Increasing rates of suicide and “critically high” rates of untreated depression in the U.S. highlight the need for more affordable and accessible mental healthcare.
The number of psychiatrists per capita in each state varies greatly, from one per every 2,437 people in Massachusetts to just one per every 16,905 people in Idaho, while the prevalence of any mental illness varies, from 16.4 percent of New Jersey’s adult population with a diagnosable mental illness to 26.9 percent of Utah’s adult population.
To examine the relationship between the accessibility of providers and prevalence of mental illness, here is a comparison of the rates of mental illness in the five states with the most and fewest psychiatrists, using demographic data on the rates of mental illness in each state from Mental Health America.
The states with the most psychiatrists per capita:
|
State |
No. of residents per psychiatrist |
Percentage of adults with a mental illness |
|
Massachusetts |
2,437 to 1 |
21.2 percent |
|
Connecticut |
2,842 to 1 |
18.9 percent |
|
New York |
2,967 to 1 |
19.5 percent |
|
Vermont |
3,367 to 1 |
22.3 percent |
|
Maryland |
3,657 to 1 |
17.6 percent |
The states with the fewest psychiatrists per capita:
|
State |
No. of residents per psychiatrist |
Percentage of adults with a mental illness |
|
Idaho |
16,905 to 1 |
22.5 percent |
|
Mississippi |
10,842 to 1 |
20.2 percent |
|
Montana |
10,742 to 1 |
20.8 percent |
|
Utah |
10,475 to 1 |
26.9 percent |
|
Indiana |
10,373 to 1 |
22.3 percent |
The World Health Organization estimates that anxiety and depressive disorders increased by 25 percent during the first year of the pandemic and that rates of serious mental illness in the U.S. have risen every year since 2011.