About one in three young adults ages 18 to 25 in the United States had a mental illness in the past year (33.2 percent in 2024, according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health). Among college students, the 2024 to 2025 Healthy Minds Study found 37 percent with moderate to severe depression symptoms and 32 percent with moderate to severe anxiety symptoms, both lower than the 2022 peak but still high. This page collects the most recent national, California and Los Angeles figures in one place, with the year and source for every number, a methods note, and practical steps for students and parents. Updated October 2026.
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Last updated October 2026. Every figure on this page was checked against its source on October 29, 2026.
Key findings
- One in three U.S. young adults ages 18 to 25 (33.2%) had a mental illness in the past year in 2024 (SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2024).
- Serious mental illness among young adults fell from 12.0% in 2021 to 9.4% in 2024 (SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2021 and 2024).
- 37% of college students screened positive for moderate to severe depression and 32% for moderate to severe anxiety (Healthy Minds Study, 2024 to 2025).
- 60% of college students with depression or anxiety symptoms received treatment; lack of time (23%) and cost (22%) were the top barriers (Healthy Minds Study, 2024 to 2025).
- Frequent mental distress among U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 rose from 12.7% in 2012 to 21.3% in 2024 (CDC, MMWR, October 2026).
- Only 49.1% of young adults with any mental illness received mental health treatment in 2022 (National Institute of Mental Health, 2022 data).
- Suicide was the second leading cause of death for Americans ages 10 to 34 in 2023, with 5,936 deaths at ages 15 to 24 (National Institute of Mental Health, from CDC data, 2023).
Jump to: young adults nationally, college students, before college, alcohol and other substances, suicide, California and Los Angeles, what students and parents can do, method and sources, how to cite this page.
Young adults nationally (ages 18 to 25)
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the federal government’s main yearly survey of mental health and substance use, run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It interviews people in households across the country, so it covers young adults whether or not they are in college. The table shows the young adult figures we could confirm in SAMHSA and NIMH publications.
| Ages 18 to 25, past year | Figure | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any mental illness | 33.2% (about 11.6 million) | 2024 | SAMHSA NSDUH |
| Any mental illness | 36.2% | 2022 | NIMH, from NSDUH |
| Serious mental illness | 9.4% (about 3.3 million) | 2024 | SAMHSA NSDUH |
| Serious mental illness | 12.0% (about 4.0 million) | 2021 | SAMHSA NSDUH |
| Received mental health treatment, among those with any mental illness | 49.1% | 2022 | NIMH, from NSDUH |
Two things stand out. First, serious mental illness among young adults fell from 12.0% in 2021 to 9.4% in 2024, and any mental illness was lower in 2024 (33.2%) than in 2022 (36.2%), which matches the improvement seen in college surveys. Second, young adults had the highest rate of any mental illness of any adult age group in 2022: 36.2%, compared with 29.4% of adults ages 26 to 49 and 13.9% of adults 50 and older (NIMH mental illness statistics).
Getting help is the gap. In 2022, the most recent year the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports by age, only 49.1% of young adults with any mental illness received mental health treatment in the past year, slightly lower than adults ages 26 to 49 (50.0%) and 50 and older (52.7%) (NIMH mental illness statistics).
College students: the Healthy Minds Study
The Healthy Minds Study is one of the largest recurring surveys of college student mental health in the country. The 2024 to 2025 round surveyed more than 84,000 students at 135 colleges and universities using standard screening questionnaires (the PHQ-9 for depression and the GAD-7 for anxiety). Results improved for the third year in a row (Healthy Minds Study 2024 to 2025 results).
| College students | 2022 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate to severe depression symptoms | 44% | 37% |
| Severe depression symptoms | 23% | 18% |
| Moderate to severe anxiety symptoms | 37% | 32% |
| Seriously considered suicide in the past year | 15% | 11% |
| High levels of loneliness | 58% | 52% |
On treatment, about 37% of students had therapy or counseling in the past year and 30% took a psychiatric medication, both stable over four years. Among students with depression or anxiety symptoms, 60% received some treatment. The most common reasons students gave for not getting help were lack of time (23%), financial reasons (22%) and preferring to handle problems on their own or with family (18%). Flourishing, a measure of overall well-being, slipped from 38% in 2024 to 36% in 2025 (Healthy Minds Study).
Those barriers are practical, not mysterious. Time and money are why scheduling, fees and superbills matter as much as clinical skill, and “I should handle this myself” is why a parent or friend noticing and saying something often makes the difference.
Before college: what students bring with them
Many college students arrive already struggling. In the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 39.7% of U.S. high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 28.5% reported poor mental health, 20.4% had seriously considered suicide and 9.5% had attempted suicide in the past year (CDC, MMWR Supplement 2024).
Timing matters too. A national study of when mental health conditions begin found that half of all lifetime cases start by age 14 and three fourths by age 24 (Kessler and colleagues, Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005). The college years overlap with the ages when many conditions first appear. That is why a change in a student’s sleep, mood, grades or social life during these years deserves attention rather than a wait and see approach.
For high school students specifically, see Teen Mental Health in Southern California: The Numbers, and parents can use our Does my teen need therapy? checklist.
Alcohol and other substances
| Ages 18 to 25, 2024 | Percent |
|---|---|
| Alcohol use, past month | 47.5% |
| Binge drinking, past month | 26.7% |
| Marijuana use, past year | 35.0% |
| Any illicit drug use, past year | 38.1% |
| Prescription stimulant misuse, past year | 2.8% |
For full-time college students specifically, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports from 2019 NSDUH data that almost 53% of students ages 18 to 22 drank in the past month, about 33% binge drank, and around 9% met the criteria for alcohol use disorder in the past year (NIAAA College Drinking fact sheet). Substance use and mental health problems often occur together, so a good evaluation looks at both; see dual diagnosis treatment.
A broader warning sign: rising distress among all young adults
Not every measure is improving. A CDC report published October 8, 2026 found that the share of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 reporting frequent mental distress (14 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past 30 days) rose from 12.7% in 2012 to 21.3% in 2024, based on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (CDC, MMWR, October 2026). The recent improvement since 2022 is real, but it comes after a long rise, and levels remain well above where they were a decade ago.
Suicide
If you are worried about someone right now, call or text 988. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 34 in the United States in 2023, with 5,936 deaths among people ages 15 to 24 that year, according to CDC data compiled by NIMH (NIMH suicide statistics).
In California, the state’s Violent Death Reporting System counted 4,147 suicides in 2021, a rate of 10.4 per 100,000 people. Rates among young adults ages 20 to 24 were 18.0 per 100,000 for males and 4.7 for females. Among young adults ages 18 to 24 who died by suicide in the counties the system tracks in detail, 31% had a recent or imminent crisis, a reminder that sudden setbacks such as a breakup, a failed class or a disciplinary or legal problem can be turning points (California Department of Public Health, CalVDRS 2021 fact sheet).
NIMH lists warning signs that call for action, including talking about wanting to die or being a burden, withdrawing from friends, giving away belongings, increased alcohol or drug use and extreme mood swings (NIMH warning signs of suicide).
California and Los Angeles
California’s public colleges and universities serve millions of students, and Los Angeles is home to campuses of all three public systems.
| System | Students | Year and source |
|---|---|---|
| University of California | 301,093 | Fall 2025, University of California |
| California State University | 471,451 | Fall 2025, CSU enrollment |
| California Community Colleges (116 colleges) | About 2.2 million | Current figure, California Community Colleges key facts |
| Los Angeles Community College District (9 colleges) | 202,735 | 2021 to 2022, LACCD Fast Facts |
About 53% of LACCD students in 2021 to 2022 were under 25 (27.4% under 20 and 25.7% ages 20 to 24), squarely in the age group with the highest rates of mental illness in the national data (LACCD Fast Facts). We found no public source that reports mental health rates for Los Angeles college students specifically, so the national figures above are the best available guide.
Many Los Angeles families also have a student who attends college elsewhere and comes home for breaks, summers or a leave. For them, local care during the time at home, and continuity when the student goes back, matters as much as campus services. See therapy for college students home for winter break and clinical evaluations for a leave of absence or return.
Free public help in Los Angeles County: the LA County Department of Mental Health 24/7 Help Line at (800) 854-7771 connects people with services, and 988 is available any time by call or text (LA County Department of Mental Health). Most colleges also offer counseling to enrolled students; check your campus health or counseling center.
What the numbers mean for families
- Struggling is common, not rare. With roughly a third of students reporting depression symptoms, a student who is having a hard time is not unusual, and saying so out loud lowers the barrier to getting help.
- Things are improving, but from a high peak. The 2022 to 2025 improvement is encouraging, and the longer CDC trend shows distress is still far above where it was in 2012.
- Many young adults who need care do not get it. About half of young adults with a mental illness got no treatment in the past year (NIMH, 2022). Time, cost and self-reliance are the main reasons students give.
- Substance use is part of the picture. More than a third of young adults (38.1%) used an illicit drug in the past year in 2024, and about one in four (26.7%) binge drank in the past month. Ask about drinking and other use as plainly as you ask about mood.
- Ages 18 to 24 are when many conditions first appear. A new or worsening problem is worth having evaluated rather than waiting to see if it passes.
What students and parents can do
If you are a student
- Notice changes that last more than two weeks: sleep, appetite, motivation, grades, pulling away from friends, drinking more.
- Use what your campus offers, and know that private therapy near home or school is also an option when campus services have a wait or session limits.
- Plan around the barriers: put a standing appointment in your week the way you would a class, and ask about fees and superbills before the first visit. See Fees and Insurance.
- If you are home for a break or a leave, use that time to get an evaluation or start care that can continue when you go back.
- If you ever think about ending your life, call or text 988 now.
If you are a parent
- Ask direct, calm questions about mood, sleep, drinking and safety, including about thoughts of suicide if you are worried. Learn the warning signs NIMH lists (NIMH).
- Know the privacy rules: once a student is 18 or in college, education records rights generally belong to the student (U.S. Department of Education, FERPA), so ask your student for permission before talking with the school.
- Offer practical help with the barriers students name most: finding a therapist, scheduling and paying for care.
- Read our guide for parents of a struggling college student.
How Blackburn Clinical Services helps college students and young adults
Blackburn Clinical Services is an outpatient therapy and psychiatry practice at 12326 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066, in Mar Vista near Culver City, Santa Monica and Venice. Therapy takes place in our office or by secure video for clients located in California. Psychiatric evaluation and medication management can be arranged; when you call, we explain how psychiatry appointments work. Our care is open to college students in Los Angeles and to students home from school elsewhere, for depression, anxiety and panic, first episode concerns, ADHD evaluation, and drinking or drug use alongside mental health concerns. Any sharing with a school, parent or other party happens only with your written permission.
- Therapy and psychiatry for college students in Los Angeles
- Therapy for college students home for winter break
- Clinical evaluation for a college leave of absence or return
- Help for parents of a struggling college student
- Therapy for law students and bar exam stress
- For school and college counselors: how to refer a student
Method and sources
- What this page is: a compilation of published figures from federal, state and research sources. Blackburn Clinical Services did not collect any of this data and has not adjusted it. Figures are shown as each source rounds them.
- Last updated: October 2026. Every figure was checked against its source on October 29, 2026, and figures we could not confirm in a primary or official source were removed. We used the most recent release we could verify for each measure. The 2025 NSDUH was released in July 2026, but its young adult breakdowns were not yet available to us, so the 2024 NSDUH is used for ages 18 to 25.
- Why the numbers differ: NSDUH estimates diagnosable conditions from interviews with a national household sample of all young adults. The Healthy Minds Study uses screening questionnaires with students at participating colleges, which measure symptoms, not diagnoses, and describe those campuses rather than every college. The CDC frequent mental distress measure counts self-reported bad mental health days among all adults 18 to 29. Each answers a different question, so they should not be compared one to one.
- Older figures: the NIAAA college drinking figures come from 2019 data, the NIMH treatment and age group figures from 2022, the California suicide figures from 2021 and the LACCD figures from 2021 to 2022, because those are the latest published versions of those breakdowns.
- Definitions: any mental illness and serious mental illness follow SAMHSA’s definitions; binge drinking means 5 or more drinks on one occasion for males and 4 or more for females (NIAAA).
- Not medical advice: statistics describe groups, not any one person. If you are concerned about yourself or someone else, talk with a licensed professional.
- Reuse: you are welcome to cite this page; please link to it and to the original sources below.
Cite this page
Journalists, students, college counselors and researchers are welcome to quote or link to this page. Suggested citation:
Blackburn Clinical Services. “College Student and Young Adult Mental Health: The Numbers.” Updated October 2026. https://blackburnclinical.com/college-student-mental-health-statistics/
Please also cite the original sources listed below. A one-page PDF summary is free to share.
You may reuse these figures with credit to Blackburn Clinical Services and a link to this page.
Questions
Is college student mental health getting better?
Somewhat. The Healthy Minds Study found moderate to severe depression symptoms fell from 44% of college students in 2022 to 37% in 2025, and anxiety from 37% to 32%. National NSDUH data also show a lower rate of any mental illness among 18 to 25 year olds in 2024 (33.2%) than in 2022 (36.2%). But a CDC report found frequent mental distress among adults 18 to 29 rose from 12.7% in 2012 to 21.3% in 2024, so levels are still high.
What percentage of college students have depression?
In the 2024 to 2025 Healthy Minds Study, 37% of college students screened positive for moderate to severe depression symptoms and 18% for severe symptoms. These are screening results that measure symptoms, not diagnoses.
What percentage of young adults have a mental illness?
33.2% of young adults ages 18 to 25 had any mental illness in the past year in 2024, and 9.4% had a serious mental illness, according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In 2022, young adults had the highest rate of any adult age group, according to NIMH.
How many college students get therapy?
About 37% of college students had therapy or counseling in the past year, and 60% of students with depression or anxiety symptoms received some treatment, according to the 2024 to 2025 Healthy Minds Study. The top barriers were lack of time, cost and wanting to handle problems alone.
What should I do if I am worried about my college student?
Ask calmly and directly about mood, sleep, drinking and safety, help with the practical barriers such as finding and paying for care, and get your student’s permission before contacting the school. If there is any risk of suicide, call or text 988, or 911 in an emergency. In Los Angeles, Blackburn Clinical Services offers therapy in our Mar Vista office or by secure video for clients located in California, and psychiatric care; call (888) 870 7405.
Get started
Call (888) 870 7405, email info@blackburnclinical.com or contact us. Blackburn Clinical Services is at 12326 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066.
If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in an emergency.
Sources
- SAMHSA: 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Annual National Report
- SAMHSA: 2024 NSDUH Annual National Report figure slides
- National Institute of Mental Health: Mental Illness statistics
- National Institute of Mental Health: Suicide statistics
- National Institute of Mental Health: Warning Signs of Suicide
- Healthy Minds Study: 2024 to 2025 national results
- CDC: Mental Health and Suicide Risk Among High School Students, YRBS 2023 (MMWR Supplement)
- CDC: Prevalence of Frequent Mental Distress Among Adults Aged 18 to 29 Years, 2012 to 2024 (MMWR, October 2026)
- Kessler RC and colleagues: Lifetime prevalence and age of onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders, Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: College Drinking fact sheet
- California Department of Public Health: CalVDRS Suicide Fact Sheet 2021
- University of California: enrollment, fall 2025
- California State University: enrollment, fall 2025
- California Community Colleges: key facts
- Los Angeles Community College District: Fast Facts
- Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
- U.S. Department of Education: What is FERPA?
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline