Gun Violence By State

The United States, a nation that greatly values its Second Amendment rights, is grappling with the deleterious reality of gun violence, an issue that claims over 30,000 lives annually. While the topic of gun violence often takes center stage in national discourse, there is a considerable degree of variation at the state level, painting a complex and multifaceted picture of this crisis.

• States in the South and regions of the West have the highest rates of gun deaths per capita. Mississippi tops the list with a rate of 32.8 gun deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Louisiana (28.9), and New Mexico (27.4).
• On the other end of the spectrum, states in the Northeast show the lowest rates of gun deaths per capita. Massachusetts ranked lowest with a rate of 3.5, followed by Hawaii (5.0), and New Jersey (5.1), signifying societal factors, laws, or policies that might be contributing to their relative safety.
• Notable exceptions to these regional patterns include Wyoming and Alaska, ranking fourth and sixth respectively, despite being geographically isolated from the southern states with high rates.
• The data also provides insights into the diverse nature of gun violence, which encompasses homicides, suicides, and gun-related injuries. The considerable contribution of suicides to gun death rates, as stated by the Department of Justice, might explain the high rates in states like Wyoming and Alaska.