According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “any mental illness” is defined as having a diagnosable mental, behavioral or emotional disorder, of any severity (mild, moderate or serious), excluding developmental or substance use disorders.
As of 2021, 19 percent of adults in the U.S., equivalent to over 47 million people, experienced a mental illness. Of those 47 million cases, approximately 11.25 million were considered severe cases.
The state with the highest prevalence of mental illness was Utah, with 25.25 percent of the adult population, approximately 550,000 people, experiencing a diagnosable mental illness.
Below are the 10 states with the highest percentage of the population who experienced a mental illness in 2021.
|
Rank |
State |
Percentage of population |
Number of people |
|
1 |
Utah |
25.25 percent |
550,000 |
|
2 |
Idaho |
24.46 percent |
311,000 |
|
3 |
West Virginia |
23.80 percent |
337,000 |
|
4 |
Indiana |
22.51 percent |
1,129,000 |
|
5 |
Oregon |
22.45 percent |
731,000 |
|
6 |
Washington |
22.23 percent |
1,269,000 |
|
7 |
District of Columbia |
22.21 percent |
125,000 |
|
8 |
Kentucky |
22.14 percent |
746,000 |
|
9 |
Colorado |
21.50 percent |
924,000 |
|
10 |
Missouri |
21.44 percent |
993,000 |
