DENVER, Colo. — Colorado high school students were significantly more likely to die in 2020 than in 2010, despite signs that, in many ways, teens are now better off.
In 2010, there were about 47 deaths for every 100,000 people between the ages of 15 and 19 in Colorado. By 2020, that had risen to a rate of 76 per 100,000, a 62% increase, according to the annual Kids Count report. At the same time, deaths dropped over that decade among infants and children younger than 15.
Drug overdoses, suicide deaths and homicides all contributed to the decadelong rise in the mortality rate among Colorado teenagers.
