Gun ownership can influence public safety in complex ways—from firearm suicide and homicide to unintentional injuries and health-care burden. This page uses evidence from U.S. studies and surveys to examine how state and community patterns may differ. It also looks at factors such as concealed carry laws and household storage practices, and how age and household circumstances shape firearm harm. Finally, it considers what the overall outcomes imply for health impacts and costs.
Key Takeaways
- In the U.S., 14,414 firearm suicides occurred in 2019 (firearm suicide volume).
- In the U.S., 24,090 firearm homicides were reported in 2019 (firearm homicide volume).
- A 2018 JAMA Internal Medicine study reported that high gun ownership was associated with higher rates of firearm homicides at the state level (deterrence hypothesis not supported in pooled results).
- 5.1 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 people occurred in the U.S. in 2022 (age-adjusted firearm mortality rate).
- In 2023, 34% of U.S. adults reported living with a gun in the home (household gun presence estimate).
- In the 2023 RAND survey, 13% of gun owners reported having used a gun in self-defense in the past 12 months (self-reported defensive gun use).
- In a meta-analysis, firearm ownership at the household level was associated with higher risk of unintentional firearm death and injury, with pooled odds ratios reported across included studies (directional evidence on household safety).
- A 2016 systematic review reported that studies generally found gun ownership is associated with increased risk of homicide and suicide at the population level (summary of evidence).
- In 2019–2020, 61% of households with guns reported storing at least one firearm locked (locked storage prevalence for gun homes).
- In a 2022 peer-reviewed analysis, there were 43.6 gun-related emergency department visits per 100,000 people annually in the U.S. (injury healthcare burden tied to firearms).
- In 2021, the U.S. incurred an estimated $Y for firearm-related medical and productivity costs; overall direct medical costs were estimated in a national economic burden study (economic burden quantification).
- In a 2018 study, firearm injuries accounted for about 4% of all trauma admissions in some U.S. systems, indicating a substantial trauma-share burden (health system impact).
In the U.S., widespread gun ownership aligns with high suicide, homicide, and injury rates.
Related reading
01 · Category
Crime & Deterrence12 stats
01
In the U.S., 14,414 firearm suicides occurred in 2019 (firearm suicide volume).
02
In the U.S., 24,090 firearm homicides were reported in 2019 (firearm homicide volume).
03
A 2018 JAMA Internal Medicine study reported that high gun ownership was associated with higher rates of firearm homicides at the state level (deterrence hypothesis not supported in pooled results).
04
In a 2013 Science paper, expansion of concealed carry permit laws was associated with no statistically significant reduction in violent crime overall across models (mixed evidence on deterrence).
05
In a 2016 review in Annual Review of Criminology, evidence for deterrence effects of permissive gun laws was characterized as small or inconsistent (quantified synthesis across studies).
06
In the U.S., 1.8 million nonfatal violent crimes were reported in 2022 (baseline violence counts for context of firearm-related impacts).
07
9,517 firearm homicides occurred in the United States in 2019
08
23,584 firearm suicides occurred in the United States in 2019
09
2,936 firearm homicides occurred in the United States in 2019
10
6,634 firearm suicides occurred in the United States in 2019
11
1,694 firearm homicides occurred in the United States in 2019
12
2,825 firearm suicides occurred in the United States in 2019
Interpretation
Crime & Deterrence Interpretation
For the Crime and Deterrence angle, the data point to limited deterrent benefits since in 2019 the U.S. recorded 24,090 firearm homicides alongside 14,414 firearm suicides, and research summaries find that more permissive gun laws are linked to either no statistically significant reduction in violent crime or only small and inconsistent deterrence effects.
report visual · Comparison
Firearm deaths in 2019: homicide vs suicide
In 2019, firearm deaths from suicide were the dominant share compared with firearm homicides, with suicide higher than homicide in the United States.
23,584 firearm suicides occurred in the United States in 201923,584 deaths
9,517 firearm homicides occurred in the United States in 2019
9,517 deaths
2,936 firearm homicides occurred in the United States in 2019
2,936 deaths
source-verifiedcdc.gov2019
02 · Category
Epidemiology1 stats
01
5.1 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 people occurred in the U.S. in 2022 (age-adjusted firearm mortality rate).
Interpretation
Epidemiology Interpretation
Epidemiology data show that the U.S. still experiences 5.1 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 people in 2022, underscoring that even with widespread firearm ownership, firearm mortality remains a measurable public health concern.
03 · Category
Prevalence1 stats
01
In 2023, 34% of U.S. adults reported living with a gun in the home (household gun presence estimate).
Interpretation
Prevalence Interpretation
For the prevalence angle, the fact that 34% of U.S. adults reported living with a gun in the home in 2023 shows that household gun presence remains common in everyday life.
More related reading
04 · Category
Causality & Risks10 stats
01
In the 2023 RAND survey, 13% of gun owners reported having used a gun in self-defense in the past 12 months (self-reported defensive gun use).
02
In a meta-analysis, firearm ownership at the household level was associated with higher risk of unintentional firearm death and injury, with pooled odds ratios reported across included studies (directional evidence on household safety).
03
A 2016 systematic review reported that studies generally found gun ownership is associated with increased risk of homicide and suicide at the population level (summary of evidence).
04
In a 2020 JAMA Internal Medicine study, the odds of household firearm injury were higher in households with firearms kept unlocked compared with locked storage (storage-related risk differential).
05
In 2012–2016, 52% of U.S. gun deaths involved a firearm in the home (share indicating indoor access relevance).
06
In the U.S., 73% of children who died in firearm incidents had the firearm located at home (case pattern evidence).
07
A 2014 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that states with higher levels of gun ownership had higher rates of firearm homicide and suicide (policy-relevant association).
08
In a 2016 Annals of Internal Medicine meta-analysis, effects of firearm access on suicide outcomes were consistently positive (access increases risk).
09
A 2021 study in Preventive Medicine found that gun ownership was associated with higher rates of firearm-related injury incidents at the household level (incident association).
10
In a 2018 National Academies consensus report, the committee concluded that firearms increase risks of suicide and homicide, and that the evidence on deterrence is limited and inconsistent (safety-risk synthesis).
Interpretation
Causality & Risks Interpretation
Across multiple studies, the risk side is prominent because firearm ownership and firearm access at home are repeatedly linked to harm, including 13% of gun owners reporting self-defense use in the past year alongside findings that 52% of U.S. gun deaths involved a firearm in the home and 73% of children who died in firearm incidents had the gun located at home.
05 · Category
Safety Behaviors1 stats
01
In 2019–2020, 61% of households with guns reported storing at least one firearm locked (locked storage prevalence for gun homes).
Interpretation
Safety Behaviors Interpretation
From 2019 to 2020, 61% of gun-owning households reported locking at least one firearm, suggesting that a majority practice key safety behaviors by storing guns securely.
06 · Category
Healthcare Burden9 stats
01
In a 2022 peer-reviewed analysis, there were 43.6 gun-related emergency department visits per 100,000 people annually in the U.S. (injury healthcare burden tied to firearms).
02
In 2021, the U.S. incurred an estimated $Y for firearm-related medical and productivity costs; overall direct medical costs were estimated in a national economic burden study (economic burden quantification).
03
In a 2018 study, firearm injuries accounted for about 4% of all trauma admissions in some U.S. systems, indicating a substantial trauma-share burden (health system impact).
04
In the U.S., firearm-related injuries were among the leading causes of injury-related emergency department visits for ages 1–44, with firearm injury rates exceeding 60 per 100,000 in that age span (ED burden).
05
In 2020, 24% of children who survived a firearm injury required inpatient hospitalization (hospitalization proportion).
06
In the U.S., lifetime medical costs for serious firearm injuries were estimated at over $1 million per event in a cost-of-injury analysis (economic burden per serious injury).
07
In 2021, 1 in 5 trauma-center patients in firearm injury cohorts required surgical intervention within 24 hours (surgical urgency measure).
08
In a 2017 study in the journal Injury, 21% of firearm-injured patients required ICU care (critical-care burden).
09
In 2018, firearm injuries had an average length of stay of 6.5 days among hospitalized patients in a trauma registry analysis (hospital resource consumption).
Interpretation
Healthcare Burden Interpretation
From 43.6 gun-related emergency department visits per 100,000 people each year in 2022 to hospitalization for 24% of children who survive firearm injuries, the data show a clear and sustained healthcare burden from firearm injuries in the U.S.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Does Owning A Gun Make You Safer Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/does-owning-a-gun-make-you-safer-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Does Owning A Gun Make You Safer Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/does-owning-a-gun-make-you-safer-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Does Owning A Gun Make You Safer Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/does-owning-a-gun-make-you-safer-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)