Depression statistics in 2026

Prevalence in the United States

The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH 2022, released by SAMHSA in 2023) reports the following past-year rates of major depressive episode in adults aged 18 and older:

• Overall: 8.4 percent of U.S. adults (about 21 million people).
• Women: 10.5 percent. Men: 6.2 percent.
• Adults aged 18 to 25: 18.6 percent, the highest of any adult age group.
• Adults aged 26 to 49: 9.0 percent.
• Adults aged 50 and older: 4.5 percent.
• Adults reporting two or more races: 13.9 percent, the highest by reported race or ethnicity.

Lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder in U.S. adults is roughly 21 percent (Hasin et al., JAMA Psychiatry 2018). Persistent depressive disorder adds a smaller but meaningful share, with lifetime prevalence near 3 to 6 percent depending on the survey.

Adolescents

Past-year major depressive episode in U.S. adolescents aged 12 to 17 (NSDUH 2022):

• Overall: 19.5 percent.
• Female adolescents: 29.2 percent.
• Male adolescents: 11.5 percent.

The CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2023 found that 40 percent of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year, with rates substantially higher among female (53 percent) and LGBTQ+ students (65 percent).

Treatment gap

Of U.S. adults with a past-year major depressive episode, 61 percent received treatment in 2022 (NSDUH). About 39 percent received no care of any kind. The share who received what guidelines would call adequate treatment, defined as either at least eight sessions of psychotherapy or at least two months of an antidepressant at a guideline dose, is smaller, around 30 to 35 percent in most surveys.

The gap is wider in adolescents. Of those with a major depressive episode, about 56 percent received any treatment in 2022.

Suicide deaths

The CDC reports that 49,476 people died by suicide in the United States in 2022, the highest annual number on record. The age-adjusted suicide rate was 14.2 per 100,000 (CDC WONDER, 2023 release). Most people who have suicidal thoughts never act on them, especially when they reach a clinician or call 988. Suicide is preventable, and the strongest protective steps (means restriction, safety planning, and connection to care) work.

• Men account for nearly 80 percent of suicide deaths.
• Firearms are the means in roughly 55 percent of all suicide deaths.
• Adults aged 75 and older have the highest suicide rate of any age group (about 21 per 100,000).
• American Indian and Alaska Native populations have the highest rate of any racial or ethnic group.

Most people who die by suicide had a treatable mental health condition, most commonly depression, at the time of death. About half had been seen by a primary care clinician within a month before death.

Global picture

The World Health Organization estimates that 280 million people worldwide live with depression. Depression is among the leading causes of disability globally, measured in years lived with disability (YLDs). The COVID-19 pandemic raised the global prevalence of major depressive disorder by an estimated 28 percent in 2020 (Lancet, 2021), with the largest increases in countries with the highest case loads and the most stringent restrictions.

Trends over the past decade

Several trends are consistent across surveys:

• Depression in adolescents and young adults has risen substantially since the early 2010s. Past-year major depressive episode in adults aged 18 to 25 rose from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 18.6 percent in 2022.
• The sex gap in adolescent depression has widened, with female adolescents showing the steepest rise.
• Suicide deaths in adults aged 25 to 64 fell slightly during the early years of the pandemic and rose again in 2021 and 2022.
• Antidepressant prescribing rose in adolescents and young adults during 2020 to 2022, especially in young women.

The reasons are debated. Leading explanations include changes in social connection, sleep, and screen use; rising economic insecurity; greater willingness to identify and report symptoms; and reduced stigma about seeking care. None of these alone explains the full pattern.

Economic impact

The total economic burden of major depressive disorder in U.S. adults was estimated at $326 billion in 2020 (Greenberg et al., PharmacoEconomics 2021). About 35 percent of the total reflects direct medical costs. The remainder reflects workplace costs (absenteeism, presenteeism) and suicide-related costs. The estimate has roughly doubled since 2010.