Rural residents increasingly more prone to suicide than those in urban areas

A 2016 display of backpacks and other items on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus was placed to draw attention to the subject of suicide among college students. A 2016 display of backpacks and other items on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus was placed to draw attention to the subject of suicide among college students.

By Steve Johnson March 20, 2017 4 min read

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For immediate help, call 1-800-273-TALK [8255].Or text HOME to 741741For information about suicide prevention, contact the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network, at www.tspn.org.

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People in rural areas are increasingly more likely to commit suicide than those in urban areas, according to a study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers studied all suicide cases in the U.S. from 1999-2015, the last year for which data was available. During that time, some 600,000 Americans died by suicide, with the highest annual rate occurring in 2015.

While suicides in large central metropolitan areas over the 15-year period increased about 5 percent, from 11 per 100,000 in 1999 to about 11.5 in 2015, suicides in rural areas rose from 15 per 100,000 in 1999 to 22 per 100,000 in 2015, or 32 percent.