Data / Rankings / Firearm deaths / US states

US states by firearm deaths

Texas had the highest firearm deaths of 51 states in 2021, at 4,613. Rhode Island had the lowest, at 64. The median was 698. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Highest4,613Texas
Lowest64Rhode Island
Median69851 states

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 1,315 countAlaska: 182 countArizona: 1,365 countArkansas: 698 countCalifornia: 3,576 countColorado: 1,064 countConnecticut: 248 countDelaware: 158 countDistrict of Columbia: 185 countFlorida: 3,142 countGeorgia: 2,200 countHawaii: 71 countIdaho: 309 countIllinois: 1,995 countIndiana: 1,251 countIowa: 364 countKansas: 503 countKentucky: 947 countLouisiana: 1,314 countMaine: 178 countMaryland: 915 countMassachusetts: 247 countMichigan: 1,544 countMinnesota: 573 countMississippi: 962 countMissouri: 1,414 countMontana: 280 countNebraska: 200 countNevada: 633 countNew Hampshire: 123 countNew Jersey: 475 countNew Mexico: 578 countNew York: 1,078 countNorth Carolina: 1,839 countNorth Dakota: 128 countOhio: 1,911 countOklahoma: 836 countOregon: 670 countPennsylvania: 1,905 countRhode Island: 64 countSouth Carolina: 1,136 countSouth Dakota: 128 countTennessee: 1,569 countTexas: 4,613 countUtah: 450 countVermont: 83 countVirginia: 1,248 countWashington: 896 countWest Virginia: 319 countWisconsin: 793 countWyoming: 155 count
  • Under 180
  • 180 to 350
  • 350 to 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,600
  • 1,600 and over
count, 2021. Source: CDC, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

Texas: 4,613 countTexas4,613California: 3,576 countCalifornia3,576Florida: 3,142 countFlorida3,142Georgia: 2,200 countGeorgia2,200Illinois: 1,995 countIllinois1,995Ohio: 1,911 countOhio1,911Pennsylvania: 1,905 countPennsylvania1,905North Carolina: 1,839 countNorth Carolina1,839Tennessee: 1,569 countTennessee1,569Michigan: 1,544 countMichigan1,544Missouri: 1,414 countMissouri1,414Arizona: 1,365 countArizona1,365Alabama: 1,315 countAlabama1,315Louisiana: 1,314 countLouisiana1,314Indiana: 1,251 countIndiana1,251Virginia: 1,248 countVirginia1,248South Carolina: 1,136 countSouth Carolina1,136New York: 1,078 countNew York1,078Colorado: 1,064 countColorado1,064Mississippi: 962 countMississippi962Kentucky: 947 countKentucky947Maryland: 915 countMaryland915Washington: 896 countWashington896Oklahoma: 836 countOklahoma836Wisconsin: 793 countWisconsin793Arkansas: 698 countArkansas698Oregon: 670 countOregon670Nevada: 633 countNevada633New Mexico: 578 countNew Mexico578Minnesota: 573 countMinnesota573Kansas: 503 countKansas503New Jersey: 475 countNew Jersey475Utah: 450 countUtah450Iowa: 364 countIowa364West Virginia: 319 countWest Virginia319Idaho: 309 countIdaho309Montana: 280 countMontana280Connecticut: 248 countConnecticut248Massachusetts: 247 countMassachusetts247Nebraska: 200 countNebraska200District of Columbia: 185 countDistrict of Columbia185Alaska: 182 countAlaska182Maine: 178 countMaine178Delaware: 158 countDelaware158Wyoming: 155 countWyoming155North Dakota: 128 countNorth Dakota128South Dakota: 128 countSouth Dakota128New Hampshire: 123 countNew Hampshire123Vermont: 83 countVermont83Hawaii: 71 countHawaii71Rhode Island: 64 countRhode Island64Texas: 4,613 countTexas4,613California: 3,576 countCalifornia3,576Florida: 3,142 countFlorida3,142Georgia: 2,200 countGeorgia2,200Illinois: 1,995 countIllinois1,995Ohio: 1,911 countOhio1,911Pennsylvania: 1,905 countPennsylvania1,905North Carolina: 1,839 countNorth Carolina1,839Tennessee: 1,569 countTennessee1,569Michigan: 1,544 countMichigan1,544Missouri: 1,414 countMissouri1,414Arizona: 1,365 countArizona1,365Alabama: 1,315 countAlabama1,315Louisiana: 1,314 countLouisiana1,314Indiana: 1,251 countIndiana1,251Virginia: 1,248 countVirginia1,248South Carolina: 1,136 countSouth Carolina1,136New York: 1,078 countNew York1,078Colorado: 1,064 countColorado1,064Mississippi: 962 countMississippi962Kentucky: 947 countKentucky947Maryland: 915 countMaryland915Washington: 896 countWashington896Oklahoma: 836 countOklahoma836Wisconsin: 793 countWisconsin793Arkansas: 698 countArkansas698Oregon: 670 countOregon670Nevada: 633 countNevada633New Mexico: 578 countNew Mexico578Minnesota: 573 countMinnesota573Kansas: 503 countKansas503New Jersey: 475 countNew Jersey475Utah: 450 countUtah450Iowa: 364 countIowa364West Virginia: 319 countWest Virginia319Idaho: 309 countIdaho309Montana: 280 countMontana280Connecticut: 248 countConnecticut248Massachusetts: 247 countMassachusetts247Nebraska: 200 countNebraska200District of Columbia: 185 countDistrict of Columbia185Alaska: 182 countAlaska182Maine: 178 countMaine178Delaware: 158 countDelaware158Wyoming: 155 countWyoming155North Dakota: 128 countNorth Dakota128South Dakota: 128 countSouth Dakota128New Hampshire: 123 countNew Hampshire123Vermont: 83 countVermont83Hawaii: 71 countHawaii71Rhode Island: 64 countRhode Island64
count. Source: CDC, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1Texas4,613+10.8%
2California3,576+3.7%
3Florida3,142+3.3%
4Georgia2,200+16%
5Illinois1,995+14.3%
6Ohio1,911+8.3%
7Pennsylvania1,905+8.7%
8North Carolina1,839+8.2%
9Tennessee1,569+6.5%
10Michigan1,544+6.2%
11Missouri1,414-0.8%
12Arizona1,365+7.9%
13Alabama1,315+15.2%
14Louisiana1,314+11.1%
15Indiana1,251+7.9%
16Virginia1,248+6.3%
17South Carolina1,136+0.4%
18New York1,078+2.5%
19Colorado1,064+15.4%
20Mississippi962+17.6%
21Kentucky947+5%
22Maryland915+13.9%
23Washington896+3.7%
24Oklahoma836+1.2%
25Wisconsin793+10.6%
26Arkansas698+3.7%
27Oregon670+13.2%
28Nevada633+15.7%
29New Mexico578+20.7%
30Minnesota573+11.7%
31Kansas503+1.8%
32New Jersey475+7.2%
33Utah450+4.9%
34Iowa364+3.7%
35West Virginia319-1.8%
36Idaho309-3.7%
37Montana280+17.6%
38Connecticut248+13.2%
39Massachusetts247-7.8%
40Nebraska200+1.5%
41District of Columbia185+10.8%
42Alaska182+4%
43Maine178+16.3%
44Delaware158+17%
45Wyoming155+0.6%
46North Dakota128+28%
46South Dakota128+6.7%
48New Hampshire123-3.9%
49Vermont83+9.2%
50Hawaii71+42%
51Rhode Island64+18.5%

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, 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, number of deaths, US states by firearm deaths, 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-deaths/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, number of deaths. US states by firearm deaths, 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-deaths/us-states?period=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-deaths/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, number of deaths: US states by firearm deaths, 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-deaths/us-states?period=2021. 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, 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-deaths/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-deaths/us-states?period=2021.
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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Questions

Which state has the highest firearm deaths?

Texas, with 4,613 in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest firearm deaths?

Rhode Island, with 64 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, number of deaths. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings