California Mental Health Statistics

Written by: LAOP Editorial TeamMedically Reviewed by: Dominique Hamler, MSN, RN

Published On: August 31, 2024 | Last Updated: September 13, 2024 | Reading Time: 8 minutes

According to the California Health Care Foundation, approximately 1 in 7 adults in California live with a mental illness, while 1 in 26 grapple with a serious mental illness that markedly affects their daily lives.

Let’s look at some more statistics you should know about the mental health of California residents.

Key Takeaways:

Approximately 31.7% of Californian adults reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder in 2023, a little below the national rate of 32.3%.

In 2021, 35.3% of Californian adults who needed mental health care did not receive it due to financial constraints.

1 in 3 children (7.7%) and 1 in 6 adults (16.7%) in California face mental health challenges, with 4% of adults experiencing severe mental illness.

161,548 individuals were homeless in California in 2021, with 1 in 4 having a serious mental illness and 17.5% living with chronic substance use disorders.

Adults with mental illness in California incur average total healthcare expenditures of $9,082, significantly higher than the $3,624 spent by those without mental illness.

Around 396,000 Californian youth aged 12 to 17 lived with depression in 2021, with 64% not receiving adequate depression care.

The number of adolescents needing emotional/mental health support in California nearly doubled from 13% in 2009 to 25% in 2018.

The rate of mental health hospitalizations among Californian youth increased from 3.4 per 1000 in 2007 to 5.2 per 1000 in 2018.

California lost 4,491 lives to suicide in 2021, with 1,232,000 adults reporting thoughts of suicide within the past year.

In 2017, White Californians had a suicide rate of 15.7 per 100,000 population, higher than other ethnic groups.

Men in California had an annual suicide rate of 16.9 per 100,000 individuals in 2017, nearly three times that of women (4.7 per 100,000 individuals).

More than 50% of California’s inmates had mental health needs according to the 2023 California Jail Profile Survey.

70% of youth in the juvenile justice system in California have a mental health condition, and 40% of adults in California prisons have a history of mental illness.

General Insights

Here are some general statistics about California’s mental health:

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 5,566,000 adults in California have some sort of mental illness, and 1,243,000 adults live with a serious mental condition.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 31.7% of Californian adults reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder in 2023, in contrast to 32.3% of adults nationwide.

In California, 6.8% of American Indian and Alaska Native adults experience serious mental illness (SMI), the highest prevalence among racial groups.

In May 2022, 28.5% of California adults experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder reported unmet needs for counseling or therapy in the previous four weeks, slightly above the national average of 28.2%.

As of 2022, 24.3% of the demand for mental health professionals is met in California, whereas the national average for met demand stands at 27.7%.

In February 2021, nearly half of California adults (46.1%) reported grappling with symptoms of anxiety or depression. Within this group, 21.9% indicated they did not receive the necessary counseling or therapy.

According to a 2020 California Budget and Policy Center (CBPC) report, approximately 7.7% (1 in 3) of children and youth in California suffer from severe emotional disturbances. Additionally, nearly 16.7% (1 in 6) of adults face mental health challenges, with about 4% (1 in 25) experiencing severe mental illness.

In 2019, serious mental illness among adults varied significantly across California regions with the highest prevalence observed in Northern and Sierra (4.9%) and the lowest in the Greater Bay Area (2.9%).

According to the California Health Care Foundation, females in California reported slightly higher rates of serious mental illnesses (4.4%) compared to men (3.4%).

In 2019, approximately 30% of individuals aged 12 to 24 experienced serious psychological distress, as reported by the California Health Care Foundation. This rate nearly doubled compared to 2015.

LGBTQ+ individuals in California experienced higher rates of serious psychological distress (23.3%) compared to heterosexual individuals (11.2%). Bisexual individuals experienced the highest rates among other groups, increasing by more than 80% between 2015 and 2019.

In 2021, 35.3% of the 1,562,000 adults in California requiring mental health assistance could not receive it due to financial constraints.

In California, 161,548 individuals were homeless in 2021, with one in four of them living with a serious mental illness. Furthermore, 17.5% of homeless individuals in California were living with a chronic substance use disorder.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Californian residents are 5 times more likely to face out-of-network challenges for mental health care compared to primary health care. Additionally, 9,398,534 Californians reside in communities lacking sufficient mental health professionals.

In California, adults who have mental illnesses incur average total healthcare expenditures of $9,082, significantly higher than the $3,624 spent by those without mental illness. Nationwide, the figures are $8,823 for adults with mental illness versus $4,198 for those without.

Youth Mental Health in California

Here’s what you should know about youth mental health in California:

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, around 396,000 Californian youth (aged 12 to 17) lived with depression in 2021. Of this subset, 64% failed to receive adequate depression care.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research reports that the percentage of adolescents (aged 12 to 17) in California seeking emotional/mental health support nearly doubled in the last decade, increasing from 13% in 2009 to 25% in 2018.

Data from the California Health Care Foundation shows that around 6% of California children dealt with anxiety in 2018 and 2019, while approximately 3% experienced depression during the same period.

The KKF reports that 9.3% of Californian children (aged 3 to 17) received mental health care in 2021. This is below the national rate of 11.2%.

In 2018-19, one out of seven adolescents reported experiencing a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the last year. Of those teens with an MDE, around 70% experienced severe impairment that significantly limited their daily functioning.

The mental health hospitalization rate among Californian youth has increased from 3.4 per 1000 in 2007 to 5.2 per 1000 in 2018.

In 2018, about 32.3% of 11th-grade students in California reported chronic feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with the highest rates observed among Native Hawaiian (38.4%), Native American (36.6%), and Alaska Native (36.6%) students.

In 2019, around 1 in 14 or nearly 7.3% of children and youth in California reported being affected by a serious emotional disturbance (SED). This graph shows the rate of serious emotional disturbance among children in different California regions:

In 2019, around 10% of children and youth in California from families living below the federal poverty line experienced severe emotional issues.

In 2019, 7.9% of Black youth (under 18) in California experienced severe emotional disturbances, the highest among other ethnicities.

Between 2016 and 2017, 30,349 (over 1 in 3) children in California’s foster care systems underwent at least five specialty mental health services.

Mental Illness and Suicide Risk in California

Experiencing a mental condition increases the risk of suicide. Here are some statistics about suicide in California:

In 2021, California lost 4,491 lives to suicide, while 1,232,000 adults in the state reported having thoughts of suicide within the past year.

KFF reports that California’s age-adjusted suicide rate in 2021 was 10.1 per 100,000 population, lower than the national rate of 14.1 per 100,000 population.

Between 2017 and 2019, the suicide rates per 100,000 population varied significantly across California counties, with Trinity County recording the highest rate at 37.3 and Imperial County the lowest at 6.2.

In 2017, White Californians had a suicide rate of 15.7 per 100,000 population, higher than both the state average and those of other racial and ethnic groups.

In 2017, the annual suicide rate for men in California was nearly three times that of women (16.9 per 100,000 individuals vs 4.7 per 100,000 individuals).

Individuals aged 85 and above in California exhibit the highest suicide rate, with 21 out of every 100,000. This is in contrast to the state’s average suicide rate of 10.7 per 100,000 individuals.

In 2017, young adults (aged 18 to 25) were more likely to report serious thoughts of suicide than older adults, 8.8% compared to 3.9%.

Mental Illness and Incarceration in California

Mental illness and incarceration statistics in California include:

According to the 2023 California Jail Profile Survey, more than 50% of California’s inmates have mental health needs. In addition, the proportion of inmates requiring mental health services has substantially risen, increasing from 20% in January 2010 to 53% by June 2023.

As reported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 70% of youth in California’s juvenile justice system live with a mental health condition and around 40% of incarcerated adults have a documented history of mental illness.

According to the 2020 Jail Mental Health Report, the number of individuals with active mental health cases in California jails surged from around 15,500 in 2009 to approximately 22,000 by 2019. This marks a 42% increase in the prevalence of mental health issues within the incarcerated population.

Between 2009 and 2019, the percentage of incarcerated individuals in California with an active mental health case increased significantly from 19% to 31%, representing a 63% rise over the decade.

In 2009, around 10,500 individuals incarcerated in California were prescribed psychotropic medications. By 2019, this figure had surged to approximately 19,000, indicating an 80% rise in the number of inmates receiving such treatments over the decade.

According to the California Health Care Foundation, in 2019, mental health treatment was received by 30% of female prison inmates and 20% of male prison inmates in California.

In 2019, county probation agencies documented a total of 4,333 juveniles under supervision in juvenile halls, camps, home confinement, or alternative programs. Of these, 54% were actively managing mental health issues and 23% were undergoing treatment with psychotropic medication.

During 2018 in Los Angeles County, approximately 30% of the jail population, totaling around 5,100 individuals out of 17,000, resided in specialized mental health units or were prescribed psychotropic drugs.

As of December 2018, close to 37,000 inmates in California state prisons received mental health care, accounting for nearly 29% of the entire incarcerated population. This marked an increase from just over 32,500 prisoners in April 2013.

How Many Homeless People in California Are Mentally Ill?

Around 66% of homeless individuals in California reported suffering from a mental health condition in 2022. Among this subset, 51% suffered from anxiety and 48% suffered from depression.

How Bad Is Teen Mental Health in California?

Almost half of California’s adolescents experience mental health challenges and nearly 1 in 3 experience serious psychological distress. Learn more in our post on California teen mental health statistics.

What Is the Mental Health Movement in California?

California’s multi-year “Mental Health Movement” is a government initiative involving over $28 billion to build a better mental health care workforce, increase access to mental health services, provide treatment and housing for vulnerable individuals, and develop support plans for California’s youth.

Data Sources

Published On August 31, 2024 | Last Updated: September 13, 2024

LAOP Editorial Team

The Los Angeles Outpatient Center (LAOP) Editorial Team is a dedicated group of professionals specializing in mental health treatment. Comprising experienced therapists, medical experts, and compassionate support staff, this team brings a deep understanding of mental health challenges and recovery. Their collective expertise is reflected in each article, offering readers valuable insights, the latest developments in mental health care, and inspiring stories of healing and resilience.

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