Firearms and explosives (although mostly firearms) have been the most common method of death by suicide since the early 1900s. Poisoning was generally the second-most common method, although there were some years where there were more suicide deaths due to hanging or strangulation. In this period, the suicide rate peaked in the early-1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, with almost 20,000 deaths by suicide in 1932 alone. Although the total number of deaths by suicide in the given period was highest in 1970, it is important to note that the U.S. population grew significantly during the 20th century and the suicide rate at this time was much lower than in the 1930s. Additionally, records were generally less reliable in early years, therefore many suicides may have gone unrecorded, may have been miscategorized as homicide or natural death, or miscategorized by method.
Annual number of suicides in the United States from 1900 to 1970, by method
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Archival FRED. (February 1, 1977). Annual number of suicides in the United States from 1900 to 1970, by method [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 07, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1386475/us-suicides-method-historical/
Archival FRED. "Annual number of suicides in the United States from 1900 to 1970, by method." Chart. February 1, 1977. Statista. Accessed December 07, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1386475/us-suicides-method-historical/
Archival FRED. (1977). Annual number of suicides in the United States from 1900 to 1970, by method. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 07, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1386475/us-suicides-method-historical/
Archival FRED. "Annual Number of Suicides in The United States from 1900 to 1970, by Method." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 Feb 1977, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1386475/us-suicides-method-historical/
Archival FRED, Annual number of suicides in the United States from 1900 to 1970, by method Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1386475/us-suicides-method-historical/ (last visited December 07, 2024)
Annual number of suicides in the United States from 1900 to 1970, by method [Graph], Archival FRED, February 1, 1977. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1386475/us-suicides-method-historical/