Every year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs publishes the most authoritative accounting of suicide among those who served. The 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, which covers data through 2023, is the clearest picture available of how many veterans are dying, how they compare to civilians, and where the risk concentrates.
The headline figure is sobering but easy to misread in isolation: 6,398 veterans died by suicide in 2023 (VA, 2025). Behind that single number sits a set of patterns that matter for prevention — a rate well above the general population, a heavy reliance on firearms, a sharply elevated risk among women veterans, and a majority of those who died having no recent contact with VA health care.
This article walks through what the latest report actually shows, figure by figure, and how each piece connects to the broader picture of veteran mental health and suicidal ideation among veterans.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. Veterans and their families can press 1 after dialing 988 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.
Veteran Suicide in 2023: The Headline Numbers
In 2023, 6,398 veterans died by suicide — 44 fewer than in 2022 (VA, 2025). Averaged across the year, that works out to roughly 17.5 veteran suicides per day.
That daily figure is often quoted without its most important detail: where these veterans were in relation to the VA system. The report breaks the daily average into two groups.
| Group | Share of the ~17.5/day |
|---|---|
| Recent VHA users | 39.0% |
| Other veterans (no recent VHA use) | 61.0% |
In other words, the majority of veterans who died by suicide in 2023 were not recent users of Veterans Health Administration care (VA, 2025) — a gap we return to below because it defines where prevention outreach has the most room to work.
How Veteran Rates Compare to Non-Veterans
Counts alone can mislead, because the veteran population is older and more heavily male than the general adult population — both factors that independently push suicide rates up. The report addresses this two ways: with unadjusted rates and with age-adjusted comparisons.
The unadjusted 2023 suicide rate for veterans was 35.2 per 100,000 (VA, 2025). Broken out by sex:
| Group | Unadjusted rate per 100,000 (2023) |
|---|---|
| All veterans | 35.2 |
| Male veterans | 37.8 |
| Female veterans | 13.9 |
Because veterans skew older and male, the fairer comparison adjusts for age. After age-adjustment, the report finds that in 2023 the female veteran suicide rate was 103.1% higher than the rate for female non-veteran U.S. adults, and the male veteran rate was 49.7% higher than the rate for male non-veteran adults (VA, 2025).
The report also expresses the overall gap as a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 1.177 for 2023 — meaning veteran suicides were 17.7% higher than would be expected if veterans died by suicide at the same rate as the comparable general population. In absolute terms, that excess amounts to roughly 962 additional deaths (VA, 2025).
Put simply: even after accounting for the demographics that make the veteran population higher-risk on paper, veterans still die by suicide at a meaningfully elevated rate. That elevation is the reason suicidal ideation in veterans is treated as a distinct public-health priority rather than folded into general men’s suicide statistics.
Firearms and Veteran Suicide
Method matters enormously in suicide prevention, because the most lethal methods leave the least room for survival and intervention. Among veterans, firearms dominate.
In 2023, firearms accounted for 73.3% of veteran suicide deaths, compared with 52.9% of suicide deaths among non-veteran U.S. adults (VA, 2025). That roughly 20-percentage-point gap is one of the most consistent findings in the veteran data, and it helps explain why veteran suicide is more often fatal on the first attempt. It also makes firearm safety — secure storage, time-and-distance between a person in crisis and a loaded weapon — one of the most concrete levers available.
The firearm pattern is even starker among women. The female veteran firearm suicide rate in 2023 was 168.3% higher than the rate for female non-veteran adults (VA, 2025), a gap far wider than the overall female rate difference and a major driver of the elevated risk women veterans face overall.
Elevated Risk for Women Veterans
Women are a growing share of the veteran population, and the report makes clear they carry disproportionate risk. Two figures capture it:
- Overall rate. After age-adjustment, the female veteran suicide rate was 103.1% higher than the female non-veteran adult rate in 2023 — a larger relative gap than the 49.7% seen among men (VA, 2025).
- Firearm rate. The female veteran firearm suicide rate was 168.3% higher than the female non-veteran rate (VA, 2025).
The relative gap for women is wider than for men even though the absolute rate for male veterans (37.8 per 100,000) is higher than for female veterans (13.9). Both facts are true at once: men account for most veteran suicide deaths, while women veterans are further above their civilian counterparts in relative terms. Underlying drivers commonly seen in this population include PTSD, military sexual trauma, and depression, which frequently co-occur.
The Care Gap: 61% Were Not in VA Care
Perhaps the single most actionable finding is where veterans were in their final year. In 2023, 61% of veterans who died by suicide were not receiving VA health care in the last year of their lives (VA, 2025).
This reframes prevention. VA-based screening, lethal-means counseling, and mental health treatment can only reach veterans who are enrolled and engaged — yet most of those who died were outside that system. It is why VA outreach increasingly targets veterans who have never used VA care or who disengaged after separation, and why community providers, active-duty transition programs, and family members are central to closing the gap. A veteran who transitions out of service and never enrolls is precisely the person the current system is least positioned to reach.
Highest-Risk Group: Veterans Aged 18–34
Risk is not evenly distributed across ages. The report identifies veterans aged 18–34 as the highest-risk age subgroup (VA, 2025). The concentration is sharpest among a specific slice: Priority Group 5 veterans aged 18–34, whose 2023 suicide rate reached 85.4 per 100,000 (VA, 2025) — well over double the overall veteran rate of 35.2.
Priority Group 5 generally covers veterans with lower incomes or those receiving VA pension benefits, and the elevated rate among its youngest members points to a compounding of financial strain, recent transition out of service, and early-adulthood risk. Younger veterans are also more likely to be recently separated — the window in which loss of structure, identity, and community can be most acute.
Veteran suicide sits within the broader national picture. For context on how these figures compare with the overall population, see our complete breakdown of U.S. suicide statistics, the male suicide statistics that veterans’ overwhelmingly male demographics feed into, and the state-by-state suicide rates that shape where at-risk veterans live.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many veterans die by suicide each day?
In 2023, approximately 17.5 veterans died by suicide per day, corresponding to 6,398 deaths for the year (VA, 2025). Of that daily average, 39.0% were recent users of VA health care and 61.0% were not.
Are veteran suicide rates higher than for the general population?
Yes. After age-adjustment, the 2023 male veteran suicide rate was 49.7% higher and the female veteran rate 103.1% higher than their non-veteran adult counterparts (VA, 2025). Overall, the standardized mortality ratio was 1.177, meaning veteran suicides were about 17.7% higher than expected — roughly 962 additional deaths.
What method is most common in veteran suicides?
Firearms. In 2023, firearms accounted for 73.3% of veteran suicide deaths, compared with 52.9% among non-veteran U.S. adults (VA, 2025). This higher lethality is a key reason veteran suicide is more often fatal.
Why are women veterans considered especially high-risk?
Women veterans show the widest relative gap versus civilians. Their age-adjusted suicide rate was 103.1% higher than female non-veterans, and their firearm suicide rate was 168.3% higher (VA, 2025), even though male veterans have the higher absolute rate.
Do most veterans who die by suicide receive VA care?
No. In 2023, 61% of veterans who died by suicide were not receiving VA health care in their last year of life (VA, 2025), which is why prevention efforts increasingly focus on veterans outside the VA system.
Which veterans face the highest risk by age?
Veterans aged 18–34 are the highest-risk age group. Among Priority Group 5 veterans aged 18–34, the 2023 rate reached 85.4 per 100,000 (VA, 2025) — more than double the overall veteran rate.
Sources
-
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, Part 1. VA; 2026. https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2025/2025_national_veteran_suicide_prevention_annual_report_part_1_final.pdf
-
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, Part 2. VA; 2026. https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2025/2025_national_veteran_suicide_prevention_annual_report_part_2_final.pdf
-
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA releases 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report. VA News; 2026. https://news.va.gov/145433/2025-national-veteran-suicide-prevention-report/