Data / Rankings / Firearm death rate / US states

US states by firearm death rate

District of Columbia had the highest firearm death rate of 51 states in 2005, at 23.8 per 100,000 people. Hawaii had the lowest, at 2.1 per 100,000 people. The median was 10.8 per 100,000 people. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Highest23.8District of Columbia
Lowest2.1Hawaii
Median10.851 states

Map of states, 2005

Alabama: 16 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 17.5 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 15.7 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 9.5 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 11.6 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia: 23.8 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 10 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 12.1 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 14.1 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 8 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 9.3 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 13 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 18.5 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 11.9 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 10.8 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 7 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 16 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 12.9 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 16.9 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 7.7 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 13.9 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 12.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 9.6 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 13.2 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 10.7 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 10.8 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 16 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 11.1 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 10.1 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 6.8 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 11.5 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 13.4 per 100,000 people
  • Under 6.9
  • 6.9 to 9.1
  • 9.1 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 to 16
  • 16 and over
per 100,000 people, 2005. Source: CDC, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2005

District of Columbia: 23.8 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia23.8Louisiana: 18.5 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana18.5Alaska: 17.5 per 100,000 peopleAlaska17.5Montana: 16.9 per 100,000 peopleMontana16.9Arizona: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleArizona16.1Nevada: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleNevada16.1Alabama: 16 per 100,000 peopleAlabama16Mississippi: 16 per 100,000 peopleMississippi16Tennessee: 16 per 100,000 peopleTennessee16Arkansas: 15.7 per 100,000 peopleArkansas15.7Idaho: 14.1 per 100,000 peopleIdaho14.1New Mexico: 13.9 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico13.9South Carolina: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina13.8West Virginia: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia13.8Wyoming: 13.4 per 100,000 peopleWyoming13.4Oklahoma: 13.2 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma13.2Kentucky: 13 per 100,000 peopleKentucky13Missouri: 12.9 per 100,000 peopleMissouri12.9North Carolina: 12.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina12.8Georgia: 12.1 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia12.1Maryland: 11.9 per 100,000 peopleMaryland11.9Colorado: 11.6 per 100,000 peopleColorado11.6Virginia: 11.5 per 100,000 peopleVirginia11.5Indiana: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleIndiana11.2Texas: 11.1 per 100,000 peopleTexas11.1Michigan: 10.8 per 100,000 peopleMichigan10.8Pennsylvania: 10.8 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania10.8Oregon: 10.7 per 100,000 peopleOregon10.7South Dakota: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota10.2Utah: 10.1 per 100,000 peopleUtah10.1Florida: 10 per 100,000 peopleFlorida10Ohio: 9.6 per 100,000 peopleOhio9.6California: 9.5 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia9.5Kansas: 9.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas9.3Delaware: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleDelaware8.8North Dakota: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota8.8Washington: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleWashington8.8Wisconsin: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin8.5Illinois: 8 per 100,000 peopleIllinois8Maine: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleMaine7.8Nebraska: 7.7 per 100,000 peopleNebraska7.7Minnesota: 7 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota7Vermont: 6.8 per 100,000 peopleVermont6.8Iowa: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleIowa6.7New Hampshire: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire6.6Connecticut: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut5.3New York: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleNew York5.3New Jersey: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey5.2Rhode Island: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island3.6Massachusetts: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts3.4Hawaii: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleHawaii2.1District of Columbia: 23.8 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia23.8Louisiana: 18.5 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana18.5Alaska: 17.5 per 100,000 peopleAlaska17.5Montana: 16.9 per 100,000 peopleMontana16.9Arizona: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleArizona16.1Nevada: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleNevada16.1Alabama: 16 per 100,000 peopleAlabama16Mississippi: 16 per 100,000 peopleMississippi16Tennessee: 16 per 100,000 peopleTennessee16Arkansas: 15.7 per 100,000 peopleArkansas15.7Idaho: 14.1 per 100,000 peopleIdaho14.1New Mexico: 13.9 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico13.9South Carolina: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina13.8West Virginia: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia13.8Wyoming: 13.4 per 100,000 peopleWyoming13.4Oklahoma: 13.2 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma13.2Kentucky: 13 per 100,000 peopleKentucky13Missouri: 12.9 per 100,000 peopleMissouri12.9North Carolina: 12.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina12.8Georgia: 12.1 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia12.1Maryland: 11.9 per 100,000 peopleMaryland11.9Colorado: 11.6 per 100,000 peopleColorado11.6Virginia: 11.5 per 100,000 peopleVirginia11.5Indiana: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleIndiana11.2Texas: 11.1 per 100,000 peopleTexas11.1Michigan: 10.8 per 100,000 peopleMichigan10.8Pennsylvania: 10.8 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania10.8Oregon: 10.7 per 100,000 peopleOregon10.7South Dakota: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota10.2Utah: 10.1 per 100,000 peopleUtah10.1Florida: 10 per 100,000 peopleFlorida10Ohio: 9.6 per 100,000 peopleOhio9.6California: 9.5 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia9.5Kansas: 9.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas9.3Delaware: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleDelaware8.8North Dakota: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota8.8Washington: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleWashington8.8Wisconsin: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin8.5Illinois: 8 per 100,000 peopleIllinois8Maine: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleMaine7.8Nebraska: 7.7 per 100,000 peopleNebraska7.7Minnesota: 7 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota7Vermont: 6.8 per 100,000 peopleVermont6.8Iowa: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleIowa6.7New Hampshire: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire6.6Connecticut: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut5.3New York: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleNew York5.3New Jersey: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey5.2Rhode Island: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island3.6Massachusetts: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts3.4Hawaii: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleHawaii2.1
per 100,000 people. Source: CDC, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2005
per 100,000 people
1District of Columbia23.8
2Louisiana18.5
3Alaska17.5
4Montana16.9
5Arizona16.1
5Nevada16.1
7Alabama16
7Mississippi16
7Tennessee16
10Arkansas15.7
11Idaho14.1
12New Mexico13.9
13South Carolina13.8
13West Virginia13.8
15Wyoming13.4
16Oklahoma13.2
17Kentucky13
18Missouri12.9
19North Carolina12.8
20Georgia12.1
21Maryland11.9
22Colorado11.6
23Virginia11.5
24Indiana11.2
25Texas11.1
26Michigan10.8
26Pennsylvania10.8
28Oregon10.7
29South Dakota10.2
30Utah10.1
31Florida10
32Ohio9.6
33California9.5
34Kansas9.3
35Delaware8.8
35North Dakota8.8
35Washington8.8
38Wisconsin8.5
39Illinois8
40Maine7.8
41Nebraska7.7
42Minnesota7
43Vermont6.8
44Iowa6.7
45New Hampshire6.6
46Connecticut5.3
46New York5.3
48New Jersey5.2
49Rhode Island3.6
50Massachusetts3.4
51Hawaii2.1

Other periods

About this ranking

Deaths from firearm injuries of any intent (suicide, homicide, unintentional, legal intervention or undetermined) per 100,000 residents, age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard population. Deaths are counted by the state of residence. NCHS National Vital Statistics System final death data.

Available for US states and DC. Age adjustment allows states with older or younger populations to be compared; the rate is not the number of deaths divided by the population.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026). NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate (US states by firearm death rate, 2005) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html

MLA 9

NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate, US states by firearm death rate, 2005. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 May 2026, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-death-rate/us-states?period=2005. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2026. NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate. US states by firearm death rate, 2005. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-death-rate/us-states?period=2005.

Harvard

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2026) NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate, US states by firearm death rate, 2005 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-death-rate/us-states?period=2005 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{centers_us_states_by_firearm_2005,
  author = {{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}},
  title = {{NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate: US states by firearm death rate, 2005}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-death-rate/us-states?period=2005. Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
TI  - NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate: US states by firearm death rate, 2005
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/18
PB  - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-death-rate/us-states?period=2005
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-death-rate/us-states?period=2005.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest firearm death rate?

District of Columbia, with 23.8 per 100,000 people in 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest firearm death rate?

Hawaii, with 2.1 per 100,000 people in 2005.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, age-adjusted death rate. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings