Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, help is available. Call or text 988 for 24-hour, confidential support, or visit 988lifeline.org.

Federal survey data released this week shows a continued decline in the number of Portland teens who have seriously considered suicide or report ongoing poor mental health.

After a sharp uptick in both those measures post-pandemic, just 12% of Portland teens reported seriously considering suicide on the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior survey administered annually by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s two percentage points below the national average and down eight points from a 2021 high of 20%.

Portland teens reporting persistently bad mental health was down to 24% in 2025 from 32% in 2021. The Portland number tracked closely to the new national rate of 23%.

Statewide numbers for Oregon were not available on the CDC’s website.

Dr. Kayla Buker, a pediatrician at the Tigard office of Pediatric Associates of the Northwest, said she’d noticed improvements in her patients overall. She said getting back to regular life post-pandemic had made a big difference for teenagers’ mental health. But she also said doctors and parents had become more proactive at looking for warning signs for mental health struggles in teens.

“We’re identifying mental health things earlier and we’re able to intervene,” Buker said. “That’s part of what we’re starting to see that decrease in suicidal ideation, which is amazing.”

The question about mental health is relatively new – but the government has been asking teens about suicide since 1991, and the national rate of seriously considering it was lower in 2025 than in any other year the survey was administered. The rate of teens who reported having “seriously considered attempting suicide” in 2025 was also well below the post-pandemic high of 22%.

Girls and young people who identify as bisexual, gay or lesbian were still more likely to have seriously considered suicide than the general population of teenagers.

The Youth Risk Behavior survey is filled out every other year by a nationally representative selection of high school students. The surveys have documented a generally downward trend in most risky behaviors, including sexual activity, drug use and even soda consumption.

Portland teens were especially unlikely to drink soda, with fewer than 6% saying they drank soda once a day in 2023, the last year for which there is local data on the question. They were also less likely to vape or skip birth control than their peers nationally, though they reported smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and using marijuana at the same or higher rates than the national averages.

Young Portlanders were also less likely than their peers nationally to text while driving, which tracks with data showing that urban teens do this less than rural teens, presumably because they spend less time behind the wheel.

The survey also asks about healthy habits, like eating fruit and playing sports. A whopping 48% of Portland teens said they ate fruit once or more per day, 10 points above the national average. And more than half, 54%, of then played at least one in 2025, according to the survey, four percentage points less than the national average.

“It’s great,” Buker said. “We know there’s positive impacts between organized sports and activities and decreased risk of depression and anxiety for kids who are involved (in their communities).”

It’s also worth noting that while the percentage of teens who report being obese has ticked up since 1999 when the question was first asked, only 14% of teens nationally reported having the condition in 2025. That’s up from 10% in 1999. But in this category too, Portland teens broke with national norms in a healthy way: Only 8% of Portland teens reported being obese in 2025.

Recently added questions about social media use and texting while driving show that both remain concerns.

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More than two thirds of Portland teens reported using social media several times a day in 2025, but that’s still lower than the 80% of teens nationally who reported that usage level. A recent statewide ban on phones in schools could potentially lower that rate even more.

Buker also pointed out that some of what’s available on social media is positive for teenagers. For example, she said trendy wellness videos promote basic healthy tenets like drinking water every day, which can be a positive influence on teens. She said the new societal focus on speaking out about mental health has also been good for kids.

“Overall, mental health is still a big issue that we’re dealing with,” Buker said. “I don’t think we’re out of the woods. But people are really open to discussing their mental health.”

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