Gun death and violence in the United States by state

Last updated

1999- Gun-related deaths USA.svg
Gun-related suicides and homicides in the United States, 1999-2024. [1]
2012- U.S. gun murder victims by weapon (FBI UCR).png
Handguns are involved in most U.S. gun homicides. [2]
20230604 Gun death rates related to household gun ownership rates - by state - US.svg
Gun-related death rates are positively correlated with household gun ownership rates. [3]
2023 Gun death rates versus state gun regulation index - US.svg
A 2023 study concluded that more restrictive state gun policies reduced homicide and suicide gun deaths. [4]

This is a list of US states by gun deaths and rates of violence. In 2021, there were 26,000 gun suicides and 21,000 gun homicides, together making up a sixth of deaths from external causes. Gun deaths make up about half of all suicides, and over 80% of homicides. [5]

Contents

In 2021, gun deaths rose to levels not seen since the 1990s, but remained below rates of the 1970s. [6]

A 2022 study found that guns were the cause of more years lost than any other source of traumatic injury, including motor vehicles. [7]

2022 overall gun death rates and counts

The statistics are from 2022 CDC data. [3]

2022 overall gun death rates (per 100,000 population) and counts
LocationDeath ratesDeaths
Mississippi29.6848
Louisiana28.21,266
New Mexico27.3571
Alabama25.51,278
Missouri24.21,489
Montana23.9274
Alaska22.4164
Arkansas21.9666
District Of Columbia21.4154
South Carolina20.81,105
Tennessee20.51,480
Wyoming20.4124
Arizona20.11,535
Oklahoma19.8797
Georgia19.72,163
Nevada18.9618
Kentucky18.8840
Indiana17.41,211
Colorado17.11,036
Idaho17338
Kansas16.8492
North Carolina16.81,831
North Dakota16.4125
West Virginia16.2311
South Dakota15.7141
Ohio15.61,831
Texas15.34,630
Michigan151,504
Virginia14.91,316
Pennsylvania14.71,941
Illinois14.41,798
Oregon14.4655
Florida143,232
Wisconsin14830
Utah13.7446
Maryland13.6813
Washington12.41,022
Nebraska12.2244
Vermont1284
Delaware11.9124
Maine11.7179
Iowa11.2367
New Hampshire10.1156
Minnesota9.6561
California8.63,484
Connecticut6.9252
New York5.31,044
New Jersey5468
Hawaii4.566
Massachusetts3.7263
Rhode Island3.137

2021 gun death rates for suicide and homicide

Gun suicide rate by state, 2021. State gun suicide rate 2021.png
Gun suicide rate by state, 2021.
Gun homicide rate by state, 2021. State gun homicide rate 2021.png
Gun homicide rate by state, 2021.
Gun death rate by county, 2023. County gun death rate 2023.png
Gun death rate by county, 2023.
Percent of households with guns in 2016. RAND Corporation. Map. Percent of households with guns by US state in 2016. RAND Corporation.svg
Percent of households with guns in 2016. RAND Corporation.

The statistics are from 2021 CDC data. [5] Rates are per 100,000 inhabitants. The percent of households with guns by US state is from the RAND Corporation, and is for 2016. [9] [10]

2021 gun death rates for suicide and homicide. And overall rates for each.
LocationGun suicide rateSuicide rateGun homicide rateHomicide rate % gun at home
 United States7.914.56.37.8 [a]
Flag of Wyoming.svg  Wyoming 23.732.81.72.861%
Flag of Montana.svg  Montana 21.631.72.74.265%
Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 19.430.04.26.757%
Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico 14.425.210.914.536%
Flag of Oklahoma.svg  Oklahoma 13.822.06.48.655%
Flag of Idaho.svg  Idaho 13.820.41.52.258%
Flag of North Dakota.svg  North Dakota 13.220.12.63.153%
Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada 13.122.06.38.433%
Flag of Arkansas.svg  Arkansas 12.920.49.311.152%
Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado 12.823.84.76.338%
Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia 12.721.04.86.460%
Flag of Alabama.svg  Alabama 12.416.412.914.853%
Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri 12.119.19.911.653%
Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona 12.120.35.97.736%
Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon 11.920.93.44.841%
Flag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky 11.818.18.19.053%
Flag of Kansas.svg  Kansas 11.819.14.96.142%
Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee 11.717.510.211.647%
Flag of Maine.svg  Maine 11.520.20.91.548%
Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont 11.522.0 [b] 1.550%
Flag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi 11.316.319.822.254%
Flag of South Dakota.svg  South Dakota 10.922.72.85.055%
Flag of Utah.svg  Utah 10.919.32.12.740%
Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina 10.515.510.712.645%
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia 10.315.59.511.238%
Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana 10.216.67.69.242%
Flag of Louisiana.svg  Louisiana 10.014.917.420.452%
Flag of Iowa.svg  Iowa 9.217.22.02.939%
Flag of Florida.svg  Florida 8.915.45.36.729%
Flag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina 8.713.78.19.437%
Flag of Texas.svg  Texas 8.614.26.68.136%
Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio 8.415.07.48.742%
Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin 8.215.34.95.947%
Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia 8.213.75.87.035%
Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan 8.114.87.08.239%
Flag of New Hampshire.svg  New Hampshire 8.016.1 [c] 1.146%
Flag of Washington.svg  Washington 8.015.93.34.532%
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania 7.714.56.68.540%
Flag of Delaware.svg  Delaware 7.613.78.010.339%
Flag of Nebraska.svg  Nebraska 7.414.72.33.639%
Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota 6.914.22.94.139%
Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois 5.211.510.211.723%
Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland 5.010.19.611.517%
Flag of California.svg  California 4.010.64.76.416%
Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut 3.411.13.24.419%
Flag of Rhode Island.svg  Rhode Island 3.310.72.53.714%
Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 2.914.01.62.79%
Flag of New York.svg  New York 2.28.43.14.614%
Flag of New Jersey.svg  New Jersey 2.17.43.04.49%
Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts 1.98.61.42.39%
Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  District of Columbia 1.86.925.233.3 [d]

2021 gun death count totals, and by category

The statistics are from 2021 CDC data. [5]

Missing values indicate between 1 and 9 deaths for the year, so the specific figure is suppressed. [12]

2021 gun death totals by intent
StateGun deathsSuicideHomicideAccidentLaw
 United States48,83026,32820,958549537
Flag of Texas.svg  Texas 4,6132,5281,9425338
Flag of California.svg  California 3,5761,5751,8613289
Flag of Florida.svg  Florida 3,1421,9281,1501825
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia 2,2001,1151,0212522
Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois 1,9956561,2921518
Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio 1,9119918722112
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania 1,9059978612513
Flag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina 1,8399168504615
Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee 1,56981471411
Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan 1,544810701
Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri 1,4147476092415
Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona 1,36587943026
Flag of Alabama.svg  Alabama 1,3156236501911
Flag of Louisiana.svg  Louisiana 1,31446380427
Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana 1,2516955171510
Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia 1,24870950512
Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina 1,13654655821
Flag of New York.svg  New York 1,07843961315
Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado 1,06474527629
Flag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi 96233358321
Flag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky 94753436425
Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland 9153105920
Flag of Washington.svg  Washington 896617254
Flag of Oklahoma.svg  Oklahoma 83655125711
Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin 793484290
Flag of Arkansas.svg  Arkansas 69839128111
Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon 67050514612
Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada 633413199
Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico 57830523026
Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota 57339316410
Flag of Kansas.svg  Kansas 50334514510
Flag of New Jersey.svg  New Jersey 4751952760
Flag of Utah.svg  Utah 45036470
Flag of Iowa.svg  Iowa 36429364
Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia 31922786
Flag of Idaho.svg  Idaho 3092622811
Flag of Montana.svg  Montana 28023930
Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut 248122116
Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts 247136990
Flag of Nebraska.svg  Nebraska 20014546
Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  District of Columbia 185121690
Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 18214231
Flag of Maine.svg  Maine 17815812
Flag of Delaware.svg  Delaware 15876800
Flag of Wyoming.svg  Wyoming 15513710
Flag of North Dakota.svg  North Dakota 128102200
Flag of South Dakota.svg  South Dakota 12898250
Flag of New Hampshire.svg  New Hampshire 123111
Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont 83740
Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 714223
Flag of Rhode Island.svg  Rhode Island 6436270

See also

Notes

  1. No data from RAND source. Gallup reports about 40% of adults in the US live with a gun. [11]
  2. Vermont had between 1 and 9 gun murders in 2021, so the specific figure is suppressed. [12] If it had 5 gun murders, its gun murder rate would be 0.8 per 100 thousand.
  3. New Hampshire had between 1 and 9 gun murders in 2021, so the specific figure is suppressed. [12] If it had 5 gun murders, its gun murder rate would be 0.4 per 100 thousand.
  4. No data available.

References

  1. Data through 2016: "Guns / Firearm-related deaths". NSC.org copy of U.S. Government (CDC) data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 2017. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018. (archive of actual data).
    2017 data:Howard, Jacqueline (December 13, 2018). "Gun deaths in US reach highest level in nearly 40 years, CDC data reveal". CNN. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. (2017 CDC data)
    2018 data: "New CDC Data Show 39,740 People Died by Gun Violence in 2018". efsgv.org. January 31, 2020. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. (2018 CDC data)
    2019-2024 data: "Past Summary Ledgers". Gun Violence Archive. January 2025. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025.
  2. Murder Victims by Weapon, 2012–2016, Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. (used only for 2012 and 2013 data)
    Murder Victims by Weapon, 2014–2018, Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020.
    Murder Victims by Weapon, 2015–2019, Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020.
  3. 1 2 ● Mortality data from "Firearm Mortality by State". cdc.gov. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. The number of deaths per 100,000 total population. Source: wonder.cdc.gov
    ● Household firearm ownership data from Schell, Terry L.; Peterson, Samuel; Vegetabile, Brian G.; Scherling, Adam; Smart, Rosanna; Morral, Andrew R. (April 22, 2020). "State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership". rand.org. RAND Corporation. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. (Click on "Download the Database", extract the xlsx file, and choose the tab at the bottom of the xlsx file to see the long data listing, select data for particular year.)
  4. Sharkey, Patrick; Kang, Megan (November 2023). "The Era of Progress on Gun Mortality: State Gun Regulations and Gun Deaths from 1991 to 2016". Epidemiology. 34 (6): 786–792. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001662 . Fig. 2. ● Sharkey et al. are cited by Lopez, German (November 1, 2023). "A Drop in American Gun Violence". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Trendline is from Times article.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Underlying Cause of Death". cdc.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  6. "What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S." pewresearch.org. April 26, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  7. Klein, Joshua; Prabhakaran, Kartik; Latifi, Rifat; Rhee, Peter (February 4, 2022). "Firearms: the leading cause of years of potential life lost". Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. 7: e000766. doi:10.1136/tsaco-2021-000766. PMC   8819782 . PMID   35141422.
  8. Find the "2023 CHR CSV Analytic Data" link. "Rankings Data & Documentation". County Health Rankings. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Schell, Terry L.; Peterson, Samuel; Vegetabile, Brian G.; Scherling, Adam; Smart, Rosanna; Morral, Andrew R. (April 22, 2020). "State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership". RAND Corporation. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Click on "Download the Database", extract the xlsx file, and choose the data tab at the bottom. Select state data for particular year from the HFR column. There is 2016 data for all states. Sort the year column.
  10. 1 2 "Gun Ownership in America". RAND Corporation. See 1980-2016 timeline graph: "This figure displays three-year rolling averages for household gun ownership rates in each state and the nation overall." Hover over state lines for year and percent. There is also a form to select state lines to show. Add one at a time.
  11. "What Percentage of Americans Own Guns?". gallup.com. November 13, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 "Data Release Questions". cdc.gov. August 31, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2024.