Male suicide rate in the U.S. from 2001 to 2021, by age group

Among men in the United States, those aged 75 years and older have the highest death rate from suicide among all age groups. In 2021, the suicide death rate among men aged 75 years and older was 42.2 per 100,000 population. In comparison, the death rate from suicide among men aged 25 to 44 years was 30 per 100,000. Suicide is a significant problem in the United States with rates increasing over the past decade.

Suicide among men

In the United States, the suicide rate among men is over 3.5 times higher than that of women. In 2021, the rate of suicide among U.S. men was 22.8 per 100,000 population, the highest rate recorded over the past almost 70 years. Firearms account for the vast majority of suicide deaths among men, accounting for around 58 percent of male suicides in 2020. The reasons why U.S. men have higher rates of suicide than women are complex and not fully understood but may have to do with the more violent means by which men carry out suicide and the stigma around seeking help for mental health issues.

Suicide among women

Although the suicide rate among women in the U.S. is significantly lower than that of men, the rate of suicide among women has increased over the past couple of decades. Among women, those aged 45 to 64 years have the highest death rates due to suicide, followed by women 25 to 44 years old. Interestingly, the share of women reporting serious thoughts of suicide in the past year is higher than that of men, with just over five percent of U.S. women reporting such thoughts in 2021. Similarly to men, firearms account for most suicide deaths among women, however suffocation and poisoning account for an almost equal share. In 2020, around 33 percent of suicides among women were carried out by firearms, while suffocation and poisoning each accounted for around 29 percent of suicide deaths.