in 2024. However, the increase in providers has yet to meet the rising demand for services, and gaps in access to mental health care remain.

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