It is now more likely for an American child to be killed by a gun than to die in a car crash, a stark reality that frames our nation's escalating crisis of gun violence.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, there were 48,830 gun-related deaths in the United States, marking a 23% increase from 2019.
- Firearm-related injuries were the leading cause of death among U.S. children and adolescents in 2020, surpassing motor vehicle crashes and other causes.
- From 2019 to 2020, gun deaths rose by nearly 43% among Black Americans.
- In 2021, 20,958 gun homicides occurred in the US.
- Black Americans: 55% of gun homicide victims in 2022.
- Gun homicides rose 35% from 2019 to 2020.
- In 2021, 26,328 suicides by firearm occurred in the US.
- Gun suicides: 57% of all suicides in 2021.
- White Americans: 81% of gun suicide decedents in 2021.
- In 2022, Gun Violence Archive recorded 636 mass shootings.
- Mass shootings in 2023: 517 by September.
- From 1982-2023, 149 public mass shootings per Mother Jones database.
- In 2021, over 40,000 non-fatal gun injuries treated in ERs.
- Gunshot wounds: 130,215 hospitalizations 2017-2021.
- Non-fatal gun assaults: 80,000+ annually.
Gun violence in America is a worsening and deadly public health crisis.
Homicides
1In 2021, 20,958 gun homicides occurred in the US.
Verified2Black Americans: 55% of gun homicide victims in 2022.
Verified3Gun homicides rose 35% from 2019 to 2020.
Verified4In 2022, 24,090 gun murders and manslaughters reported.
Directional5Firearms used in 77% of all US murders in 2021.
Single source6Gun homicide rate for Black youth: 10x higher than white youth.
Verified7From 2015-2019, 70% of homicides among Black males aged 15-34 were gun-related.
Verified8In 2023, over 15,000 gun homicides by October per GVA.
Verified9US gun homicide rate: 4.5 per 100,000 in 2021.
Directional10Cities with highest gun homicides: Chicago 617 in 2022.
Single source11Gun homicides among children: 1,732 in 2021.
Verified12Males: 88% of gun homicide victims in 2021.
Verified13Gun homicides increased 45% from 2019-2021 in large cities.
Verified14In 2020, gun homicides: 19,384 total.
Directional15Black males 15-34: gun homicide rate 103.2 per 100,000.
Single source16Firearms involved in 90% of Black youth homicides.
Verified172022 gun homicides: highest since 1990s.
Verified18Gun homicides in Philadelphia: 516 in 2021.
Verified19From 1999-2021, 322,000+ gun homicides.
Directional20Teen gun homicide victimization up 95% 2019-2022.
Single source21Gun homicides account for 79% of all youth homicides.
Verified22In 2021, gun homicides peaked at rates not seen since 1995.
Verified23Hispanic gun homicide victims: 20% of total despite 19% population.
Verified24Gun homicides in Baltimore: 308 in 2022.
Directional25Lifetime risk of gun homicide for Black men: 1 in 225.
Single source26Gun homicides rose 30% post-George Floyd killing.
Verified27In 2023, gun homicides down 10% from 2022 peak.
Verified28Gun homicides: 75% in urban areas.
Verified29Firearms used in 52% of all homicides in 2022 FBI data.
DirectionalHomicides Interpretation
America is hemorrhaging lives to an epidemic of gun violence that disproportionately and devastatingly targets Black communities, particularly young men and children, painting our cities in a grim, escalating tally that has only recently dipped from a thirty-year high.
Injuries
1In 2021, over 40,000 non-fatal gun injuries treated in ERs.
Verified2Gunshot wounds: 130,215 hospitalizations 2017-2021.
Verified3Non-fatal gun assaults: 80,000+ annually.
Verified4Children: 4,000+ gun injuries yearly.
Directional5Gun injury rate doubled 2019-2022 for youth.
Single source6ER visits for gun injuries: 85,000 in 2022.
Verified7Black children: 6x higher gun injury rate than white.
Verified8Accidental gun injuries: 535 deaths but 15,000 injuries yearly.
Verified9Cost of gun injuries: $2.8 billion in medical bills 2016-2020.
Directional10Males: 83% of non-fatal gun injury victims.
Single source11Gun injuries among seniors: up 67% 2019-2021.
Verified12Police shootings: 1,000+ injuries yearly.
Verified13Urban gun injury rate: 3x rural.
Verified14Pediatric gun injuries: 25,000 ER visits 2021.
Directional15Gun injuries requiring surgery: 30,000 annually.
Single source16Lifetime cost per gun injury: $1 million+.
Verified17Women gun injury victims: 25% of assaults.
Verified18Defensive gun uses result in injuries 20% of time.
Verified19Gun injuries in 2023: over 30,000 per GVA.
Directional20Spinal cord injuries from guns: 250 yearly.
Single source21Teen gun injuries: up 46% 2019-2020.
Verified22Firearm assaults non-fatal: 140,000 2015-2019.
Verified23Gun trauma centers see 50% capacity increase post-pandemic.
Verified24Hunting accidents: 500 injuries yearly.
Directional25Intimate partner gun injuries: 600+ women yearly.
Single source26Gun injuries cost economy $557 billion 2020.
Verified27Gang-related gun injuries: 40% of urban youth cases.
VerifiedInjuries Interpretation
America is bleeding from a self-inflicted wound, where the staggering, multi-generational human and economic costs laid out in these statistics reveal a public health crisis treated like a political debating point.
Mass Shootings
1In 2022, Gun Violence Archive recorded 636 mass shootings.
Verified2Mass shootings in 2023: 517 by September.
Verified3From 1982-2023, 149 public mass shootings per Mother Jones database.
Verified42021 saw record 689 mass shootings per GVA.
Directional5Schools: 346 school shootings since Columbine 1999.
Single source6Mass shootings doubled from 2019 to 2022.
Verified7AR-15 style rifles used in 25 high-fatality mass shootings since 1990.
Verified82023 Fourth of July weekend: 10 mass shootings.
Verified9Mass shootings in Walmart: 4 incidents killing 50+.
Directional10Active shooter incidents: 250 from 2000-2019 per FBI.
Single source1194% of mass shooters male, 59% white.
Verified12Mass shootings 1982-2022: 90% handgun use.
Verified132020: 611 mass shootings despite lockdowns.
Verified14High-fatality mass shootings (8+ killed): 7 in 2023.
Directional15Festivals/concerts: 15 mass shootings since 2015.
Single source16Mass shootings involving family: 30% of total.
Verified172019: 417 mass shootings, highest pre-pandemic.
Verified18Gun-free zones: 80% of mass shootings 1950-2019.
Verified19Mass shootings at churches: 11 since 2009.
Directional202022 Uvalde: 21 killed in school mass shooting.
Single source21Buffalo supermarket: 10 Black victims in 2022 mass shooting.
Verified22Las Vegas 2017: 60 killed, 400+ injured worst mass shooting.
Verified23Mass shootings up 33% on average yearly since 2013.
Verified24In 2022, 647 mass shootings killed 813.
Directional25Orlando Pulse nightclub: 49 killed 2016.
Single sourceMass Shootings Interpretation
America treats its unique gun violence epidemic like a seasonal sport, with ever-higher scores, tragic new venues, and a stubbornly static playbook that ensures every year is a record-breaking season.
Overall Gun Deaths
1In 2021, there were 48,830 gun-related deaths in the United States, marking a 23% increase from 2019.
Verified2Firearm-related injuries were the leading cause of death among U.S. children and adolescents in 2020, surpassing motor vehicle crashes and other causes.
Verified3From 2019 to 2020, gun deaths rose by nearly 43% among Black Americans.
Verified4In 2022, the Gun Violence Archive reported 44,290 total gun deaths in the US.
Directional5Provisional data for 2023 shows over 42,000 gun deaths through November.
Single source6Gun deaths accounted for 54% of all suicides in the US in 2021.
Verified7Between 2011 and 2021, gun-related deaths increased 23%, from 38,510 to 47,343.
Verified8In 2020, there were 45,222 gun deaths, the highest on record at that time.
Verified9Firearms were used in 79% of all homicides in the US in 2021.
Directional10From 1999-2020, there were 697,000 gun deaths in the US.
Single source11In 2022, gun deaths reached 48,204 according to CDC provisional data.
Verified12Black Americans accounted for 60% of gun homicide victims in 2021 despite being 14% of the population.
Verified13Gun deaths per 100,000 residents: US rate is 14.2, highest among high-income countries.
Verified14In 2019-2021, gun deaths among youth (1-17) increased 29.5%.
Directional15Total gun deaths 2015-2022: over 350,000.
Single source16In 2023, at least 41,000 gun deaths reported by mid-year.
Verified17Women and girls comprised 13% of gun death victims in 2021.
Verified18Gun deaths in rural areas rose 41% from 2011-2021.
Verified19US gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than other high-income countries.
Directional20From 2013-2022, 428,654 gun deaths occurred.
Single source21In 2021, gun deaths were 4.46 per 100,000 overall.
Verified22Provisional 2022 gun deaths: 48,830.
Verified23Gun deaths increased 25% during the pandemic years 2019-2021.
Verified24Children under 18: 2,590 gun deaths in 2021.
Directional25Gun deaths among Black males aged 15-34: 1 in 88 lifetime risk.
Single source26Total US gun deaths since 2014: over 500,000.
Verified27In 2020, gun deaths surpassed car crash deaths for the first time.
Verified28Firearm mortality rate doubled from 1981 to 2018.
Verified292023 GVA total gun deaths: projected over 43,000.
Directional30Gun deaths in US: 1.5 per 100,000 daily average in 2022.
Single sourceOverall Gun Deaths Interpretation
America is uniquely failing at a morbid math where the cost of inaction is no longer measured in political points but in a growing, horrifying tally that has made bullets the leading killer of our children, our most persistent national crisis, and our most damning export of despair.
Suicides
1In 2021, 26,328 suicides by firearm occurred in the US.
Verified2Gun suicides: 57% of all suicides in 2021.
Verified3White Americans: 81% of gun suicide decedents in 2021.
Verified4Males: 87% of gun suicide victims.
Directional5Gun suicide rate: 7.5 per 100,000 in 2021.
Single source6From 2011-2021, gun suicides increased 7%.
Verified7Rural areas: gun suicides 2x urban rates.
Verified8Veterans: gun suicides at 17.7 per 100,000.
Verified9Youth gun suicides: 1,982 in 2021.
Directional10Gun suicides among those 65+: 40 per 100,000 for men.
Single source11States with highest gun suicide rates: Wyoming 28.4 per 100k.
Verified12Access to guns increases suicide risk 3-4x.
Verified13Gun suicides: 55% of rural gun deaths.
Verified14From 2000-2020, gun suicides up 38%.
Directional15Women gun suicide rate: 2.1 per 100k.
Single source16Gun suicides in 2022: estimated 27,000.
Verified17Elderly men: 90% of gun suicides in that demographic.
Verified18Impulse: 50% of gun suicides within 10 minutes of decision.
Verified19States with lowest gun suicide: DC 0.5 per 100k.
Directional20Gun suicides among teens doubled 2007-2021.
Single source21Firearms most lethal suicide method: 90% fatality rate.
Verified22Gun suicides in Montana: 25.6 per 100k.
Verified23From 1999-2016, 72% of suicide increase due to guns.
Verified24Gun suicide attempts: nearly always fatal unlike other methods.
Directional252023 gun suicides: over 14,000 by September.
Single source26White males 45-64: highest gun suicide rate 30+ per 100k.
Verified27Gun suicides account for 60% of gun deaths.
VerifiedSuicides Interpretation
A weapon uniquely efficient for suicide is being used with devastating and predictable frequency, its presence turning moments of profound despair into a finality that stains our national landscape with the specific grief of white men in rural areas, veterans, and an alarming number of our youth.
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