The devastating truth is that in America, a life is lost to suicide by gun roughly every 22 minutes, a relentless national crisis where firearms are now used in over half of all suicide deaths.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, the US recorded 24,292 suicides by firearm, representing 54.4% of all 48,183 suicide deaths that year.
- Firearm suicides accounted for 14.1 deaths per 100,000 population in the US in 2020.
- From 2019 to 2020, US firearm suicide rates increased by 2.5%, reaching 14.2 per 100,000.
- Males aged 75+ had a firearm suicide rate of 47.2 per 100,000 in 2021.
- Non-Hispanic White males aged 85+ had the highest rate at 57.9 per 100,000 firearm suicides in 2021.
- Females aged 45-64 had a firearm suicide rate of 7.8 per 100,000 in 2020.
- Firearm suicide rates among US men increased 14% from 2007-2018.
- From 2011-2020, firearm suicides rose 14% nationally, from 19,392 to 24,292.
- Post-2020, firearm suicide rates surged 8% in 2021 alone.
- Firearm suicides are 85% fatal vs. 5% for drug overdoses.
- Gun suicides outnumber gun homicides 2:1 in the US annually since 1970.
- Firearms used in 50%+ suicides vs. 5% homicides nationally.
- Access to guns increases suicide risk 3-4x per studies.
- States with safe storage laws saw 8% drop in youth gun suicides.
- Background checks reduced suicides by 7-11% in states.
Gun suicides are alarmingly frequent and overwhelmingly affect men across America.
Comparisons
- Firearm suicides are 85% fatal vs. 5% for drug overdoses.
- Gun suicides outnumber gun homicides 2:1 in the US annually since 1970.
- Firearms used in 50%+ suicides vs. 5% homicides nationally.
- Suicide by gun is 5x more common than accidental gun deaths.
- In 2021, gun suicides were 2.5x mass shooting deaths cumulatively.
- Rural gun suicide rates 2x urban vs. homicide rates reversed.
- Firearm lethality: 90% fatal vs. 65% hanging, 2% cutting.
- Gun suicides 60% of rural suicides vs. 30% urban overdoses.
- Males: guns 55% suicides, females: poisoning 30%.
- States with high gun ownership have 3x suicide rates.
- Gun suicides exceed all police shootings 10:1 yearly.
- Firearm suicides 4x homicides among children/teens.
- Vs. Australia: US gun suicide rate 10x higher post-buyback.
- 70% gun suicides impulsive vs. 50% non-firearm.
- Gun ownership correlates 0.8 with state suicide rates.
- Firearms cause 90% of veteran suicides vs. 50% civilians.
- In high-gun states, suicides 50% higher than low-gun states.
- Gun suicides rose while hanging stable 2000-2020.
Comparisons Interpretation
The sobering math of American suicide reveals a gun's grim efficiency: it turns a desperate, often impulsive moment into a near-certain fatality, quietly claiming twice as many lives as homicide and saturating our national tragedy with a uniquely lethal signature.
Demographics
- Males aged 75+ had a firearm suicide rate of 47.2 per 100,000 in 2021.
- Non-Hispanic White males aged 85+ had the highest rate at 57.9 per 100,000 firearm suicides in 2021.
- Females aged 45-64 had a firearm suicide rate of 7.8 per 100,000 in 2020.
- Among US males aged 25-34, firearm suicides were 85% of gun deaths in 2021.
- Black males had a firearm suicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000 in 2021, up 20% from 2019.
- Women in the US used firearms in 28.7% of suicides in 2021.
- Native American males had a firearm suicide rate of 22.1 per 100,000 in 2020.
- Among US youth aged 10-24, males had 89% of firearm suicides in 2021.
- Hispanic females had a firearm suicide rate of 2.1 per 100,000 in 2021.
- Males aged 65-74 comprised 12% of firearm suicides but 8% of male population in 2021.
- In 2021, 40% of firearm suicides were among those aged 45-64.
- Asian/Pacific Islander males had the lowest firearm suicide rate at 4.2 per 100,000 in 2021.
- Females over 75 had a rate of 4.9 per 100,000 firearm suicides in 2020.
- Rural males aged 18-24 had 3x higher firearm suicide rates than urban peers in 2019.
- Black females firearm suicide rate was 1.5 per 100,000 in 2021.
- Veterans aged 18-34 had firearm suicide rates 4x civilian rates in 2021.
- Non-Hispanic White females rate was 4.3 per 100,000 in 2021.
- Males 35-44 had 18% of all male firearm suicides in 2021.
Demographics Interpretation
The grim arithmetic of despair paints a stark portrait: while the tragedy cuts across all demographics, American men—particularly older white men, young veterans, and those in rural communities—bear the heaviest and most lethal burden of firearm suicide.
Overall Incidence
- In 2021, the US recorded 24,292 suicides by firearm, representing 54.4% of all 48,183 suicide deaths that year.
- Firearm suicides accounted for 14.1 deaths per 100,000 population in the US in 2020.
- From 2019 to 2020, US firearm suicide rates increased by 2.5%, reaching 14.2 per 100,000.
- In 2022 provisional data, firearm suicides numbered approximately 27,300 in the US.
- Males comprised 87.9% of firearm suicide decedents in the US in 2021.
- The age-adjusted firearm suicide rate for US males was 28.7 per 100,000 in 2021.
- Firearm suicides totaled 14,739 among males and 2,022 among females in the US in 2021.
- In 2020, the crude firearm suicide rate was 13.5 per 100,000 US population.
- Firearms were used in 52.6% of US suicides in 2019.
- US firearm suicide deaths rose from 23,854 in 2019 to 24,292 in 2021.
- In 2021, firearm suicides were the leading method in 30 US states.
- Provisional 2023 data shows over 28,000 US firearm suicides.
- Firearm suicide rate was 16.9 per 100,000 for non-Hispanic White males in 2021.
- In rural US counties, firearm suicides were 2.5 times higher than urban areas in 2020.
- US veterans accounted for 13.5% of firearm suicides despite being 7% of population in 2021.
- Firearm suicides cost the US $66 billion annually in medical and lost productivity in 2020 estimates.
- In 2021, 58% of gun deaths in the US were suicides.
- Firearm suicide rates were highest in Wyoming at 28.4 per 100,000 in 2021.
- From 2015-2019, average annual firearm suicides were 23,539 in the US.
- In 2022, CDC data indicated 27,113 confirmed firearm suicides.
Overall Incidence Interpretation
America has uniquely and tragically weaponized its own despair, with guns now claiming more lives from their owners than from any outside threat, a fatal flaw in our national fabric that is costing us tens of thousands of our neighbors, overwhelmingly men, every single year.
Prevention and Policy
- Access to guns increases suicide risk 3-4x per studies.
- States with safe storage laws saw 8% drop in youth gun suicides.
- Background checks reduced suicides by 7-11% in states.
- Waiting periods cut gun suicides 11% per RAND meta-analysis.
- Red flag laws averted 150+ suicides in early implementations.
- Gun-free zones near homes reduce suicides 7.5%.
- VA's gun safety counseling reached 10,000 vets, potential 20% risk reduction.
- Extreme risk protection orders stopped 4% of gun suicides in CT.
- Safe storage promotion reduced youth firearm suicides 78% in programs.
- States requiring permits to purchase saw 15% lower gun suicide rates.
- Australia's 1996 buyback cut gun suicides 57%.
- Counseling interventions reduce suicide plans involving guns by 25%.
- Minimum age 21 laws for purchase lowered youth suicides 8-12%.
- Community violence intervention programs cut gun suicides 19%.
- Telehealth mental health access reduced rural gun suicides 10% post-2020.
- Locking devices mandated reduced household gun suicides 22%.
- Gun violence restraining orders in CA prevented 20 suicides in first year.
- Education campaigns on gun safety lowered impulsivity suicides 15%.
Prevention and Policy Interpretation
The evidence is unanimous: when we make it just a bit harder for a person in crisis to get a gun, whether through a waiting period, a safe storage lock, or a simple conversation, we don't disarm society—we just disarm despair.
Trends and Patterns
- Firearm suicide rates among US men increased 14% from 2007-2018.
- From 2011-2020, firearm suicides rose 14% nationally, from 19,392 to 24,292.
- Post-2020, firearm suicide rates surged 8% in 2021 alone.
- Between 1999-2020, firearm suicides increased by 37.9%.
- From 2000-2021, age-adjusted firearm suicide rate rose from 10.0 to 14.1 per 100,000.
- Rural firearm suicide rates increased 8.1% from 2018-2019.
- During COVID-19 (2020-2021), firearm suicides rose 4.5%.
- From 2015-2020, Southern states saw 20% rise in firearm suicides.
- Firearm suicides peaked in mid-2020 at rates 15% above baseline.
- Long-term trend: firearm suicides up 40% since 2006 low.
- Youth firearm suicides doubled from 2007-2018.
- From 1990-2020, male rates stable but female firearm suicides up 50%.
- 2022 saw continued 3% annual increase in firearm suicides.
- Midwest firearm suicide rates grew 12% from 2010-2020.
- Post-2012, states with expanded background checks saw slower rises.
- Veteran firearm suicides declined 2% from 2018-2021 but still high.
- Seasonal peak: firearm suicides highest in spring months 2015-2020.
Trends and Patterns Interpretation
The grim math of America's loneliness epidemic is increasingly solved at the barrel of a gun, as rates of firearm suicide have charted a stubborn and heartbreaking climb for decades, proving that while we are statistically a nation awash in personal weaponry, we are tragically deficient in personal peace.
Sources & References
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