Skip to main content

Is this time of year harder than it is supposed to be? Ways to get support over the holidays

The Denning Center — counseling and accelerated resolution therapy

Research · Statistics

San Antonio mental health statistics

By Jim Denning, MA, LPC, Texas license #73687 · Published 12 November 2026 · Data: VA, CDC PLACES, County Health Rankings, HRSA, Texas BHEC, the 988 Lifeline and the Texas Council on Family Violence

About 173,000 veterans lived in Bexar County in 2023, more than in any other Texas county. In CDC estimates for 2023, 22.4% of San Antonio adults had been told they have depression, and 21.9% of Bexar County adults aged 18 to 64 had no health insurance. In October 2026, Texas crisis centers answered 68.9% of the 988 calls routed to them, the lowest rate of the 50 states and D.C. (all states and territories: 86.6%).

Key numbers

  • 173,000veterans lived in Bexar County, more than in any other Texas county and the fourth most of any U.S. countyU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VetPop2023 Table 9L, 30 September 2023
  • 22.4%of San Antonio adults have been told they have depression (Houston 19.9%)CDC PLACES, 2025 release, 2023 (model-based estimate)
  • 21.9%of Bexar County adults aged 18 to 64 have no health insurance (95% interval 17.6% to 26.7%)CDC PLACES, County Data, 2025 release, 2023 (model-based estimate)
  • 380:1Bexar County residents for each mental health provider, against 550:1 in Texas and 290:1 in the U.S.County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CMS NPI file, 2025), 2025
  • 68.9%of 988 calls routed to Texas were answered by a Texas crisis center, the lowest rate of the 50 states and D.C. (all states and territories: 86.6%)988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, In-State KPI Reports, October 2026

The figures below come from public sources, each with its own date. Several have a full study behind them on this site, with the method, the limits and the data to download.

Veterans and military families

  • 173,000veterans lived in Bexar County, more than in any other Texas county and the fourth most of any U.S. county30 September 2023 · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VetPop2023 Table 9L · the study
  • 10.9veterans for every 100 adults in Bexar County, against 6.6 in Texas and 6.9 in the U.S.30 September 2023 (adults: 1 July 2023) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VetPop2023 Table 9L · the study
  • 32,000women veterans lived in Bexar County, the most of any U.S. county in VA's estimates30 September 2023 · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VetPop2023 Table 9L · the study

Depression and mental distress

  • 22.4%of San Antonio adults have been told they have depression (Houston 19.9%)2023 (model-based estimate) · CDC PLACES, 2025 release · the study
  • 17.2%of San Antonio adults report frequent mental distress: 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past month2023 (model-based estimate) · CDC PLACES, 2025 release · the study
  • 14.7% to 19.4%frequent mental distress across San Antonio's 10 council districts (our calculation from census tract estimates)2023 (model-based estimate) · CDC PLACES, 2025 release · the study

Access to care

  • 21.9%of Bexar County adults aged 18 to 64 have no health insurance (95% interval 17.6% to 26.7%)2023 (model-based estimate) · CDC PLACES, County Data, 2025 release
  • 380:1Bexar County residents for each mental health provider, against 550:1 in Texas and 290:1 in the U.S.2025 · County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CMS NPI file, 2025) · the study
  • 679,508low-income Bexar County residents are a federal mental health shortage area, with one full-time psychiatrist for every 57,604 people against a goal of one for every 20,000designation updated 22 September 2025 · HRSA mental health shortage areas, LI - Bexar County · the study
  • 35,369Licensed Professional Counselors hold an active Texas license, plus 7,777 LPC Associates (statewide; no reliable county count is published)12 November 2026 · Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council licensee file · the study

Crisis lines: 988 in Texas

Calls to 988 are first routed to a crisis center in the state the call is linked to, by the phone’s area code or, with some carriers, its location. Texas centers answered 68.9% of the calls routed to them in October 2026. Texas had the lowest in-state answer rate of the 50 states and D.C. in each of the last 5 months, from June 2026 to October 2026; its best month in the past year was December 2025, at 80.8%.

A call a Texas center does not pick up is not simply lost. Unless the caller hangs up first, it is passed to the Lifeline’s national backup network.

  • 68.9%of 988 calls routed to Texas were answered by a Texas crisis center, the lowest rate of the 50 states and D.C. (all states and territories: 86.6%)October 2026 · 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, In-State KPI Reports
  • 72.0%of 988 calls routed to Texas over the 12 months to October 2026 were answered in the state (all states and territories: 86.3%)November 2025 to October 2026 · 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, In-State KPI Reports
988 calls routed to Texas that were answered by a Texas crisis center, by month

Source: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, In-State KPI Reports (calls only). The last bar is the 12-month rate for all states and territories in the reports. Scale 0 to 100%.

Family violence

If you are in danger now, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open at any hour: 1-800-799-7233.

  • 13intimate partner homicides in Bexar County in 2025 (17 in 2024); 160 across Texas in 20252025 · Texas Council on Family Violence, Honoring Texas Victims 2025 · the study
  • 50.9%of survivors seeking shelter from Texas family violence programs were turned away for lack of spacestate fiscal year 2025 · Texas Council on Family Violence, Honoring Texas Victims 2025 · the study

What this means if you live in San Antonio

  • Struggling is common here. 22.4% of adults in the city have been told they have depression, and 17.2% had 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past month. Needing help is not unusual.
  • In a crisis, 988 is still the number to call or text. If a Texas center cannot answer, the call rolls over to a backup center, so it is worth staying on the line. Veterans can call 988, then press 1. In an emergency, call 911.
  • Cost is a real barrier for many people. 21.9% of Bexar County adults aged 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Our guide to free mental health resources in San Antonio lists low-cost options, and rates and insurance lists the plans this practice is in network with.
  • Veterans have options to check first. VA health care, Vet Centers and TRICARE each have their own rules. Our page on therapy for veterans and military families sets out the questions to ask. The Denning Center is not part of or affiliated with the VA.

Method and limits

Each figure keeps its own source and period, so they are not all from the same year and should not be added together or compared directly. CDC PLACES figures are model-based estimates, not counts. Veteran numbers are VA estimates, rounded to the nearest 1,000 as VA asks.

The 988 figures are for calls (not texts or chats). The in-state answer rate is the number of calls answered by a center in the state divided by the number routed to the state, as the Lifeline defines it. The figure for all states and territories, and the 12-month rates, are our own sums of the monthly reports.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, VetPop2023 Table 9L: county veteran population by age group and sex. estimates for 30 September 2023, projections to 2053. www.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/Demographics/New_Vetpop_Model/9L_VetPop2023_County_NCVAS.xlsx
  2. CDC, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, Place Data, 2025 release. model-based estimates for 2023. data.cdc.gov/d/eav7-hnsx
  3. CDC, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data, 2025 release (current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18 to 64). model-based estimate for 2023. data.cdc.gov/d/swc5-untb
  4. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, Mental Health Providers (CMS National Provider Identifier file, 2025), supplemental data release. released 25 March 2026. www.countyhealthrankings.org/health-data/health-factors/clinical-care/access-to-care/mental-health-providers
  5. HRSA, Health Professional Shortage Areas: Mental Health (detail file), designation LI - Bexar County. designation last updated 22 September 2025; file downloaded 12 November 2026. data.hrsa.gov/data/download
  6. Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, Licensed Professional Counselor licensee file. downloaded 12 November 2026. www.bhec.texas.gov/csv/LPC.csv
  7. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (Vibrant Emotional Health for SAMHSA), State-Based Monthly Reports: In-State KPI Report. monthly reports, November 2025 to October 2026. 988lifeline.org/professionals/our-network/state-based-monthly-reports/
  8. Texas Council on Family Violence, Honoring Texas Victims 2025 report (intimate partner homicides in Texas, by county). homicides from 1 January to 31 December 2025; report published 2026. tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/TCFV-2025-Honoring-Texas-Victims-Report-WEB-Version.pdf

Cite this page

Jim Denning, The Denning Center, “San Antonio mental health statistics,” 12 November 2026, https://jimdenninglpc.com/research/san-antonio-mental-health-statistics. Data: VA VetPop2023; CDC PLACES 2025; County Health Rankings & Roadmaps; HRSA; Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; Texas Council on Family Violence.

Download the data (CSV). Free to use with credit to The Denning Center and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). The underlying public data belongs to the agencies and organizations named under Sources.

Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it and note the change on this page.

More San Antonio mental health research

You don’t have to do this alone.

Healing is possible. Tell us a little about what is going on and Jim will get back to you.

Get started210-714-3308
CallGet started