About 1 in 3 U.S. high school students (33 percent in 2025, down from 39.7 percent in 2023) say they have felt so sad or hopeless for two weeks or more that they stopped doing some of their usual activities, and 14 percent seriously considered suicide in the past year, according to the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey. California teens report similar or higher levels: in the most recent statewide California Healthy Kids Survey, 42 percent of 11th graders reported chronic sad or hopeless feelings. This page gathers the latest national, California and Los Angeles County figures on teen sadness, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, vaping, cannabis, sleep and school motivation, with the year and source for every number, a methods note and plain guidance for parents of high schoolers. Updated October 2026.
Worried about your high schooler? Call (888) 870 7405
Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Therapy for teens 13 to 17, with family sessions, in our Mar Vista office in West Los Angeles, or by secure video for clients located in California.
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. high school students (33%) felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2025, down from 40% in 2023 (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2025).
- Girls were far more affected than boys: 43% of high school girls and 24% of boys reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2025 (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2025).
- 14% of U.S. high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in 2025, down from 20% in 2023 (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2025).
- An annual average of 17.7% of U.S. teens ages 12 to 17 had a major depressive episode in the past year (SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2022 to 2024).
- 42% of California 11th graders reported chronic sad or hopeless feelings, up from 32% in 2015 to 2017 (California Healthy Kids Survey, 2019 to 2021).
- Parents reported that 7.6% of Los Angeles County teens ages 12 to 17, about 57,000, felt sad or depressed daily or weekly (LA County Health Survey, 2023).
- Only 23% of U.S. high school students got 8 or more hours of sleep on an average school night (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2023).
Jump to: national figures, California, Los Angeles County, vaping, cannabis and sleep, what this means for parents, urgent help, method and sources, how to cite this page.
National figures: U.S. high school students
The CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is the main national survey of health risks among students in grades 9 to 12. It is given in public and private high schools every two years; the CDC released 2025 results in September 2026. They show improvement: 33 percent of students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness (43 percent of girls and 24 percent of boys), 23 percent reported poor mental health, 14 percent seriously considered attempting suicide, 12 percent made a plan and 6 percent attempted (CDC Youth Health in Focus, 2025). The detailed table below is from the full 2023 survey report.
| Measure (past 12 months unless noted) | All students | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persistent sadness or hopelessness | 39.7% | 52.6% | 27.7% |
| Poor mental health most of the time (past 30 days) | 28.5% | 38.8% | 18.8% |
| Seriously considered attempting suicide | 20.4% | 27.1% | 14.1% |
| Made a suicide plan | 16% | not shown | not shown |
| Attempted suicide | 9.5% | 12.6% | 6.4% |
Other national surveys measure depression and anxiety more directly. SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 17.7 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 had a major depressive episode in the past year and 11.9 percent had serious thoughts of suicide (annual average, 2022 to 2024). The CDC reports that 20 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 had symptoms of anxiety and 18 percent had symptoms of depression in the past two weeks (National Health Interview Survey Teen, 2021 to 2023).
California: the California Healthy Kids Survey
The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), sponsored by the California Department of Education and run by WestEd as part of CalSCHLS, is the largest statewide survey of student well-being in California public schools. The Biennial State CHKS is a representative statewide sample; the most recent published key findings cover 2019 to 2021. The California Department of Public Health uses CHKS data for its Adolescent Mental Health Dashboard.
| Chronic sad or hopeless feelings | 2015 to 2017 | 2017 to 2019 | 2019 to 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 30% | 33% | 37% |
| Grade 11 | 32% | 37% | 42% |
- Suicidal thoughts: 17% of 9th graders and 16% of 11th graders seriously considered suicide in the past year (Biennial State CHKS, 2017 to 2019). About 3 in 20 secondary students reported this in 2019 to 2021, little changed.
- Who is most affected: in 2017 to 2019, 45% of 11th grade girls reported chronic sadness compared with 27% of boys, and rates were higher still among LGBTQ students and students in foster care (CHKS Factsheet 20).
- Vaping and cannabis: 10% of 11th graders vaped and 12% used marijuana in the past 30 days in 2019 to 2021, down from 16% and 20% in 2013 to 2015.
- School motivation: 64% of 11th graders reported high academic motivation in 2019 to 2021, down 7 points from 2017 to 2019; 9th graders fell 6 points to 66%.
Los Angeles County
The Los Angeles County Health Survey, run by the LA County Department of Public Health, asks a parent or caregiver about one child in the household. In 2023 it surveyed parents of 7,391 children ages 5 to 17.
| How often the child had feelings of sadness and depression | Ages 12 to 17 | All ages 5 to 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Daily or weekly | 7.6% (about 57,000 teens) | 5.7% |
| Monthly or a few times a year | 39.2% | 31.9% |
| Never | 53.2% | 62.4% |
These are parent reports, so they likely undercount what teens feel privately; student surveys such as the YRBS and CHKS ask teens directly and find higher numbers.
Vaping, cannabis and sleep
- Vaping: 7.1% of U.S. high school students, about 1.13 million, currently used e-cigarettes in 2025, down from 7.8% in 2024 (National Youth Tobacco Survey, FDA and CDC).
- Cannabis: 17% of U.S. high school students currently used marijuana in 2023 (CDC YRBS). In California, 12% of 11th graders used marijuana in the past 30 days (CHKS, 2019 to 2021).
- Alcohol: 22% of U.S. high school students currently drank alcohol in 2023 (CDC YRBS).
- Sleep: only 23% of U.S. high school students got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night in 2023, so about 3 in 4 fell short of the recommended amount for teens (CDC YRBS sleep report, 2013 to 2023).
Substance use, short sleep and low mood often travel together, and each can make the others worse. A teen who is vaping or using cannabis to calm anxiety or fall asleep is a common pattern worth a conversation with a professional. See treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use.
What this means for parents of high schoolers
- Your teen is not alone, and neither are you. When about 1 in 3 high schoolers report persistent sadness, struggling is common, not a sign that a family has failed.
- Watch for change that lasts. Two weeks or more of changes in mood, sleep, grades, friendships or interest in things they used to enjoy is the point where a professional opinion helps. Our Does my teen need therapy? checklist walks you through what to look for.
- High achievement can hide distress. Students in demanding college prep, private and independent high schools often keep grades up while sleep, mood and eating slide. See therapy for private school students.
- Ask directly about safety. Asking a teen whether they have thought about suicide does not put the idea in their head. It opens the door.
- Protect sleep and limit access to means. Keep phones out of the bedroom at night where you can, and lock up medications, alcohol and firearms.
- Get help early. Half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 14. Early, steady care tends to work better than waiting for a crisis.
How Blackburn Clinical Services helps teens and families
Blackburn Clinical Services sees teens ages 13 to 17 for one-on-one therapy in our office at 12326 Venice Blvd in Mar Vista, West Los Angeles, or by secure video for clients located in California, with family sessions so parents are part of the work. We help with anxiety, depression, school stress, substance use and trauma, and ADHD testing is available. Psychiatric care can be arranged when it is needed. Appointments are Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, with flexible scheduling within those hours. When clinically appropriate, we can provide documentation for your teen’s school, shared only with written permission. For teens who need more than weekly therapy, the Concierge Outpatient Program offers typically 3 to 5 hours a week of one-on-one care with no groups. Learn more about our adolescent services.
For the same kind of figures on older students, see College Student and Young Adult Mental Health: The Numbers.
When to get help right away
If your teen talks about wanting to die or about suicide, has hurt themselves, or you think they are in danger, do not wait for an appointment. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, or call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if there is immediate danger. Stay with your teen until help arrives.
Method and sources
- What this page is: a compilation of published figures from federal, state and county 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 we used the most recent published release we could verify for each measure. Figures we could not confirm were removed.
- Why some figures are older: the latest statewide California Healthy Kids Survey key findings we could verify cover 2019 to 2021, a period that included remote learning; the suicidal thoughts figures by grade come from 2017 to 2019. Local district CHKS reports are newer but are not a statewide sample.
- Why the numbers differ: the YRBS and CHKS ask students directly in school; NSDUH interviews a household sample; the NHIS Teen measures symptoms in the past two weeks; the LA County Health Survey asks a parent. Each answers a different question, so compare them with care.
- Definitions: persistent sadness or hopelessness and chronic sad or hopeless feelings both mean feeling so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in the past year that the student stopped doing some usual activities. Current use means use in the past 30 days.
- Not medical advice: statistics describe groups, not any one teen. If you are concerned about your child, 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, school counselors and researchers are welcome to quote or link to this page. Suggested citation:
Blackburn Clinical Services. “Teen Mental Health in Southern California: The Numbers.” Updated October 2026. https://blackburnclinical.com/teen-mental-health-southern-california-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 parents ask
What percentage of teens have persistent sadness or hopelessness?
In the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 33% of U.S. high school students in 2025 said they felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in the past year that they stopped doing some usual activities, down from 39.7% in 2023. The rate was 43% for girls and 24% for boys. In California, the most recent statewide California Healthy Kids Survey (2019 to 2021) found 37% of 9th graders and 42% of 11th graders reported chronic sad or hopeless feelings.
How many high school students think about suicide?
About 1 in 7 in the latest survey. In 2025, 14% of U.S. high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, 12% made a plan and 6% attempted, down from 20%, 16% and 9% in 2023 (CDC YRBS). If your teen may be at risk, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in an emergency.
How common is vaping among high school students?
In the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 7.1% of U.S. high school students currently used e-cigarettes, about 1.13 million students. In California, 10% of 11th graders reported vaping in the past 30 days in the 2019 to 2021 California Healthy Kids Survey.
How much sleep are high schoolers getting?
Not enough. Only 23% of U.S. high school students got 8 or more hours of sleep on an average school night in 2023, according to the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which means about 3 in 4 fell short.
Are teens in Los Angeles County struggling too?
Yes. In the 2023 Los Angeles County Health Survey from the LA County Department of Public Health, parents reported that 7.6% of children ages 12 to 17 had feelings of sadness and depression daily or weekly, and another 39.2% monthly or a few times a year.
When should a parent look for a therapist for a teen?
When changes in mood, sleep, school, friendships or substance use last more than two weeks or get in the way of daily life, it is reasonable to talk with a professional. Our free checklist can help you sort out what you are seeing. Any talk of suicide or self-harm needs help right away: call or text 988, or 911 in an emergency.
Get started
Talk with us about your teen. Call (888) 870 7405
Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Therapy for teens 13 to 17, with family sessions, in our Mar Vista office in West Los Angeles, or by secure video for clients located in California.
Call (888) 870 7405, email info@blackburnclinical.com or contact us. Blackburn Clinical Services is at 12326 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066. If your teen is in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.
Sources
- CDC: Youth Health in Focus, Mental Health and Suicide Risks, Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2025 (September 2026)
- CDC MMWR: Mental Health and Suicide Risk Among High School Students and Protective Factors, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023
- CDC: Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report, 2013 to 2023
- CDC: YRBS Data Summary and Trends Report for Dietary, Physical Activity and Sleep Behaviors, 2013 to 2023
- FDA: Results from the Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey (2025)
- CDC MMWR: Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students, National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2024
- SAMHSA: Major Depressive Episode or Serious Thoughts of Suicide in the Past Year among Adolescents (NSDUH 2022 to 2024)
- CDC: Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health
- California Healthy Kids Survey: 18th Biennial State CHKS Key Findings, 2019 to 2021
- CalSCHLS Factsheet 20: Trends and Demographic Differences in Mental Health among California Secondary Students, 2017 to 2019
- California Department of Public Health: Adolescent Mental Health Dashboard
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: 2023 Los Angeles County Health Survey, Topics and Data
- Kessler and colleagues, Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005: age of onset of mental disorders
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline