Suicides by County
Suicide Death Rate per 100,000 Population, By County
Data Source: Rhode Island Violent Death Reporting System (RIVDRS), 2016-2020.
Notes: Data include suicide deaths that occurred in Rhode Island among Rhode Island residents. In compliance with RIDOH’s Small Number Reporting Policy, counts of less than five are not shown. Any use of counts to calculate rates and proportions is subject to RIDOH’s Small Number Reporting Policy available at health.ri.gov/publications/policies/smallnumbersreporting.pdf
Percentage of Suicide Deaths Compared to Percentage of Rhode Island Population by County
Data Source: Rhode Island Violent Death Reporting System (RIVDRS), 2016-2020.
Notes: Data include suicide deaths that occurred in Rhode Island among Rhode Island residents. In compliance with RIDOH’s Small Number Reporting Policy, counts of less than five are not shown. Any use of counts to calculate rates and proportions is subject to RIDOH’s Small Number Reporting Policy available at health.ri.gov/publications/policies/smallnumbersreporting.pdf
Discussion
In general, the proportion of suicide deaths reported by county of residence was consistent with the distribution of the Rhode Island population (Source: 2010 Census). This means that there are no places in Rhode Island where there are significantly more suicides than we would expect to see, based on the percent of the population that lives there. Most people in Rhode Island live in Providence County, and the percent of suicides is highest there. However, the rate per 100,000 is similar across all Rhode Island counties.
It’s helpful to understand what some of the data terms mean. Here is information about percentages and rates.
Percentages tell us how many people have died by suicide compared to the whole group of people. For instance, residents of Kent County make up 16% of the Rhode Island population and represent a similar percent of suicide deaths that occurred among Rhode Island residents (17%).
Rates tell us how many people have died by suicide compared to a larger group, taking into account the population size of that group. For instance, while most suicide deaths were observed among Providence County residents (54%), the rates of suicide deaths are similar by county. The rate calculation accounts for the fact that the population is higher in Providence County compared to other counties.