US states by firearm deaths

Texas had the highest firearm deaths of 51 states in 2023, at 4,561. Rhode Island had the lowest, at 58. The median was 671. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Highest4,561Texas

Lowest58Rhode Island

Median67151 states

Map of states, 2023

Under 180
180 to 350
350 to 670
670 to 1,000
1,000 to 1,500
1,500 and over

count, 2023. Source: CDC, NCHS Stats of the States: firearm mortality by state, number of deaths. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2023

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

Full ranking

Rank	States	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	Texas	4,561	-1.5%
2	Florida	3,253	+0.6%
3	California	3,209	-7.9%
4	Georgia	2,070	-4.3%
5	Pennsylvania	1,807	-6.9%
6	North Carolina	1,803	-1.5%
7	Ohio	1,768	-3.4%
8	Illinois	1,691	-6%
9	Tennessee	1,587	+7.2%
10	Arizona	1,419	-7.6%
11	Michigan	1,384	-8%
12	Missouri	1,324	-11.1%
13	Alabama	1,292	+1.1%
14	Louisiana	1,261	-0.4%
15	Indiana	1,258	+3.9%
16	Virginia	1,237	-6%
17	Washington	1,053	+3%
18	Colorado	1,019	-1.6%
18	South Carolina	1,019	-7.8%
20	New York	943	-9.7%
21	Mississippi	844	-0.5%
22	Kentucky	841	+0.1%
23	Oklahoma	814	+2.1%
24	Wisconsin	762	-8.2%
25	Maryland	737	-9.3%
26	Arkansas	671	+0.8%
27	Oregon	642	-2%
28	Nevada	616	-0.3%
29	New Mexico	530	-7.2%
30	Minnesota	525	-6.4%
31	Utah	489	+9.6%
32	Kansas	475	-3.5%
33	New Jersey	430	-8.1%
34	Idaho	356	+5.3%
35	Iowa	341	-7.1%
36	West Virginia	315	+1.3%
37	Massachusetts	270	+2.7%
38	Montana	247	-9.9%
39	Connecticut	225	-10.7%
39	District of Columbia	225	+46.1%
41	Nebraska	213	-12.7%
42	Maine	200	+11.7%
43	Alaska	176	+7.3%
44	New Hampshire	143	-8.3%
45	Wyoming	130	+4.8%
46	Delaware	124	0%
47	South Dakota	112	-20.6%
48	North Dakota	103	-17.6%
49	Vermont	83	-1.2%
50	Hawaii	73	+10.6%
51	Rhode Island	58	+56.8%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-deaths/us-states?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{centers_us_states_by_firearm_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/firearm-deaths/us-states?period=2023.
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 4,561 in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest firearm deaths?

Rhode Island, with 58 in 2023.

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.