U.S. Suicides Declined Over All in 2020 but May Have Risen Among People of Color

Despite dire predictions, the number of suicides fell by 5 percent over all. Still, smaller studies suggested the trends were much worse among nonwhite Americans.

Ever since the pandemic started, mental health experts have worried that grief, financial strain and social isolation may take an unbearable toll on American psyches. Some warned that the coronavirus had created the “perfect storm” for a rise in suicides. The concern was seized on by lawmakers who were eager to reopen the economy. In March 2020, Donald J. Trump predicted a surge in suicides resulting from statewide lockdowns. A provisional tally of last year’s deaths, however, contains a surprising nugget of good news. While nearly 350,000 Americans died from Covid-19, the number of suicides dropped by 5 percent, to 44,834 deaths in 2020 from 47,511 in 2019. It is the second year in a row that the number has fallen, after cresting in 2018.