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 nine years. The greatest number of total deaths by suicide occurred in 2013 followed by 2017 and 2019.

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 45-54 and 55-64 had the highest percentage of suicide deaths at 21.0%. Females 55-64 (25.0%) followed by 35-44 (20.0%) had the highest percentage of suicide deaths. 

When we look at age and gender, we see that, for both males and females, the highest rate of suicide deaths is observed among those ages 55-64 (27.7 deaths per 100,000 males in this age group and 10.0 deaths per 100,000 females in this age group). For males, the second highest rate was observed for those age 65 and older (22.7 deaths per 100,000), while the second highest rate for females was observed among those ages 35-44 (7.7 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 2016-2020 among Rhode Island residents by race/ethnicity. The most deaths by suicide are among white, non-Hispanic people at 87%. The highest rate of suicide deaths is observed among those who identified as white, non-Hispanic (11.9 deaths per 100,000). A rate of 11.90 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 black, non-Hispanic (6.6 deaths per 100,000). Looking at race/ethnicity by rates, we can see that Black, non-Hispanic Rhode Islanders have a higher rate of death from suicide than you might assume based on the percent of suicide deaths in 2016-2020 that were among Black, non-Hispanic Rhode Islanders (3%).

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


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 accounts for the highest percentage of suicide deaths (54%). However, the rate per 100,000 is similar across all Rhode Island counties indicating that people in all counties are impacted by suicide.

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