science
U.S. Suicide Rate Fell 3 Percent in 2024
The national suicide mortality rate declined 3 percent in 2024, the first significant drop after two decades of increases. Federal staffing reductions at the CDC and SAMHSA in 2025 affected programs tied to that decline.
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The U.S. suicide mortality rate declined 3 percent in 2024 after rising roughly 25 percent over the prior 20 years. The drop occurred across nearly every population group, according to data compiled by Trust for America's Health. That change translated to roughly 500 fewer deaths. The same period also recorded declines in deaths from drug overdoses and alcohol.
Federal staffing changes The CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control lost more than 200 staff in 2025, including personnel assigned to suicide prevention. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reduced its workforce by more than half of its roughly 900 positions during the same year.
Those reductions included staff supporting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which has handled more than 23 million contacts since its 2022 launch.
Prevention programs The CDC's Essence program supplies early-warning data systems that allow local health departments to detect rises in self-harm or suicidal ideation and deploy resources. Programs funded through the Garrett Lee Smith Act grants and the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program operate at community, school, and workplace levels.
The administration has proposed cutting the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program by more than half in the fiscal year 2027 budget and eliminating the Adverse Childhood Experiences program.
