In 2023, 40 states reported more firearm homicides than the previous year in at least one city surveyed by Gun Violence Archive. Firearm injuries also create a measurable clinical load, including 2.0 million hospital or emergency department visits in the United States in 2020 and 17.9% of firearm injury patients admitted after an ED visit. The article connects these counts to policy and economic estimates so national trends map to hospital strain and community costs.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, 40 states reported that the number of firearm homicides was higher than the previous year in at least one city surveyed by Gun Violence Archive (city-level reporting increase frequency)
- In 2019, there were 85,000 emergency department visits for firearm injuries in the United States (count of ED visits for firearm injuries)
- In 2020, firearm-related injuries resulted in 2.0 million hospital/ED visits in the United States (healthcare utilization estimate; as reported in the peer-reviewed literature)
- In 2021, the direct medical costs for gun violence were estimated at $4.1 billion (US direct healthcare costs estimate)
- Gun violence imposed an estimated $2.8 billion in lost productivity in 2018 (productivity loss estimate)
- $100 billion per year estimated total cost of gun violence in the United States (annualized cost estimate in RAND’s work)
- Gun-related mortality is among the top leading causes of death for Americans aged 1–44, ranking within the top 5 in the CDC’s analyses (ranking statistic)
- A 2021 study found that universal background checks were associated with a 10% reduction in firearm homicide in US states (estimated policy effect)
- A 2022 systematic review found firearm safe storage interventions reduced child firearm access by 43% (effect size from review)
- In 2021, 43% of US adults reported that they personally know someone who has threatened to harm others with a gun (survey-based prevalence; risk factor context)
- 6.0% of high school students reported attempting suicide in the past year in 2021 (suicide risk factor prevalence)
- In 2022, 5.8% of adults reported feeling they were at risk of hurting themselves (suicide ideation prevalence; risk factor context)
- 8.4% of U.S. residents experienced at least one firearm injury or death event in 2017 (combined exposure definition), per a nationwide exposure analysis using healthcare data
- A 10-percentage-point increase in gun ownership was associated with a 17% increase in firearm homicide rates in states over time in a multi-year cross-state econometric analysis
- Firearm ownership prevalence increased in the United States from 30.8% in 2016 to 34.7% in 2021 in a repeated cross-sectional survey
In 2023, rising firearm homicide reports and millions of medical visits underscore gun violence’s growing public health burden.
Related reading
01 · Category
Injury & Hospitalization10 stats
01
In 2023, 40 states reported that the number of firearm homicides was higher than the previous year in at least one city surveyed by Gun Violence Archive (city-level reporting increase frequency)
02
In 2019, there were 85,000 emergency department visits for firearm injuries in the United States (count of ED visits for firearm injuries)
03
In 2020, firearm-related injuries resulted in 2.0 million hospital/ED visits in the United States (healthcare utilization estimate; as reported in the peer-reviewed literature)
04
1.5 million people were treated in US EDs for firearm injuries from 2006–2018 (cumulative ED treatment count, study-based)
05
17.9% of firearm injury patients in a CDC-based analysis required hospital admission (hospitalization share among firearm injury ED visits)
06
A 2018–2020 analysis found 13.1% of firearm injury ED visits resulted in admission (share admitted; study-based)
07
1 in 100 trauma patients in the United States experiences a firearm injury (proportion reported in trauma epidemiology literature)
08
3.2% of US ED visits for violence were for firearm-related injuries in a nationwide analysis (percentage of violence ED visits)
09
14% of firearm injury cases required intensive care unit (ICU) admission in a US trauma study (ICU share among firearm injury patients)
10
In 2019, firearm-related injuries had a median hospital length of stay of 3 days (median LOS reported by study)
Interpretation
Injury & Hospitalization Interpretation
Across recent years, firearm injuries consistently drove large numbers of emergency and hospital care, with 85,000 U.S. emergency department visits in 2019 and 2.0 million hospital or ED visits in 2020, while about 13% to 18% of ED-treated firearm injury patients were ultimately admitted to the hospital.
02 · Category
Economic Impact12 stats
01
In 2021, the direct medical costs for gun violence were estimated at $4.1 billion (US direct healthcare costs estimate)
02
Gun violence imposed an estimated $2.8 billion in lost productivity in 2018 (productivity loss estimate)
03
$100 billion per year estimated total cost of gun violence in the United States (annualized cost estimate in RAND’s work)
04
A 2018 paper estimated gun violence costs households and society at $281 billion (broader economic impact estimate)
05
The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions estimated lifetime costs per firearm death of $10.3 million (lifetime cost estimate)
06
$1.3 million per firearm injury estimated medical and productivity costs (per-incident cost estimate in an economic analysis)
07
The estimated lifetime cost of firearm injuries (medical care + lost productivity) averaged $1.6 million per nonfatal firearm injury (economic estimate)
08
The U.S. medical cost burden of firearm injuries was estimated at $4.1 billion for 2021 (direct medical costs, national estimate)
09
Gun violence imposes $100 billion per year in total costs to the United States in a prominent annualized cost estimate widely cited in policy economics
10
Gun violence cost an estimated $281 billion to households and society in 2018 (annual economic impact estimate, including direct and indirect costs)
11
The estimated lifetime cost per firearm injury (medical care + lost productivity) averaged $1.6 million for nonfatal firearm injuries in a national economic analysis
12
The estimated lifetime cost per firearm death was $10.3 million in a cost-of-violence estimate used by a peer-reviewed gun violence economics study
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
Across the economic impact estimates, gun violence costs the United States tens of billions each year, including a $100 billion annualized total cost and a 2018 household and societal estimate of $281 billion, showing that the burden extends far beyond direct medical bills.
03 · Category
Policy & Trends5 stats
01
Gun-related mortality is among the top leading causes of death for Americans aged 1–44, ranking within the top 5 in the CDC’s analyses (ranking statistic)
02
A 2021 study found that universal background checks were associated with a 10% reduction in firearm homicide in US states (estimated policy effect)
03
A 2022 systematic review found firearm safe storage interventions reduced child firearm access by 43% (effect size from review)
04
A 2020 meta-analysis estimated that reduced-access firearm laws lowered suicide mortality by about 6% (estimated impact)
05
A 2023 JAMA Network Open study reported that extreme-risk protection order (ERPO) laws were associated with a 13% reduction in suicide deaths (estimated policy effect)
Interpretation
Policy & Trends Interpretation
Across recent research on policy and trends, firearm-related harms appear responsive to legislation and safety measures, with estimates showing universal background checks linked to a 10% drop in firearm homicides, safe storage reducing children’s access by 43%, and extreme-risk protection orders associated with a 13% reduction in suicide deaths.
04 · Category
Risk Factors6 stats
01
In 2021, 43% of US adults reported that they personally know someone who has threatened to harm others with a gun (survey-based prevalence; risk factor context)
02
6.0% of high school students reported attempting suicide in the past year in 2021 (suicide risk factor prevalence)
03
In 2022, 5.8% of adults reported feeling they were at risk of hurting themselves (suicide ideation prevalence; risk factor context)
04
In 2018, 70% of firearm deaths involved a handgun (share of firearm types in deaths; study-based distribution)
05
A 2022 survey reported that 67% of Americans believe safe storage is important (attitudinal prevalence; public opinion)
06
A 2021 survey reported that 52% of Americans favor universal background checks (policy preference prevalence)
Interpretation
Risk Factors Interpretation
For the risk factors behind gun violence, the data suggests a strong overlap between personal threat exposure and suicide risk, with 43% of US adults in 2021 saying they know someone who threatened harm with a gun and 6.0% of high school students and 5.8% of adults in 2022 reporting suicide attempts or ideation alongside evidence that 67% of Americans prioritize safe storage and 52% support universal background checks.
More related reading
05 · Category
Public Health Burden1 stats
01
8.4% of U.S. residents experienced at least one firearm injury or death event in 2017 (combined exposure definition), per a nationwide exposure analysis using healthcare data
Interpretation
Public Health Burden Interpretation
In 2017, 8.4% of U.S. residents experienced at least one firearm injury or death event, underscoring the substantial public health burden posed by gun violence nationwide.
06 · Category
Mortality Trends3 stats
01
A 10-percentage-point increase in gun ownership was associated with a 17% increase in firearm homicide rates in states over time in a multi-year cross-state econometric analysis
02
Firearm ownership prevalence increased in the United States from 30.8% in 2016 to 34.7% in 2021 in a repeated cross-sectional survey
03
The rate of firearm deaths in the United States rose by 2.8% annually on average from 2000 to 2019, according to a time-trend decomposition study
Interpretation
Mortality Trends Interpretation
For the mortality trends angle, firearm deaths in the United States rose by about 2.8% per year on average from 2000 to 2019, alongside an increase in gun ownership prevalence from 30.8% in 2016 to 34.7% in 2021, consistent with evidence that higher gun ownership is linked to higher firearm homicide rates over time.
07 · Category
Policy & Regulation4 stats
01
1.18 million people in the United States reported owning a firearm without a permit to carry in a national survey of gun carrying practices (unpermitted carrying prevalence among adults who carry)
02
In states with “stand-your-ground” laws, the relative risk of firearm homicide was 1.19 compared with states without such laws in a meta-analysis of observational studies
03
Gun law “background check” policies are estimated to avert 4.1% of firearm suicides in high-income settings under compliance assumptions in a comparative policy-impact modeling study
04
By 2023, 27 states had enacted “safe storage” requirements with some form of duty to store firearms securely (state adoption count)
Interpretation
Policy & Regulation Interpretation
Policy and regulation appear to matter most where strong rules are adopted, since by 2023 27 states had enacted safe storage requirements while background check policies could prevent 4.1% of firearm suicides, even as stand-your-ground laws are associated with a higher firearm homicide risk of 1.19.
08 · Category
Risk Factors & Weapons1 stats
01
The U.S. had 39,707 publicly reported active firearm-related incidents in 2023 in a dataset compiled from mass-incident reporting sources (count of incidents)
Interpretation
Risk Factors & Weapons Interpretation
In 2023, the U.S. recorded 39,707 publicly reported active firearm-related incidents, underscoring how widely firearms feature as a key risk factor within the “Risk Factors & Weapons” category.
report visual · Key figures
Gun violence: exposure and severity snapshots
Gunfire impacts are reflected across healthcare utilization, admission severity, and broader exposure—showing how often firearm injuries translate into serious medical outcomes.
85,000
In 2019, there were 85,000 emergency department visits for firearm injuries in the United States (count of ED visits for
2020
In 2020, firearm-related injuries resulted in 2.0 million hospital/ED visits in the United States (healthcare utilizatio
17.9%
17.9% of firearm injury patients in a CDC-based analysis required hospital admission (hospitalization share among firear
14%
14% of firearm injury cases required intensive care unit (ICU) admission in a US trauma study (ICU share among firearm i
8.4%
8.4% of U.S. residents experienced at least one firearm injury or death event in 2017 (combined exposure definition), pe
source-verifiedncbi.nlm.nih.gov · jamanetwork.com · cdc.gov · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov2020
Reference
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.
APA
Kevin O'Brien. (2026, February 13). Gun Violence Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gun-violence-statistics
MLA
Kevin O'Brien. "Gun Violence Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/gun-violence-statistics.
Chicago
Kevin O'Brien. 2026. "Gun Violence Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gun-violence-statistics.
Sources & references
42 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+21 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)