The latest newsletter from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania features an article on the suicide rates in Pennsylvania. Urban Pennsylvania counties have significantly lower suicide rates than rural counties. Carbon County, where I live, is considered a rural county. It also has one of the highest suicide rates in Pennsylvania, coming in third among the 67 counties at 34.3 suicides per 100,000 residents (2018 figures). Susquehanna (34.5) was second, while Cameron at 66.8 was a complete outlier. Cameron has such a small population, however, that three or four suicides would cause a distortion.
Just in case you were wondering, Schuylkill came in at 21.8, while Philadelphia’s rate per 100,000 was 10.1.
What drives up the rates? Here are a some factors: higher number of handgun sales per 1000 residents, lower levels of education, lower incomes, larger populations over age 65, and higher levels of unemployment.
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