Suicide is among the leading causes of death in San Joaquin Valley. What’s being done?

by Tim Sheehan, Central Valley Journalism Collaborative June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

A crisis counselor with the Central Valley Suicide Prevention Hotline call center in Fresno, Calif., takes notes on a computer as she talks with a caller. The Fresno center, which receives 988 calls from throughout the San Joaquin Valley, fielded more than 1,300 calls just from Fresno County in the first three months of 2025. (Kings View Behavioral Health/Central Valley Journalism Collaborative via Bay City News)

OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, the suicide rate in the San Joaquin Valley has been significantly higher than the statewide rate, according to a review of state and federal data.

Across Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties, the overall suicide rate in the region was 10.8 per 100,000 residents – a rate about 15% higher than the statewide suicide rate of 9.4 per 100,000 residents – from 2018 through 2024.

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