Key Takeaways
- 1,100 people died from unintentional firearm injuries in the U.S. in 2022 (CDC, injury deaths by intent)
- 60,011 people died from suicide involving firearms in the U.S. in 2022 (CDC, injury deaths by mechanism)
- 19,415 people died from homicide by firearms in the U.S. in 2022 (CDC, injury deaths by mechanism)
- In the U.S., gun violence is estimated to cost about $229 billion per year in medical care, lost productivity, and other costs (Harvard Injury Control Research Center estimate)
- The RAND Corporation estimates the societal cost of firearm violence in the U.S. at $557 billion in 2018 dollars (RAND, comprehensive costs including incarceration and productivity)
- A 2019 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that firearm-related injury hospitalizations cost U.S. hospitals about $1.2 billion annually (cost estimates from claims data)
- The Gun Violence Archive reports 49,114 mass shooting events in the U.S. from 1982 through 2024 (cumulative, per-GVA definition of mass shooting)
- BJS reports that in 2021, 44% of violent victimizations involved a firearm where a weapon was known (NCVS weapon involvement breakdown)
- Gun deaths are disproportionately concentrated: a study found that about 1% of counties account for roughly 25% of firearm homicides in the U.S. (peer-reviewed geographic concentration analysis)
- JAMA Network Open reported 14.9 firearm-related injury hospitalizations per 100,000 population in 2019 (trend estimate from hospital discharge data)
- In 2022, the estimated firearm fatality-to-injury ratio was about 1 death per ~12 injuries based on CDC injury hospitalization vs mortality comparisons (epidemiologic synthesis)
- Gun-related emergency department visits in the U.S. were estimated at 2.0 million per year in 2017–2018 (ED visit estimates from national estimates synthesis)
- In 2022, 41% of U.S. households reported having at least one firearm at home (Small Arms Survey household ownership estimate for the U.S.)
- In the U.S., about 3% of gun owners report having a child living in the home and storing a firearm unlocked/unsecured (peer-reviewed national survey estimate)
- A 2018 national survey found that 33% of households with firearms store them loaded and unlocked at some point (survey-based measure)
In 2022, firearms caused over 78,000 deaths in the U.S., with safe storage and evidence based prevention key.
Mortality & Injury
Mortality & Injury Interpretation
Economic Burden
Economic Burden Interpretation
Incident Reporting
Incident Reporting Interpretation
Public Health Burden
Public Health Burden Interpretation
Prevalence & Access
Prevalence & Access Interpretation
Policy & Prevention
Policy & Prevention Interpretation
Mortality And Trends
Mortality And Trends Interpretation
Injuries And Emergency Care
Injuries And Emergency Care Interpretation
Economic Impact
Economic Impact Interpretation
Policy, Laws And Enforcement
Policy, Laws And Enforcement Interpretation
Gun Use, Firearm Access
Gun Use, Firearm Access Interpretation
How We Rate Confidence
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
David Kowalski. (2026, February 13). Firearm Violence Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/firearm-violence-statistics
David Kowalski. "Firearm Violence Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/firearm-violence-statistics.
David Kowalski. 2026. "Firearm Violence Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/firearm-violence-statistics.
References
- 1cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
- 2cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm
- 3cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm
- 13cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html
- 26cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/ss/pdfs/ss6908a1-H.pdf
- 36cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/pdfs/mm7004a1-H.pdf
- 4vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/
- 5jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2728475
- 11jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2778122
- 12jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2776559
- 19jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2612935
- 21jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2801028
- 39jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2736784
- 6hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-violence-costs/
- 7rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1124-1.html
- 18rand.org/research/gun-ownership/survey.html
- 38rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1472.html
- 42rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1105-1.html
- 8ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(19)30039-4/fulltext
- 9gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
- 10bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=478
- 41bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv15.pdf
- 14ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7931002/
- 15ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7003303/
- 16gunpolicy.org/firearms/ownership/united-states
- 17nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1700518
- 20ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304370
- 22cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013000.pub2/full
- 23pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33711907/
- 35pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35036057/
- 24nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25008/principles-and-practice-of-federal-oversight
- 25apa.org/monitor/2020/10/ce-suicide-risk
- 27sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743522000043
- 31sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160793614003196
- 28cbo.gov/system/files/2020-02/56084-gun-control.pdf
- 29cbo.gov/publication/49973
- 30academic.oup.com/aje/article/189/12/1445/6351963
- 32healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1234
- 33nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S6533B
- 34hsdl.org/?view&did=799192
- 37journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/690655
- 40giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/extreme-risk-protection-orders/







