Wyoming suicide rate in 2018 was second-highest in nation

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming had the second-highest suicide rate in the United States in 2018, a new report said.

An American Association of Suicidology study released earlier this month found 25.4 out of every 100,000 Wyoming residents took their own lives in 2018, The Casper Star-Tribune reported Sunday.

The figure fell from 2017 when Wyoming had more than 27 people per 100,000 people who died by suicide.

The 2018 national suicide rate was 14.8 per 100,000 people. New Mexico had the highest rate with 25.6 that year.

Wyoming's age group with the highest rate of suicide was between 20 and 24 years old. There were 16 cases of suicide in that group in 2018.

The association found more than 73% of Wyoming residents who died by suicide used a firearm. The national percentage was 50%.

Wyoming has been in the highest five of state suicide rates since 1996.

"It's one of our top priorities, easily," said Lindsey Martin of the state Department of Health.

"We have been working with different state agencies like Game and Fish, Workforce Services and the Department of Corrections to see how we can partner together in our efforts to prevent suicide," Martin said.