YPSILANTI, Mich. – Four zip codes in Washtenaw County have higher suicide rates than others according to the second annual Suicide Report by the Washtenaw County Health Department.
“Mental health has a significant impact on our community,” said Washtenaw County Health Department epidemiologist Kaitlin Schwarz. “We hope this report provides useful data for our local mental health professionals and researchers as we work together to improve mental health and prevent deaths.”
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Preliminary 2023 data in the report shows that while there has been a 22% decrease in resident suicide since 2021, there is still an overall increase over the past 20 years. This data also shows that parts of Ann Arbor, Manchester, Whitmore Lake, and Ypsilanti have higher rates than a target rate set by the the U.S. Department of Health an Human Services (HHS).
The Healthy People 2030 initiative by HHS aims to reduce suicide deaths to 12.8 per 100,000 people. Washtenaw County’s overall rate between 2020-2022 was just below this national target but rates in some zipcodes were not.
Officials said Manchester’s 48158 zip code had the highest suicide rates at 18.2 per 100,000 people between 2020-2022, but that number had dropped from 22.4 between the 2019-2021 period.
Rates in the 48189 area of Whitmore Lake and Ann Arbor’s 41803 both have high rates, at 13.4 and 13.1, respectively. Both rates were slight decreases from 2019-2021 rates.
However, Ypsilanti’s 48198 zip code increased between 2020-2022 to 14.9, a .7 increase from 2019 to 2021.
Here are rates for each zip code:
| Zipcode | 2020-2022 rate per 10K | 2019-2021 rate per 10K |
|---|---|---|
| 48103 | 13.1 | 12 |
| 48104 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| 48105 | 8.2 | 12 |
| 48108 | 11.2 | 8.4 |
| 48118 | 7.5 | 15.1 |
| 48130 | 12.4 | 6.3 |
| 48158 | 18.2 | 22.4 |
| 48160 | 10.1 | 6.9 |
| 48176 | 10.4 | 8.6 |
| 48189 | 13.4 | 13.2 |
| 48197 | 12.6 | 15.2 |
| 48198 | 14.9 | 14.2 |
| Overall County | 12.4 | 12.8 |
“Mental health support and treatment can save lives,” she said. “We encourage everyone to take mental health concerns seriously. Suicide is preventable and we urge our community members to reach out for help if they need it or are concerned about someone else.”
If you or someone you know has questions about suicide, call the Community Mental Health CARES team 24/7 helpline at 734-544-3050. Call 911 for immediate help.
Those with suicidal thoughts should call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or visit https://988lifeline.org/chat/. Text “HELLO” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
Residents who want to prevent firearm deaths can pick up free gun locks from the Health Department, at 555 Towner, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Learn more about suicide prevention resources in Washtenaw County here.