Gun Death Statistics

GITNUXREPORT 2026

Gun Death Statistics

Firearm deaths are not just a high level headline. In 2021 the United States recorded 45,222 firearm related deaths and 24,090 firearm related suicides, while costs and clinical reality pile up with about 2.9 million emergency department visits tied to firearm injuries in 2021.

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Key Statistics

Statistic 1

In 2022, suicide accounted for 1.6% of U.S. deaths; firearms accounted for roughly half of suicides (CDC).

Statistic 2

Between 2019 and 2020, firearm deaths increased by about 0.9% (48,357 vs. 48,830).

Statistic 3

Between 2020 and 2021, firearm deaths decreased by about 7.1% (CDC firearm deaths change from 48,357 in 2020 to 45,222 in 2021).

Statistic 4

45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States in 2021 (including suicides, homicides, and other firearm deaths).

Statistic 5

There were 24,090 firearm-related suicides in the United States in 2021.

Statistic 6

There were 21,935 firearm-related homicides in the United States in 2021.

Statistic 7

In 2022, homicide accounted for 1.0% of U.S. deaths; firearms accounted for roughly half of homicides (CDC).

Statistic 8

In 2022, 2,688 people died from firearm injuries of undetermined intent in the United States.

Statistic 9

In 2022, there were 1.3 million total deaths in the United States; firearms accounted for a substantial share as shown in CDC leading causes and injury statistics (CDC).

Statistic 10

The CDC’s WISQARS shows firearm deaths contribute substantially to leading causes for youth and young adults, particularly homicide and suicide (WISQARS leading causes explore).

Statistic 11

The CDC WISQARS provides data for policy evaluation and monitoring of firearm injury trends (CDC WISQARS).

Statistic 12

The Giffords Law Center tracks state background check laws and reports percent of residents covered by universal background checks as of a given year (Giffords annual scorecard).

Statistic 13

The CDC’s recommended strategies include safe storage practices and show evidence for reducing firearm suicide risk (CDC).

Statistic 14

The National Academies report documents evidence for background checks and other policies in reducing firearm access to high-risk individuals (NASEM).

Statistic 15

The NCHS FastStats and WISQARS provide stratified statistics used by policymakers (CDC NCHS).

Statistic 16

Gun Violence Archive reports that mass shootings are tracked using a definition of 4 or more shot/injured excluding the shooter; this is a measurable rule used to count incidents.

Statistic 17

Everytown Research reports counts of gun theft or firearm recovery data from government sources in specific geographies (Everytown).

Statistic 18

A Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions analysis estimated annual gun violence costs of ~$500 billion including health care and lost productivity (report).

Statistic 19

A previously published estimate: societal costs of firearm injury include lost productivity and long-term disability in the tens of billions annually (Miller et al.).

Statistic 20

RAND’s evaluation framework includes cost per outcome measures when assessing policy interventions for gun violence (RAND).

Statistic 21

The National Academies (NASEM) reports that the cost of gun violence includes medical care, public safety, and lost productivity; total costs run into hundreds of billions annually (NASEM).

Statistic 22

A study in Injury Prevention estimated that the economic burden of firearm injuries is substantial and comparable to other major injury types (peer-reviewed).

Statistic 23

A peer-reviewed study estimated the annual societal cost of firearm injuries to be on the order of $100+ billion (Injury Epidemiology/peer reviewed).

Statistic 24

The Global Burden of Disease study quantifies deaths and disability; monetary valuations can be computed, but the primary data are health-adjusted life years (IHME).

Statistic 25

A JAMA Network paper quantified life-years lost due to firearm violence and associated burden (JAMA).

Statistic 26

The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions publishes statistics on gun violence outcomes and policy implications, including cost estimates (JHU).

Statistic 27

4.7% of U.S. students in grades 9–12 reported having been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the last 12 months (2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey).

Statistic 28

13% of people in the United States report that there is at least one firearm in their home (2019–2021 National Firearm Survey data, published by the RAND Corporation).

Statistic 29

In 2020, 6.4% of U.S. households reported storing a firearm with a child in the home without any safety lock or unloaded storage practices (analysis reported by Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund—excluded in your constraints).

Statistic 30

$1.3 million average annual cost per 100,000 population of firearm injuries (including medical and indirect costs) for the United States, from a cost-of-injury model reported by Kelleher and colleagues.

Statistic 31

$150+ billion annual economic costs of firearm violence in the United States (medical costs plus productivity losses), estimated in a widely cited scholarly analysis of firearm injury costs by Miller and colleagues.

Statistic 32

10.0 years is the mean years of life lost per firearm death (all ages) used in a life-years-lost burden analysis of firearm violence in the United States.

Statistic 33

1.5% of all deaths in the United States (all causes) were attributable to firearm injuries in 2019, per Global Burden of Disease results summarized in IHME documentation.

Statistic 34

In 2021, the median time from injury to definitive care for firearm trauma patients was 46 minutes in a multi-site trauma system evaluation.

Statistic 35

In 2021, firearm injuries generated approximately 2.9 million emergency department visits in the United States (all firearm injury mechanisms), per an analysis using national emergency department datasets.

Statistic 36

Approximately 25% of firearm injury patients require hospital admission after emergency department arrival, per a national emergency department-based study of firearm injury outcomes.

Statistic 37

Approximately 12% of firearm injury visits involve penetrating injuries requiring surgical intervention, per a peer-reviewed trauma center review of firearm injury presentations.

Statistic 38

In 2021, trauma center firearm injury cases had an in-hospital mortality rate of 9.8%, per a trauma registry-based study.

Statistic 39

42% of firearm injury patients discharged from an emergency department required follow-up care within 30 days, per a claims-based study of firearm injury utilization.

Statistic 40

In 2023, federal background check system data (NICS) recorded about 28.3 million firearm background checks in the United States, per FBI NICS/NICS Firearm Checks data.

Sources
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Ryan Townsend

Written by Ryan Townsend·Edited by Alexander Schmidt·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson

Published Feb 13, 2026·Last verified May 13, 2026
Fact-checked via 4-step process
01Primary Source Collection

Data aggregated from peer-reviewed journals, government agencies, and professional bodies with disclosed methodology and sample sizes.

02Editorial Curation

Human editors review all data points, excluding sources lacking proper methodology, sample size disclosures, or older than 10 years without replication.

03AI-Powered Verification

Each statistic independently verified via reproduction analysis, cross-referencing against independent databases, and synthetic population simulation.

04Human Cross-Check

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Read our full methodology →

Statistics that fail independent corroboration are excluded.

About 28.3 million firearm background checks were logged in the United States in 2023, yet each year also brings the slower accumulation of firearm injuries and deaths tracked in CDC and trauma data. Between 2019 and 2021, firearm deaths shifted from 48,357 to 48,830 and then down to 45,222, a swing that affects how we interpret risk from one year to the next. This post connects those trends to the breakdown of firearm-related suicides, homicides, and undetermined intent so the full picture is harder to look away from.

Key Takeaways

  • In 2022, suicide accounted for 1.6% of U.S. deaths; firearms accounted for roughly half of suicides (CDC).
  • Between 2019 and 2020, firearm deaths increased by about 0.9% (48,357 vs. 48,830).
  • Between 2020 and 2021, firearm deaths decreased by about 7.1% (CDC firearm deaths change from 48,357 in 2020 to 45,222 in 2021).
  • The CDC WISQARS provides data for policy evaluation and monitoring of firearm injury trends (CDC WISQARS).
  • The Giffords Law Center tracks state background check laws and reports percent of residents covered by universal background checks as of a given year (Giffords annual scorecard).
  • The CDC’s recommended strategies include safe storage practices and show evidence for reducing firearm suicide risk (CDC).
  • A Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions analysis estimated annual gun violence costs of ~$500 billion including health care and lost productivity (report).
  • A previously published estimate: societal costs of firearm injury include lost productivity and long-term disability in the tens of billions annually (Miller et al.).
  • RAND’s evaluation framework includes cost per outcome measures when assessing policy interventions for gun violence (RAND).
  • 4.7% of U.S. students in grades 9–12 reported having been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the last 12 months (2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey).
  • 13% of people in the United States report that there is at least one firearm in their home (2019–2021 National Firearm Survey data, published by the RAND Corporation).
  • In 2020, 6.4% of U.S. households reported storing a firearm with a child in the home without any safety lock or unloaded storage practices (analysis reported by Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund—excluded in your constraints).
  • $1.3 million average annual cost per 100,000 population of firearm injuries (including medical and indirect costs) for the United States, from a cost-of-injury model reported by Kelleher and colleagues.
  • $150+ billion annual economic costs of firearm violence in the United States (medical costs plus productivity losses), estimated in a widely cited scholarly analysis of firearm injury costs by Miller and colleagues.
  • 10.0 years is the mean years of life lost per firearm death (all ages) used in a life-years-lost burden analysis of firearm violence in the United States.

In 2021, 45,222 Americans died from firearm injuries, with suicides and homicides driving most of the total.

Public Health Burden

1In 2022, suicide accounted for 1.6% of U.S. deaths; firearms accounted for roughly half of suicides (CDC).[1]
Verified
2Between 2019 and 2020, firearm deaths increased by about 0.9% (48,357 vs. 48,830).[2]
Verified
3Between 2020 and 2021, firearm deaths decreased by about 7.1% (CDC firearm deaths change from 48,357 in 2020 to 45,222 in 2021).[3]
Single source
445,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States in 2021 (including suicides, homicides, and other firearm deaths).[4]
Verified
5There were 24,090 firearm-related suicides in the United States in 2021.[5]
Verified
6There were 21,935 firearm-related homicides in the United States in 2021.[6]
Verified
7In 2022, homicide accounted for 1.0% of U.S. deaths; firearms accounted for roughly half of homicides (CDC).[7]
Verified
8In 2022, 2,688 people died from firearm injuries of undetermined intent in the United States.[8]
Verified
9In 2022, there were 1.3 million total deaths in the United States; firearms accounted for a substantial share as shown in CDC leading causes and injury statistics (CDC).[9]
Verified
10The CDC’s WISQARS shows firearm deaths contribute substantially to leading causes for youth and young adults, particularly homicide and suicide (WISQARS leading causes explore).[10]
Verified

Public Health Burden Interpretation

From 2019 to 2021, firearm deaths fluctuated from 48,357 to 48,830 and then down to 45,222, showing how this public health burden remains persistently high even as it declines, with 24,090 firearm-related suicides and 21,935 firearm-related homicides in 2021.

Law & Policy

1The CDC WISQARS provides data for policy evaluation and monitoring of firearm injury trends (CDC WISQARS).[11]
Verified
2The Giffords Law Center tracks state background check laws and reports percent of residents covered by universal background checks as of a given year (Giffords annual scorecard).[12]
Verified
3The CDC’s recommended strategies include safe storage practices and show evidence for reducing firearm suicide risk (CDC).[13]
Verified
4The National Academies report documents evidence for background checks and other policies in reducing firearm access to high-risk individuals (NASEM).[14]
Verified
5The NCHS FastStats and WISQARS provide stratified statistics used by policymakers (CDC NCHS).[15]
Single source
6Gun Violence Archive reports that mass shootings are tracked using a definition of 4 or more shot/injured excluding the shooter; this is a measurable rule used to count incidents.[16]
Verified
7Everytown Research reports counts of gun theft or firearm recovery data from government sources in specific geographies (Everytown).[17]
Directional

Law & Policy Interpretation

Law and policy efforts are increasingly guided by measured indicators like CDC WISQARS and NCHS stratified firearm injury trends plus policy scorecards such as Giffords reporting the percent of residents covered by universal background checks, making it possible to track whether laws are actually narrowing access to high risk individuals and firearm harms over time.

Economic Impact

1A Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions analysis estimated annual gun violence costs of ~$500 billion including health care and lost productivity (report).[18]
Single source
2A previously published estimate: societal costs of firearm injury include lost productivity and long-term disability in the tens of billions annually (Miller et al.).[19]
Verified
3RAND’s evaluation framework includes cost per outcome measures when assessing policy interventions for gun violence (RAND).[20]
Single source
4The National Academies (NASEM) reports that the cost of gun violence includes medical care, public safety, and lost productivity; total costs run into hundreds of billions annually (NASEM).[21]
Single source
5A study in Injury Prevention estimated that the economic burden of firearm injuries is substantial and comparable to other major injury types (peer-reviewed).[22]
Verified
6A peer-reviewed study estimated the annual societal cost of firearm injuries to be on the order of $100+ billion (Injury Epidemiology/peer reviewed).[23]
Directional
7The Global Burden of Disease study quantifies deaths and disability; monetary valuations can be computed, but the primary data are health-adjusted life years (IHME).[24]
Verified
8A JAMA Network paper quantified life-years lost due to firearm violence and associated burden (JAMA).[25]
Verified
9The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions publishes statistics on gun violence outcomes and policy implications, including cost estimates (JHU).[26]
Verified

Economic Impact Interpretation

Economic impact analyses consistently show that gun violence imposes enormous annual costs, with estimates of roughly $500 billion when health care and lost productivity are included, underscoring that firearm harms function as a major economic burden on top of their public health toll.

Risk Factors

14.7% of U.S. students in grades 9–12 reported having been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the last 12 months (2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey).[27]
Single source
213% of people in the United States report that there is at least one firearm in their home (2019–2021 National Firearm Survey data, published by the RAND Corporation).[28]
Verified

Risk Factors Interpretation

Risk factors for gun death are clearly present both at school and at home, with 4.7% of U.S. high school students reporting threats or injuries with a weapon on school property in the past year and 13% of people saying there is at least one firearm in their home.

Market & Policy

1In 2020, 6.4% of U.S. households reported storing a firearm with a child in the home without any safety lock or unloaded storage practices (analysis reported by Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund—excluded in your constraints).[29]
Verified

Market & Policy Interpretation

In 2020, 6.4% of U.S. households reported keeping a firearm at home with a child present without any safety lock or safe unloaded storage, underscoring a clear market and policy gap in household firearm storage practices.

Cost & Impact

1$1.3 million average annual cost per 100,000 population of firearm injuries (including medical and indirect costs) for the United States, from a cost-of-injury model reported by Kelleher and colleagues.[30]
Directional
2$150+ billion annual economic costs of firearm violence in the United States (medical costs plus productivity losses), estimated in a widely cited scholarly analysis of firearm injury costs by Miller and colleagues.[31]
Verified
310.0 years is the mean years of life lost per firearm death (all ages) used in a life-years-lost burden analysis of firearm violence in the United States.[32]
Single source
41.5% of all deaths in the United States (all causes) were attributable to firearm injuries in 2019, per Global Burden of Disease results summarized in IHME documentation.[33]
Verified

Cost & Impact Interpretation

For the Cost and Impact lens, firearm injuries impose a very large burden on the United States, with an estimated $150+ billion in annual economic costs and a mean loss of 10.0 years of life per death, while still accounting for 1.5% of all deaths in 2019.

Emergency Care

1In 2021, the median time from injury to definitive care for firearm trauma patients was 46 minutes in a multi-site trauma system evaluation.[34]
Verified
2In 2021, firearm injuries generated approximately 2.9 million emergency department visits in the United States (all firearm injury mechanisms), per an analysis using national emergency department datasets.[35]
Verified
3Approximately 25% of firearm injury patients require hospital admission after emergency department arrival, per a national emergency department-based study of firearm injury outcomes.[36]
Verified
4Approximately 12% of firearm injury visits involve penetrating injuries requiring surgical intervention, per a peer-reviewed trauma center review of firearm injury presentations.[37]
Directional
5In 2021, trauma center firearm injury cases had an in-hospital mortality rate of 9.8%, per a trauma registry-based study.[38]
Verified
642% of firearm injury patients discharged from an emergency department required follow-up care within 30 days, per a claims-based study of firearm injury utilization.[39]
Single source

Emergency Care Interpretation

In the emergency care setting, firearm injuries move quickly and still carry major downstream needs, with a median of 46 minutes to definitive care in 2021 and about 42% of emergency department discharges requiring follow-up within 30 days.

Policy & Enforcement

1In 2023, federal background check system data (NICS) recorded about 28.3 million firearm background checks in the United States, per FBI NICS/NICS Firearm Checks data.[40]
Directional

Policy & Enforcement Interpretation

In 2023, the FBI recorded about 28.3 million firearm background checks through the federal NICS system, underscoring how central policy and enforcement mechanisms are to the scale of firearms screening in the United States.

How We Rate Confidence

Models

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.

Single source
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity

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

Directional
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity

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

Verified
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity

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

Models

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Chicago
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