Department of Veterans Affairs Releases Veteran Suicide Data
As we prepare to recognize and celebrate our Veterans this November, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs has released updated data on Veterans and suicide from 2021-2004, the most recent year for which data is available.
The report shows there were 6,488 suicides among Veterans in 2024.
The average number of Veteran suicides per day was 17.7.
Other key findings from the report include:
VA has expanded access to better reach and serve Veteran needs, and from 2001 to 2024, the percentage of Veterans enrolled with VHA rose from 19.5% to 50.1%.
62% of Veterans who died by suicide in 2024 were not receiving VA healthcare in the year they died or the year prior.
While suicide rates for VHA enrollees fell 2.2% from 2001 to 2024, rates for unenrolled Veterans increased by 70.8%.
From 2023 to 2024 — the most recent year for which data is available – Veteran suicide rates fell 4.8% for VHA enrollees while rising 3.7% for unenrolled Veterans.
Suicide prevention is VA’s top clinical priority, and all VA healthcare facilities provide Veterans same-day emergency mental health care access if they need it. The VA has conducted a review of its suicide prevention programs to better measure their impact and improve on current programs in order to lower the risks of suicide. For example:
VA is conducting a new outreach campaign that has helped enroll more than 280,000 new Veterans in VA healthcare in 2026 alone.
VA teamed with several large civilian health care providers in February 2025 to launch the Veterans Interoperability Pledge to identify at-risk Veterans and help them get care. This effort has helped VA identify and contact 140,000 at-risk Veterans, 40% of whom had not recently been to VA.
In May 2025, VA and the Department of War signed a memorandum of understanding committing both agencies to improving the transition process for Veterans exiting the military.
For the first time, VA is now tracking how effective its staff and partners are at getting Veterans into VA care.
In fiscal year 2026, VA answered more than 1.3 million calls, chats and texts from Veterans in need through the Veterans Crisis Line, an increase of more than 7% compared to the same time last year, with a Veteran satisfaction rate consistently over 97%.
In May 2026, VA announced it is screening Veterans for suicide risk and providing comprehensive evaluations at a record pace. Through August 2026, VA completed more than 5.5 million suicide risk screenings, approximately 100,000 more Veterans than in 2025.
Eligible Veterans can receive emergency suicide prevention care under the benefits afforded by the Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treatment Act of 2020, at any emergency department at no cost. Since 2023, almost 50,000 Veterans have used this benefit.
VA’s Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grants Program, recently awarded $112 million to 191 community organizations. In 2025 alone, about 17,000 Veterans, service members, and families received services through Fox grantees, up by over 4,000 from 2024.
In November 2025, VA announced it housed the largest number of homeless Veterans in seven years, a critical improvement as homelessness looms as a major factor in Veteran suicide.
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If you’re a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one, contact the Veterans Crisis Line to receive 24/7, confidential support. You don’t have to be enrolled in VA benefits or healthcare to connect. To reach responders, Dial 988 then Press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text 838255.