Data / Rankings / Firearm death rate / US states

US states by firearm death rate

Mississippi had the highest firearm death rate of 51 states in 2021, at 33.9 per 100,000 people. Massachusetts had the lowest, at 3.4 per 100,000 people. The median was 16.3 per 100,000 people. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest33.9Mississippi
Lowest3.4Massachusetts
Median16.351 states

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 26.4 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 25.2 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 18.3 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 23.3 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 9 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 17.8 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 16.6 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia: 24.4 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 14.1 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 20.3 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 16.3 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 18.4 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 21.1 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 29.1 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 12.6 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 15.2 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 15.4 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 10 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 33.9 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 23.2 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 25.1 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 10.3 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 19.8 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 27.8 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 16.8 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 16.5 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 21.2 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 14.9 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 14.8 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 22.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 22.8 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 15.6 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 13.9 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 11.9 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 13.5 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 26.1 per 100,000 people
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 14
  • 14 to 16
  • 16 to 18
  • 18 to 23
  • 23 and over
per 100,000 people, 2021. 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, 2021

Mississippi: 33.9 per 100,000 peopleMississippi33.9Louisiana: 29.1 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana29.1New Mexico: 27.8 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico27.8Alabama: 26.4 per 100,000 peopleAlabama26.4Wyoming: 26.1 per 100,000 peopleWyoming26.1Alaska: 25.2 per 100,000 peopleAlaska25.2Montana: 25.1 per 100,000 peopleMontana25.1District of Columbia: 24.4 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia24.4Arkansas: 23.3 per 100,000 peopleArkansas23.3Missouri: 23.2 per 100,000 peopleMissouri23.2Tennessee: 22.8 per 100,000 peopleTennessee22.8South Carolina: 22.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina22.4Oklahoma: 21.2 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma21.2Kentucky: 21.1 per 100,000 peopleKentucky21.1Georgia: 20.3 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia20.3Nevada: 19.8 per 100,000 peopleNevada19.8Indiana: 18.4 per 100,000 peopleIndiana18.4Arizona: 18.3 per 100,000 peopleArizona18.3Colorado: 17.8 per 100,000 peopleColorado17.8Kansas: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas17.3North Carolina: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina17.3West Virginia: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia17.3North Dakota: 16.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota16.8Delaware: 16.6 per 100,000 peopleDelaware16.6Ohio: 16.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio16.5Idaho: 16.3 per 100,000 peopleIdaho16.3Illinois: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleIllinois16.1Texas: 15.6 per 100,000 peopleTexas15.6Michigan: 15.4 per 100,000 peopleMichigan15.4Maryland: 15.2 per 100,000 peopleMaryland15.2Oregon: 14.9 per 100,000 peopleOregon14.9Pennsylvania: 14.8 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania14.8South Dakota: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota14.3Virginia: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleVirginia14.3Florida: 14.1 per 100,000 peopleFlorida14.1Utah: 13.9 per 100,000 peopleUtah13.9Wisconsin: 13.5 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin13.5Maine: 12.6 per 100,000 peopleMaine12.6Vermont: 11.9 per 100,000 peopleVermont11.9Iowa: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa11.2Washington: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleWashington11.2Nebraska: 10.3 per 100,000 peopleNebraska10.3Minnesota: 10 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota10California: 9 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia9New Hampshire: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire8.3Connecticut: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut6.7Rhode Island: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island5.6New York: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleNew York5.4New Jersey: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey5.2Hawaii: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleHawaii4.8Massachusetts: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts3.4Mississippi: 33.9 per 100,000 peopleMississippi33.9Louisiana: 29.1 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana29.1New Mexico: 27.8 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico27.8Alabama: 26.4 per 100,000 peopleAlabama26.4Wyoming: 26.1 per 100,000 peopleWyoming26.1Alaska: 25.2 per 100,000 peopleAlaska25.2Montana: 25.1 per 100,000 peopleMontana25.1District of Columbia: 24.4 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia24.4Arkansas: 23.3 per 100,000 peopleArkansas23.3Missouri: 23.2 per 100,000 peopleMissouri23.2Tennessee: 22.8 per 100,000 peopleTennessee22.8South Carolina: 22.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina22.4Oklahoma: 21.2 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma21.2Kentucky: 21.1 per 100,000 peopleKentucky21.1Georgia: 20.3 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia20.3Nevada: 19.8 per 100,000 peopleNevada19.8Indiana: 18.4 per 100,000 peopleIndiana18.4Arizona: 18.3 per 100,000 peopleArizona18.3Colorado: 17.8 per 100,000 peopleColorado17.8Kansas: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas17.3North Carolina: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina17.3West Virginia: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia17.3North Dakota: 16.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota16.8Delaware: 16.6 per 100,000 peopleDelaware16.6Ohio: 16.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio16.5Idaho: 16.3 per 100,000 peopleIdaho16.3Illinois: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleIllinois16.1Texas: 15.6 per 100,000 peopleTexas15.6Michigan: 15.4 per 100,000 peopleMichigan15.4Maryland: 15.2 per 100,000 peopleMaryland15.2Oregon: 14.9 per 100,000 peopleOregon14.9Pennsylvania: 14.8 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania14.8South Dakota: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota14.3Virginia: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleVirginia14.3Florida: 14.1 per 100,000 peopleFlorida14.1Utah: 13.9 per 100,000 peopleUtah13.9Wisconsin: 13.5 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin13.5Maine: 12.6 per 100,000 peopleMaine12.6Vermont: 11.9 per 100,000 peopleVermont11.9Iowa: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa11.2Washington: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleWashington11.2Nebraska: 10.3 per 100,000 peopleNebraska10.3Minnesota: 10 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota10California: 9 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia9New Hampshire: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire8.3Connecticut: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut6.7Rhode Island: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island5.6New York: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleNew York5.4New Jersey: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey5.2Hawaii: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleHawaii4.8Massachusetts: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts3.4
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

RankStates2021
per 100,000 people		Change on 2020
1Mississippi33.9+5.3 pts
2Louisiana29.1+2.8 pts
3New Mexico27.8+5.1 pts
4Alabama26.4+2.8 pts
5Wyoming26.1+0.2 pts
6Alaska25.2+1.7 pts
7Montana25.1+4.2 pts
8District of Columbia24.4+2.5 pts
9Arkansas23.3+0.7 pts
10Missouri23.2-0.7 pts
11Tennessee22.8+1.5 pts
12South Carolina22.4+0.4 pts
13Oklahoma21.2+0.5 pts
14Kentucky21.1+1 pts
15Georgia20.3+2.6 pts
16Nevada19.8+2.8 pts
17Indiana18.4+1.1 pts
18Arizona18.3+1.6 pts
19Colorado17.8+2.4 pts
20Kansas17.3+0.4 pts
20North Carolina17.3+1.3 pts
20West Virginia17.3-0.8 pts
23North Dakota16.8+3 pts
24Delaware16.6+2.2 pts
25Ohio16.5+1.3 pts
26Idaho16.3-1.3 pts
27Illinois16.1+2 pts
28Texas15.6+1.4 pts
29Michigan15.4+0.8 pts
30Maryland15.2+1.7 pts
31Oregon14.9+1.9 pts
32Pennsylvania14.8+1.2 pts
33South Dakota14.3+0.7 pts
33Virginia14.3+0.9 pts
35Florida14.1+0.4 pts
36Utah13.9+0.3 pts
37Wisconsin13.5+1.3 pts
38Maine12.6+2.2 pts
39Vermont11.9+0.3 pts
40Iowa11.20 pts
40Washington11.2+0.3 pts
42Nebraska10.3+0.2 pts
43Minnesota10+1.1 pts
44California9+0.5 pts
45New Hampshire8.3-0.6 pts
46Connecticut6.7+0.7 pts
47Rhode Island5.6+0.5 pts
48New York5.4+0.1 pts
49New Jersey5.2+0.2 pts
50Hawaii4.8+1.4 pts
51Massachusetts3.4-0.3 pts

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{centers_us_states_by_firearm_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-death-rate/us-states?period=2021.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by firearm death rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"firearm_death_rate","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=firearm_death_rate&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest firearm death rate?

Mississippi, with 33.9 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest firearm death rate?

Massachusetts, with 3.4 per 100,000 people in 2021.

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