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Does Nevada have the highest suicide rate in the country?

By Esther Tsvayg
View this fact brief on The Nevada Independent
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NO

Nevada has an above-average suicide rate, but it is not the highest in the country.

The state had the 15th highest death-by-suicide rate nationally in 2020, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, with 603 deaths by suicide occurring in that year. That’s a rate of 18.2 suicide deaths per 100,000 residents. Suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in Nevada.

The state with the highest death-by-suicide rate in 2020 was Wyoming, with a total of 182 deaths at a rate of 30.5 per 100,000. Other states with high rates of suicide included Alaska (27.5 per 100,000), Montana (26.1 per 100,000), New Mexico (24.2 per 100,000) and Idaho (23.2 per 100,000).

Environmental risk factors for suicide include social isolation, lack of access to healthcare, stigma associated with help-seeking and mental illness and easy access to lethal means of suicide among people at risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control Stats of the State
Centers for Disease Control Nevada
Centers for Disease Control Suicide Prevention | Risk and Protective Factors
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.