Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine rank highest; Nevada, Arizona, and Montana show greatest need for improvement

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mental Health America (MHA) today released its annual State of Mental Health in America report, which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 15 mental health access and prevalence measures. In this new report, using 2022 data, Massachusetts (1), Connecticut (2), and Maine (3) scored highest against a comprehensive range of well-being metrics. Meanwhile, Nevada (51), Arizona (50), and Montana (51) ranked the lowest.

The report is based on federal data available for every state from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education. To develop these rankings, MHA evaluated states on criteria such as the prevalence of mental health and substance use conditions, suicidal ideation, access to care, provider availability, and other metrics.

The U.S. is indeed in a mental health crisis, according to MHA's analysis. Nearly 60 million adults (23.08%) experienced a mental illness in the past year. Among other worrisome findings, nearly 13 million adults (5.04%) reported serious thoughts of suicide. The number of individuals who died by suicide in 2022 was the highest number ever recorded in the U.S., up after slight decreases in 2019 and 2020. 

The nation's youth continue to present cause for concern. One in five young people from ages 12-17 experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year, yet more than half of them (56.1%) did not receive any mental health treatment. More than 3.4 million youth (13.16%) had serious thoughts of suicide. 

More than 45 million adults (17.82%) and 2.3 million youth (8.95%) are experiencing a substance use disorder.

"We are living in a time of polycrisis when evidence shows that the need for mental health care is urgent. High numbers of adults and youth alike are having serious thoughts of suicide, following a year with a record high number for completed suicides, substance use is on the rise, and other indicators of distress and disparity continue to escalate. And yet obstacles such as high costs or a shortage of mental health providers prevent so many Americans from accessing the help they need," said Schroeder Stribling, president and CEO of MHA. "Mental Health America continues to advocate for policy and practice improvements that focus on upstream prevention and early intervention so that all people—as they deserve—have an opportunity to recover and flourish."

Barriers to obtaining mental health treatment persist nationwide. Nearly 6 million adults (10.1%) with a mental illness are uninsured, compared with 9.3% of adults without a mental illness. One in four (24.58%) adults who experienced 14 or more mentally unhealthy days each month were unable to see a doctor due to costs—a 2% increase over previous data. 

The shortage in mental health provider availability certainly doesn't help. Data show there are 340 people for every one mental health provider. More than 122 million people live in a mental health workforce shortage area, with only 27% of the mental health care needs in shortage areas being met.

"It is critical that we increase the affordability and availability of mental health care so people experiencing behavioral health conditions can access the care they want," said Maddy Reinert, senior director of population health at MHA. "But that won't fully address why people are experiencing distress in the first place. To reduce the negative impact of the mental health crisis, states must invest in a public health approach focused on prevention of mental distress and promotion of well-being."

MHA gathered the most recently available federal data in each state, with the majority collected through 2022. States with positive outcomes are ranked higher (closer to one) than states with poorer outcomes (closer to 51).

The COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on federal agencies' ability to collect national surveillance data in 2020. As a result, the rankings in this year's State of Mental Health in America report cannot be compared to previous years, though it does provide an accurate snapshot of mental health at a point in time.

In releasing the report, MHA aims to: inform policy and program planning, analysis, and evaluation; track changes in the prevalence of mental health issues and access to mental health care; and increase dialogue with and improve outcomes for individuals and families with mental health needs.

Read more in the full State of Mental Health in America report.

About Mental Health America
Mental Health America is the nation's leading community-driven nonprofit dedicated to promoting mental health and well-being, resilience, recovery, and closing the mental health equity gap. Mental Health America's work is driven by its commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of whole person health, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; and integrated care, services and supports for those who need them. Learn more at MHAnational.org.

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SOURCE Mental Health America