Suicide & Homicide Rates Among Young Americans at Decade High

Suicide and homicide rates among young people in the U.S. have reached levels not seen in decades, new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. Among those 10 to 24 years old, 11 suicides and 10.7 homicides per 100,000 people occurred in 2021.

Suicide rates in the age group have been hitting new records every year since 2017, while for homicides, 2021 marks the highest rate since 1997. However, homicide rates for Americans aged 10 to 24 are still lower today than in the early 1990s, when they hit a high of 16.3 per 100,000 individuals in 1993.

Suicide and homicide are the second and third most common causes of death for the age group after unintentional injury. According to CNN, poisonings are common in suicides by younger children and they rose dramatically in the Covid-19 pandemic. Many suicides and homicides in the U.S. are carried out with guns, which made them the cause of 1 in 5 childhood and teen deaths overall in 2021. Guns as a cause of death overtook car accidents in 2020 for children and teens.

If you or somebody you know are in need of help, you can find a list of suicide crisis lines and website for countries around the world here.