Oregon adults have the highest rate of mental illness in the US at 31.6%

According to the report, "In 2023–2024, Oregon had the country's highest rate of mental illness at 31.6%, 10.1 percentage points greater than the national rate. New Jersey had the lowest rate at 18.1%, 3.4 percentage points less than the nation overall."

The number of people who had mental illness in the US in 2025 was recorded at 54.6 million, making up 20.6 percent of all adults in the country, according to USA Facts. Those who are younger tended to have a higher rate of mental illness than those who are older. The rate of mental illness in the last several years ticked up during the COVID-19 pandemic and then tapered down, but it is still higher than the rate of mental illness just 10 years ago in 2016, which was 18.3 percent.

The ten states, including the District of Columbia, that had the highest rate of mental illness in 2023 to 2024 included: Oregon (31.6 percent), Vermont (29.1 percent), Washington, DC (29 percent), West Virginia (28.1 percent), Washington state (27.9 percent), New Hampshire (27.7 percent), Tennessee (27 percent), Maine (26.7 percent), Utah (26.7 percent), and Arkansas (26.6 percent).

Since 1990, mental health disorders have nearly doubled, impacting 1.2 billion people worldwide, per the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Those who are two or more races had the highest rate of mental illness at 31.6 percent, American Indians/Alaskan Natives had a rate of 22.8 percent, whites had a rate of 21.5 percent, Hispanics had a rate of 20 percent, blacks had a rate of 17.2 percent, Asians had a rate of 16 percent, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander had a rate of 15.2 percent.