The South’s Mental Health Crisis: Alabama Ranks Third Worst in the US for Mental Health, and Texas Takes the Top Spot

According to Forbes Advisor’s latest survey, Alabama ranks as the third worst state in the US for mental health. One of the main reasons for this ranking is that over half of Alabama residents with mental illness do not receive treatment due to cost. The state is not alone in facing mental health care challenges in the South, as six of its neighboring states – Texas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina – also rank among the top 10 worst states for mental health care.

Texas has taken the top spot for the second consecutive year, followed by Georgia. Forbes reports that one in five American adults experience a mental health condition each year, but three-fourths of them are dissatisfied with the state of mental health treatment and over half receive no treatment at all, according to Mental Health America. To determine state rankings, Forbes Advisor considered seven metrics including percentages of adults with mental illness receiving no treatment, inability to access a doctor due to cost, lack of services for youth with depression, and insufficient insurance coverage for mental health issues.

Alabama scored 87.6 out of 100 in the survey, with the state having one of the highest percentages of adults with mental illness who are uninsured at 17.9%. Additionally, Alabama ranks fourth in the percentage of adults with mental illness not receiving any treatment (62.4%) and fifth in the percentage of adults receiving inadequate treatment (35.4%). The state also places sixth for youth with private health insurance that does not cover mental and emotional problems and eighth in the percentage of adults with mental health disorders unable to see a doctor due to cost. Lastly, Alabama has one of the fewest mental health treatment centers per capita, with only 12.46 per 10