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United States

Guns

How many Americans die from gunshot wounds and how, who owns guns, and what Americans think gun laws should be — from death certificates and six decades of polling.

Firearm deaths

By intent, since 1999

  • All firearm deaths
  • Suicides
  • Homicides
020K40K60K199920032007201120152021202542,34828,06012,857

Source: CDC NCHS death certificates

At a glance

Firearm deaths

42.3K

All intents

2025

Suicides

66.3%

Share of firearm deaths

2025

Gun in the home

42.0%

Adults, Gallup

2025

Want stricter gun laws

60.0%

Laws on gun sales, Gallup

2025

Key findings

  • 42,348 people died from gunshot wounds in 2025: 28,060 suicides (66%) and 12,857 homicides (30%).
  • The firearm death rate was 12.6 per 100,000 residents in 2025, against 10.4 in 1999.
  • 74% of homicides in 2025 were committed with a firearm.
  • Mississippi had the highest firearm death rate in 2024 (27.6 per 100,000) and Hawaii the lowest (3.9).
  • 42% of Americans told Gallup in 2025 that they have a gun in their home; 49% said so in 1959.
  • 60% said laws covering gun sales should be more strict in 2025, 27% kept as they are, and 12% less strict.
  • 52% favored a ban on semi-automatic "assault rifles" in 2024.

Firearm deaths

How many Americans die from guns, and how many of those deaths are suicides or homicides?

Deaths are counted from death certificates by the cause the medical examiner or coroner records. Through 2016 they come from CDC's final injury mortality tables; from 2019 they come from CDC's injury dashboard, with the latest year provisional. CDC publishes neither series for 2017 and 2018, so the lines break there. Rates are deaths per 100,000 residents.

Firearm death rate

Per 100,000 residents

  • All firearm deaths
  • Suicides
  • Homicides
051015199920032007201120152021202512.68.43.8

Source: CDC NCHS death certificates

Homicides committed with a gun

Share of all homicides

7476788082201920202021202220232024202574.4%

Source: CDC NCHS death certificates

Firearm deaths by intent

2016

  1. Suicide22.9K
  2. Homicide14.4K
  3. Unintentional495
  4. Undetermined300
  5. Legal intervention510

Source: CDC NCHS injury mortality

Who dies

How does the firearm death rate vary with age?

Firearm death rate by age

All intents, per 100,000 people in each age group, 2016

  1. Under 150.8
  2. 15–2417.2
  3. 25–4416.4
  4. 45–6412.3
  5. 65–7411.4
  6. 75+14.6

Source: CDC NCHS injury mortality

Gun ownership

How many Americans own a gun or live with one?

Ownership is self-reported in Gallup's annual crime poll, so it counts households and adults, not the number of guns.

Gun ownership

Share of adults

  • Gun in the home
  • Personally own a gun
0204060195919831996200320092015202142.0%30.0%

Source: Gallup

Opinion on gun laws

Do Americans want stricter or looser gun laws?

Laws covering the sale of firearms should be…

Share of adults

  • More strict
  • Kept as now
  • Less strict
020406080199020002005201020152020202560.0%27.0%12.0%

Source: Gallup

Ban possession of handguns except by police

Share in favor

0204060195919821999200620122018202420.0%

Source: Gallup

Across the states

How do the states compare? Pick a measure to map it; sort the table by any column.

Highest firearm death rates

States, per 100,000, 2024

  1. Mississippi27.6
  2. New Mexico26.6
  3. Alaska24.8
  4. Wyoming24.5
  5. Alabama23.7
  6. Louisiana22.5
  7. District of Columbia21.8
  8. Montana21.8
  9. Arkansas20.8
  10. Tennessee20.3

Source: CDC NCHS death certificates

Lowest firearm death rates

States, per 100,000, 2024

  1. Hawaii3.9
  2. Massachusetts4.1
  3. New Jersey4.2
  4. New York4.6
  5. Rhode Island5.0
  6. Connecticut6.2
  7. California7.3
  8. Minnesota10.1
  9. New Hampshire10.8
  10. Nebraska11.0

Source: CDC NCHS death certificates

AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

Firearm deaths per 100,000

2024 · CDC NCHS

  • 3.9 – 10.1
  • 10.1 – 12.1
  • 12.1 – 13.2
  • 13.2 – 15.9
  • 15.9 – 18.0
  • 18.0 – 20.8
  • 20.8 – 27.6

Shades split states into sevenths by rank.

View and sort the full state data table
2024202420242024Apr 2026
Mississippi27.681010.616.025.8
New Mexico26.656315.09.721.7
Alaska24.818219.24.526.2
Wyoming24.514321.11.925.3
Alabama23.71,21212.211.021.7
Louisiana22.51,0319.712.319.9
District of Columbia21.81481.919.714.0
Montana21.824718.72.223.6
Arkansas20.863813.16.918.5
Tennessee20.31,44811.58.118.9
Missouri19.91,23411.87.420.1
South Carolina19.81,06411.47.818.7
Oklahoma19.679413.85.017.6
Kentucky19.287012.65.916.9
Nevada18.258212.65.316.8
Georgia18.01,98510.17.416.7
Arizona17.91,33112.64.418.1
Indiana17.41,19611.25.514.6
South Dakota17.315912.73.215.3
North Carolina16.91,8359.86.316.2
Idaho16.833114.61.315.9
Colorado16.496112.13.615.5
West Virginia15.928111.53.616.0
Oregon15.766312.42.815.0
Kansas15.244610.74.216.2
Ohio14.81,7459.54.913.9
Texas14.44,3899.14.813.7
Florida14.13,1919.93.912.6
Utah13.345411.11.713.3
Virginia13.21,1538.44.512.4
Maine13.018111.21.112.9
Illinois12.51,5635.26.910.5
Pennsylvania12.51,6248.33.911.2
Wisconsin12.47358.63.513.4
Michigan12.21,2288.04.012.4
Iowa12.13899.92.111.4
North Dakota12.19510.31.413.0
Delaware11.91236.94.811.4
Vermont11.7769.41.913.7
Washington11.79158.33.011.9
Maryland11.67164.96.59.7
Nebraska11.02188.62.210.7
New Hampshire10.81529.50.811.1
Minnesota10.15827.32.59.4
California7.32,8533.93.16.7
Connecticut6.22244.11.94.5
Rhode Island5.0553.81.14.1
New York4.68962.61.84.2
New Jersey4.23932.41.84.0
Massachusetts4.12872.61.43.5
Hawaii3.9562.21.43.8

Sources and methods

Every figure on this page comes from the datasets below.

Murders and other crimes reported to police are on Crime. Browse all datasets