Nearly one in four Americans experienced some kind of mental illness in the last year, according to a new report from Mental Health America.
The “2025 State of Mental Health in America” report was released this week and uses federal data to rank all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 17 measures of mental health.
In the U.S., 60 million adults, or 23.4 percent of the population, experienced a mental illness, or AMI, in 2024; more than 46 million adults, or 17.7 percent of the population, had a substance use disorder, or SUD, in the past year.
In Virginia, 1.5 million people experienced a mental health issue in 2024; 1.1 million people in the state had a substance use disorder and nearly 350,000 people had serious thoughts of suicide.
A recent analysis by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association found a significant five-year increase in hospital admissions involving patients with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and autism spectrum disorder.
In 2024, data shows that Virginia’s private hospitals accommodated nearly 58,300 (91.65 percent) of the approximately 63,600 total behavioral health inpatient admissions across private and state psychiatric hospitals.
Mental health rates ‘unacceptably high’
The report found that the prevalence of mental health concerns among adults in the U.S. remained relatively stable from 2021 to 2024, but the “rates are still unacceptably high.”
For youth, age 12 to 17, mental health improved significantly from 2023 to 2024, but MHA believes continued support is needed to sustain the trend.
“It is encouraging to see signs of improvement in youth mental health, and that progress is exactly why we cannot take our foot off of the gas pedal,” said Maddy Reinert, senior director of population health at Mental Health America. “The data continue to show that the overall need for mental health care remains high, while access still falls short for too many. To make lasting progress, we must continue to invest in proven strategies that support people at every stage of life, and every step of their mental health journey.”
The findings provide a snapshot of mental health needs, access and outcomes in Virginia and the U.S. to help inform policy, program planning, analysis and evaluation.
“This report gives us a foundation to build better strategies, advocate for smarter policies, and target resources where they are needed most to address the ongoing mental health crisis in this country,” said Mary Giliberti, J.D., interim president and CEO of Mental Health America. “By using these facts to fuel action, we can best support the individuals and communities the data represent, moving from awareness to lasting change.”
Gaps in mental health care
People in the South and states with more rural populations continue to face the greatest gaps in access to mental health care.
Some of the gaps are due to a lack of mental health providers and insurance leading to unmet needs for many experiencing mental illness or substance use disorders. The report found that for every 320 people needing mental health support, there is just one provider.
New York, Hawaii and New Jersey ranked highest in the nation for mental health – reflecting lower rates of mental illness and higher access to care – while Nevada, Arizona and Alabama ranked lowest.
Federal assault on the mentally ill
The Trump administration has made cuts to Medicaid, housing assistance and mental health programs which could further exacerbate the mental health crisis in the U.S.
The administration also canceled more than $11.4 billion in pandemic-related grants linked to addiction and mental health.
ICYMI
- SAMHSA’s push toward involuntary treatment for mental health ‘deeply concerning’
- NAMI: ‘Grave concerns’ over putting nation’s homeless in institutions as solution to crisis
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revised its strategic priorities to pull funding from harm-reduction initiatives and instead focus on involuntary commitment for those in crisis, who are unhoused or unable to take care of themselves.
The push toward involuntary treatment options for those in crisis or facing housing insecurity is “deeply concerning,” the Legal Action Center said in a statement.
The document “walks back critical pillars of public health progress—abandoning harm reduction, fostering greater health disparities and inequity and reinserting coercion and law enforcement into systems meant to promote healing,” the statement read.
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Crystal Graham
