May 14, 2025
Rural Health Research: rural and Urban Differences in Suicide in the United States
National data from the National Vital Statistics System and the American Community Survey were used to explore trends across urban and rural areas. Among the key takeaways in this brief from the ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center:
- Crude suicide rates have remained around 14.5 per 100,000 from 2018 – 2021, with rural areas consistently higher than urban areas overall and across all subgroups of interest.
- Males have higher crude suicide rates compared to females (23.2 vs. 6.0 per 100,000).
- Groups aged 25-34 and 45-54 in rural areas have the highest crude suicide rates (28.8 and 25.3 per 100,000, respectively).
- Western states generally report higher crude suicide rates than other Census regions, while Northeastern and Southern states have lower rates in both urban and rural areas.
Click Here to Read More