Gun death and violence in the United States by state

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{multiple image |perrow=2| total_width = 400

|image1 = 1999- Gun-related deaths USA.svg

|caption1 = Gun-related suicides and homicides in the United States, 2024.● Data through 2016: {{cite web |title=Guns / Firearm-related deaths |url=https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/firearms/data-details/ |website=NSC.org copy of U.S. Government (CDC) data |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=August 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829034947/https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/firearms/data-details/ |archive-date=August 29, 2018 |date=December 2017 |url-status=live }} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180829040259/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSSw6_GoTEqxIiLYTPs8_AmJ1P4DnpEJJYyVw0yAauGOPR72_Rm2RFIZwhgvt3wQQa51hhfMobByRSy/pubhtml archive of actual data]).

● 2017 data: {{cite news |last1=Howard |first1=Jacqueline |title=Gun deaths in US reach highest level in nearly 40 years, CDC data reveal |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/gun-deaths-highest-40-years-cdc/ |work=CNN |date=December 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213200738/https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/gun-deaths-highest-40-years-cdc/ |archive-date=December 13, 2018 |url-status=live }} (2017 CDC data)

● 2018 data: {{cite web |title=New CDC Data Show 39,740 People Died by Gun Violence in 2018 |url=https://efsgv.org/press-archive/2020/new-cdc-data-show-39740-people-died-by-gun-violence-in-2018/ |website=efsgv.org |date=January 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216032433/https://efsgv.org/press-archive/2020/new-cdc-data-show-39740-people-died-by-gun-violence-in-2018/ |archive-date=February 16, 2020 |url-status=live }} (2018 CDC data)

● 2019-2024 data: {{cite web |title=Past Summary Ledgers |url=https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls |publisher=Gun Violence Archive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250112141820/http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls |archive-date=12 January 2025 |date=January 2025 |url-status=live}}

|image2 = 2012- U.S. gun murder victims by weapon (FBI UCR).png

|caption2 = Handguns are involved in most U.S. gun homicides.

● [https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-4.xls Murder Victims by Weapon, 2012–2016], Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200118170700/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-4.xls Archived] from the original on January 18, 2020. (used only for 2012 and 2013 data)

● [https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls Murder Victims by Weapon, 2014–2018], Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200118190515/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls Archived] from the original on January 18, 2020.

● [https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls Murder Victims by Weapon, 2015–2019], Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program. [https://web.archive.org/web/20201122185215/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls Archived] from the original on November 22, 2020.

|image3 = 20230604 Gun death rates related to household gun ownership rates - by state - US.svg

|caption3 = Gun-related death rates are positively correlated with household gun ownership rates.Mortality data from {{cite web |title=Firearm Mortality by State |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm |website=cdc.gov |publisher=Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603230439/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm |archive-date=June 3, 2023 |date=2022 |quote=The number of deaths per 100,000 total population. Source: wonder.cdc.gov |url-status=live }} ● Household firearm ownership data from {{cite web |last1=Schell |first1=Terry L. |last2=Peterson |first2=Samuel |last3=Vegetabile |first3=Brian G. |last4=Scherling |first4=Adam |last5=Smart |first5=Rosanna |last6=Morral |first6=Andrew R. |title=State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership |date=April 22, 2020 |url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL354.html |website=rand.org |publisher=RAND Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505231815/https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL354.html |archive-date=May 5, 2023 |page=21 |url-status=live}} Fig. 2. PDF file (download link)

|image4 = 2023 Gun death rates versus state gun regulation index - US.svg

|caption4 = A 2023 study concluded that more restrictive state gun policies reduced homicide and suicide gun deaths.{{cite journal |last1=Sharkey |first1=Patrick |last2=Kang |first2=Megan |title=The Era of Progress on Gun Mortality: State Gun Regulations and Gun Deaths from 1991 to 2016 |journal=Epidemiology |date=November 2023 |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=786–792 |doi=10.1097/EDE.0000000000001662 |url=https://journals.lww.com/epidem/fulltext/2023/11000/the_era_of_progress_on_gun_mortality__state_gun.3.aspx|doi-access=free }} Fig. 2. ● Sharkey et al. are cited by {{cite news |last1=Lopez |first1=German |title=A Drop in American Gun Violence |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/briefing/gun-violence.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102003423/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/briefing/gun-violence.html |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |url-status=live }} Trendline is from Times article.

}}

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.{{cite web |url = https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10-expanded.html |title = Underlying Cause of Death |website = cdc.gov |access-date = 11 Feb 2024}}

In 2021, gun deaths rose to levels not seen since the 1990s, but remained below rates of the 1970s.{{cite web |url = https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/ |title = What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. |date = 26 Apr 2023 |website = pewresearch.org |access-date = 16 Feb 2024}}

A 2022 study found that guns were the cause of more years lost than any other source of traumatic injury, including motor vehicles.{{cite journal |url = https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35141422/ |title = Firearms: the leading cause of years of potential life lost |date = 4 Feb 2022 |journal = Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |doi = 10.1136/tsaco-2021-000766 |pmid = 35141422 |access-date = 11 Feb 2024 |last1 = Klein |first1 = Joshua |last2 = Prabhakaran |first2 = Kartik |last3 = Latifi |first3 = Rifat |last4 = Rhee |first4 = Peter |volume = 7 |pages = e000766 |pmc = 8819782 }}