"[T]he rates of...suicide...in Utah are above the United States average...."
- Richard Lloyd Measures, Holy Hooks
"Utah has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation...."
- Derick S. Hartshorn, Bearing the Testimony of Truth, Saints Alive in Jesus
"Utah also has the 10th highest suicide rate in the USA...."
- Neal Humphrey, A Salt Lake City Ex-Mormon Presbyterian Minister's Take On LDS Growth, Latter-day Lampoon
"In Utah...the suicide rate is 40% above the national average."
- Courtney Jones, Perfect, Voices 2(2)
"Utah�s suicide rate is twice the national average...."
- Waana, Reasons Why The Mormon Church Is Not True, posted on Recovery from Mormonism, 5/18/02
Figure 1. Suicide rates, 1979-2000
Table 1. State suicide rates for the United States and Utah, and Utah's rank, 1991-2000.
| Year | High | Average | Low | Utah | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 24.8 NV | 12.2 | 6.6 NJ | 16.1 | 8 |
| 1992 | 24.7 NV | 11.9 | 6.6 NJ | 14.1 | 12 |
| 1993 | 23.4 NV | 12.1 | 7.1 NJ | 13.9 | 16 |
| 1994 | 23.4 NV | 12.0 | 7.3 NJ | 15.0 | 10 |
| 1995 | 25.8 NV | 11.9 | 7.3 NJ | 14.5 | 15 |
| 1996 | 20.9 NV | 11.6 | 7.3 NY | 14.2 | 13 |
| 1997 | 24.5 NV | 11.4 | 7.3 NJ | 14.6 | 12 |
| 1998 | 22.7 NV | 11.3 | 7.2 NJ | 16.0 | 9 |
| 1999 | 22.3 NV | 10.7 | 6.6 NY | 13.2 | 15 |
| 2000 | 21.8 AK | 10.4 | 6.0 NY | 13.3 | 11 |
| Average | 23.1 NV | 11.5 | 7.0 NJ | 14.4 | 12 |
The following map shows how suicide rates vary across the country.
Figure 2. State suicide rates, 1991-2000 average
Suicide counts for 2000 are from: Mini�o AM, Arias E, Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Smith BL. Deaths: Final Data for 2000. National Vital Statistics Reports 50(15). Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 2002.
Population estimates for 2000 are from the U.S. Census Bureau.