US states by firearm deaths

Texas had the highest firearm deaths of 51 states in 2020, at 4,164. Hawaii had the lowest, at 50. The median was 673. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Highest4,164Texas

Lowest50Hawaii

Median67351 states

Map of states, 2020

Under 160
160 to 340
340 to 670
670 to 1,100
1,100 to 1,500
1,500 and over

count, 2020. Source: CDC, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2020

count. Source: CDC, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2020 count	Change on 2019
1	Texas	4,164	+13.1%
2	California	3,449	+17.1%
3	Florida	3,041	+5.9%
4	Georgia	1,897	+11.9%
5	Ohio	1,764	+11.8%
6	Pennsylvania	1,752	+13.7%
7	Illinois	1,745	+27.7%
8	North Carolina	1,699	+21.6%
9	Tennessee	1,473	+16%
10	Michigan	1,454	+19.2%
11	Missouri	1,426	+13.9%
12	Arizona	1,265	+11.4%
13	Louisiana	1,183	+16.8%
14	Virginia	1,174	+14.5%
15	Indiana	1,159	+21%
16	Alabama	1,141	+6%
17	South Carolina	1,131	+11.8%
18	New York	1,052	+30.8%
19	Colorado	922	+9%
20	Kentucky	902	+32.3%
21	Washington	864	+2.6%
22	Oklahoma	826	+12.1%
23	Mississippi	818	+15.2%
24	Maryland	803	+6.1%
25	Wisconsin	717	+18.7%
26	Arkansas	673	+16%
27	Oregon	592	+4.6%
28	Nevada	547	+11.6%
29	Minnesota	513	+10.3%
30	Kansas	494	+22.6%
31	New Mexico	479	+1.7%
32	New Jersey	443	+20.4%
33	Utah	429	+8.9%
34	Iowa	351	+19.4%
35	West Virginia	325	+8.3%
36	Idaho	321	+25.9%
37	Massachusetts	268	+8.5%
38	Montana	238	+13.9%
39	Connecticut	219	+15.3%
40	Nebraska	197	-3.9%
41	Alaska	175	-2.2%
42	District of Columbia	167	+18.4%
43	Wyoming	154	+15.8%
44	Maine	153	-6.1%
45	Delaware	135	+45.2%
46	New Hampshire	128	-17.9%
47	South Dakota	120	+6.2%
48	North Dakota	100	+7.5%
49	Vermont	76	+13.4%
50	Rhode Island	54	+12.5%
51	Hawaii	50	-19.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Deaths from firearm injuries of any intent (suicide, homicide, unintentional, legal intervention or undetermined) during the year, by the state of residence of the person who died. NCHS National Vital Statistics System final death data.

Available for US states and DC. Counted from death certificates. The 50 states and DC add up to the national total NCHS publishes (44,447 in 2024).

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, number of deaths. 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, number of deaths (US states by firearm deaths, 2020) [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, number of deaths, US states by firearm deaths, 2020. 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-deaths/us-states?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2026. NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. US states by firearm deaths, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-deaths/us-states?period=2020.

Harvard

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2026) NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths, US states by firearm deaths, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-deaths/us-states?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{centers_us_states_by_firearm_2020,
  author = {{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}},
  title = {{NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths: US states by firearm deaths, 2020}},
  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-deaths/us-states?period=2020. Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. 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, number of deaths: US states by firearm deaths, 2020
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-deaths/us-states?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-deaths/us-states?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. 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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Rank US states by firearm deaths using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which state has the highest firearm deaths?

Texas, with 4,164 in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest firearm deaths?

Hawaii, with 50 in 2020.

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, number of deaths. Retrieved 2026-10-12.