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Mental Health in America - Adult Data
The Adult Data include Adult Prevalence of Mental Health and Substance Use Measures and Adult Access to Care Measures.
The 7 adult measures include:
Adult Prevalence of Mental Illness
Adults with Any Mental Illness (AMI)
18.53% of adults in America reported suffering from a mental illness, a slight increase in percentage from last year (18.19%). While this is only a .4% increase, the estimated number of adults with mental illness increased by 1.2 million individuals.
All states that had a statistically significant change in percentages of mental illness experienced an increase in rate from last year’s estimates. These changes occurred in Texas, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Nevada. No states experienced a significant decrease in percentage rate of Adults with AMI.
2012-2013 Adults with AMI Percentage and Estimated Number by Ranking
Adults with Dependence or Abuse of Illicit Drugs or Alcohol
8.66% of adults in America report having a substance use or alcohol problem – a .2% increase in percentage as compared to last year (8.46%).
Southern states have the lowest prevalence of addiction – around 7.5%.
Oklahoma and Illinois have significantly less substance and alcohol use in 2012-2013 as compared to 2011-2012. Virginia, North Carolina, and Alabama experienced a significant increase in substance and alcohol use among adults.
2012-2013 Adults Substance Use Percentage and Estimated Number by Ranking
Adults with Serious Thoughts of Suicide
The percentage of adults reporting serious thoughts of suicide is 3.89%. The estimated number of adults with serious suicidal thoughts equal more than 9 million individuals.
Not surprisingly, the correlation between Adults with AMI and Adults who have Suicidal Thoughts is strong (r=.72, p=000). This means that higher rates of mental illness are associated with higher rates of suicidal thoughts. Eight of the states with the highest percentages of mental illness also have the highest percentages of suicidal thoughts.
The only state with a significant change in prevalence of suicidal ideation over time was North Carolina – with an increase from 3.62% (2011-2012) to 4.33% (2012-2013).
2012-2013 Adults Serious Suicidal Thoughts Percentage and Estimated Number by Ranking
According to SAMHSA, “Any Mental Illness (AMI) is defined as having a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder, other than a developmental or substance use disorder. Three categories of mental illness severity are defined based on the level of functional impairment: mild mental illness, moderate mental illness, and serious mental illness. Any mental illness includes persons in any of the three categories.”
For Adult and Youth Substance and Alcohol Dependence and Abuse, the term “Illicit Drugs” includes marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used non-medically, including data from original methamphetamine questions but not including new methamphetamine items added in 2005 and 2006.
While the national percentage of individuals suffering with a serious mental illness is around 4%, we report on the percentage of Adults with Any Mental Illness (AMI). Along with the significant correlation between Serious Suicidal Thoughts and AMI (above), we use AMI because it is inclusive of people who are showing early warning signs of mental health problems – when their functioning (how well they are doing in other areas of life) is mild and moderately impacted by their mental health symptoms. Every person diagnosed with a serious mental illness experienced mild to moderate symptoms during the progress of their illness. Due to lack of treatment, symptoms and impairment are likely to worsen over time leading individuals to experience significant difficulty in work, school, relationships and daily activities. We should not wait until people reach serious difficulty before providing needed care.
Adult Mental Illness Compared to Other Positive Outcomes
Top 10 states for adults with AMI also rank among the top 10 states in the following positive outcomes. Among the top 10 states for Adults with AMI, 9 states had correlations with positive outcomes – shown below:
Adult Mental Illness Compared to Other Poor Outcomes
Bottom 10 states for adults with AMI also rank among the bottom 10 states in the following poor outcomes. Among the top 10 states for Adults with AMI, 7 states had correlations with positive outcomes – shown below.
Adult Access to Care
Adults with AMI who Did Not Receive Treatment
57.2 % of adults with a mental illness received no treatment in 2012-2013. Although this is a slight decrease in percentage from 2010-2011 (58.34 %) the percentage of those who are likely to need some support before problems worsen is high.
States with most utilization of treatment have 30% more adults receiving treatment compared to the states with least utilization. In Nevada, 70.7% of adults with mental illness did not receive any treatment.
From 2010-2011 to 2012-2013, six states had significant changes (more than 10 percentage points). Iowa (-15.50%), Minnesota (-12.80%), Louisiana (-10.90%), and Missouri (-10.60%) experienced over a 10% reduction in the number of untreated adults with mental illness. Colorado (+10.40%) and Washington (+10.60%) experienced over a 10% increase in the number of untreated adults with mental illness.
2012-2013 Adults with No MH Treatment Percentage and Estimated Number by Ranking
Adults with AMI Reporting Unmet Need
1:5 - One out of five (20.1%) adults with a mental illness report they are not able to get the treatment they need.
States with the highest levels of unmet need (bottom 10) are 1.6 times more likely to have people report unmet need.
Unlike the number of people with mental illness who did not receive treatment, the individuals who are reporting unmet need are seeking treatment and facing barriers to getting the help they need.
Having insurance does not mean access to care. In areas like Massachusetts, DC, or Vermont, many people with mental illness report having an unmet need even though most are insured. This difference speaks to the importance of reviewing adequacy of insurance. For example, does the insurance cover sufficient types of treatment, include enough access to providers, or cover the cost of treatment?
2012-2013 Adults with Unmet Need Percentage and Estimated Number by Ranking
Adults with AMI who are Uninsured
18.5% (over 8 million) of adults with a mental illness were uninsured in 2012-2013, a slight decrease in percentage as compared to 2010-2011 (19.10%).
Most states (30 out of 50) experienced a decrease in the number of uninsured adults with mental illness between 2010-2011 and 2012-2013.
Individuals in states at the bottom 10 are 3 times more likely to be uninsured compared to those at the top 10.
Those in Nevada (ranked 51) are 10 times more likely to be uninsured compared to individuals in Massachusetts (ranked 1).
Two states experienced a larger than 10% change in percentage points over time. In both states, more individuals became uninsured over time: Tennessee (+11% more uninsured) and South Carolina (+12.1% more uninsured).
2012-2013 Adults with AMI Uninsured Percentage and Estimated Number by Ranking
Adults with Disability Who Could Not See a Doctor Due to Costs
Access to Insurance Does Not Mean Access to Care.
1:4 25.5% (1.2 million) of adults with a disability were not able to see a doctor due to costs. The inability to pay for treatment, due to high treatment costs and/or inadequate insurance coverage remains a barrier for individuals despite being insured (CDC).
In their 2014 report, SAMHSA found that 45.4% of adults who reported unmet mental health care stated that the reason was that they could not afford treatment was due to costs.
Overall, individuals in the South face the most difficulty in barriers related to costs, access to insurance, and access to treatment.
2013 Adults with Disability Cost Barrier Percentage and Estimated Number by Ranking
Adult Ranking
The Adult Ranking indicates overall how many adults have a mental health or substance use problem and how many adults have access to care. The Adult Ranking is analyzed by calculating a standardized score (Z score) for each measure, and ranking the sum of the standardized scores for each of the adult measures above.
Click here to learn more about how we calculated our rankings.
States with high rankings have lower prevalence of mental illness and higher rates of access to care for adults. Lower rankings indicate that adults have higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.
Mental Health in America 2016 Links
The State of Mental Health in America - Home
Ranking Guidelines
Ranking the States -Results of Overall, Adult, Youth, Prevalence, and Access to Care Rankings
Adult Data - Adult Prevalence and Access Data
Youth Data - Youth Prevalence and Access Data
Prevalence Data - How many adults and youth have a mental health or substance use problem in America?
Access to Care Data - How many adults and youth have access to insurance and mental health treatment in America?
Prevention and Early Intervention in Mental Health - Issue Spotlight
Glossary and Citations - For Indicators & Positive and Poor Outcomes
Print Version of The State of Mental Health in America
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