Rhode Island Data

As you review the data and visualizations on suicide in Rhode Island:

  • Numbers tell us the counts of how many people have died by suicide.
  • Percentages tell us how many people have died by suicide compared to the whole group of people.
  • Rates tell us how many people have died by suicide compared to a larger group, taking into account the population size of that group.

Suicide Deaths by Gender and Year

Overall, more males die by suicide than females. The number of deaths by suicide for females has been relatively consistent over the past 10 years. The greatest number of total deaths by suicide occurred in 2013 followed by 2017 and 2022.

If you would like to see Rhode Island’s suicide mortality in comparison to other states, visit CDC Suicide Mortality by State.

Suicide deaths among transgender individuals are reported in Rhode Island Violent Death Reporting System (RIVDRS), however are not included in these visuals due to RIDOH's small number reporting policy. Individual's sex or gender identity is determined based on all the documents reviewed by the case abstractors (death certificates, medical examiner and law enforcement reports, interviews). We recognize that this is a limitation in the dataset for people who identify as non-binary or another identity. However, national evidence tells us that transgender women, men, girls, boys, and non-binary people are more likely than cisgender people to attempt and to die by suicide. More research is needed on the mental health and life experiences of transgender and non-binary people.

For any questions or more information about the data, please use the Contact Us form.


Suicide Deaths by Age Group

Males 55-64 had the highest percentage of suicide deaths at 24.0% among males. Females 55-64 (23.0%) had the highest percentage of suicide deaths among females. 

When we look at age and gender, we see that, for males, the highest rate of suicide deaths is observed among those ages 55-64 (25.9 deaths per 100,000 males in this age group). For females, the highest rate of suicide deaths is observed among those ages 35-44 (8.6 deaths per 100,000 females in this age group). For Males, the second highest rate was observed for those age 45-54  (25.7 deaths per 100,000), while the second highest rate for females was observed among those ages 55-64 (8.4 deaths per 100,000).  

The number of suicide deaths show us that more males than females died by suicide in every age group.

For any questions or more information about the data, please use the Contact Us form.


Suicide Deaths by Race/Ethnicity

Data show total suicides in Rhode Island in the years 2018-2022 among Rhode Island residents by race/ethnicity. The most deaths by suicide are among white, non-Hispanic people at 85%. The highest rate of suicide deaths is observed among those who identified as white, non-Hispanic (12.1 deaths per 100,000). A rate of 12.1 means about 12 white, non-Hispanic people would have died by suicide out of a population of 100,000. The second highest rate of suicide deaths is observed in those who identified as Hispanic (5.7 deaths per 100,000). 

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Suicide Death Rate per 100,000 by County

In general, the proportion of suicide deaths reported by county was consistent with the distribution of the Rhode Island population that lives there (Source: 2010 Census). Most people in Rhode Island live in Providence County and account for the highest percentage of suicide deaths (55%); however, the rate per 100,000 is the lowest among all five counties (9.2 deaths per 100,000). The highest rate of suicide deaths is observed among residents of Washington County (12.9 deaths per 100,000).

For any questions or more information about the data, please use the Contact Us form.