Industry
CDC: Suicide Rose to 10th-Leading U.S. Cause of Death in 2024
Final CDC mortality data show suicide became the 10th-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2024, moving up from 11th in 2023, even as the raw number of suicide deaths fell slightly to 48,824. The shift occurred largely because COVID-19 deaths dropped 37%, pushing COVID out of the top 10. Firearms accounted for more than half of suicide deaths, with gun suicides hitting record levels for a fifth straight year despite an overall declining rate. State rates vary widely, from 5.3 per 100,000 in D.C. to 31 in Alaska, and ED visits for suspected suicide attempts are falling among adolescents but rising among adults 26 and older, prompting hospitals and researchers to test screening and risk-forecasting tools.
Why it mattersHospitals, EDs, and state behavioral health agencies serving Medicaid populations face growing demand for suicide screening, crisis response, and firearm-access prevention programs as risk patterns shift toward adults and vary sharply by state.