Nevada's suicide rate is consistently among the highest in the country. In 2006, the most recent year for which complete data are available, the state had the fourth highest rate, with 19.5 deaths per 100,000 people. "A frequently observed, but poorly understood fact, is that Nevada is smack dab in the middle of a very large 'suicide belt.'" said Matt Wray, a sociologist at Temple. "There are competing explanations. The states all have this history of boom and bust."