About this research<\/summary>\nThis Pew Research Center analysis answers common questions about gun deaths in the United States. It looks at how the number and rate of these deaths have changed over time and how the U.S. compares with other countries and territories on these metrics, among other topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why did we do this?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nPew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This analysis builds on our previous work about guns and gun policy<\/a> in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow did we do this?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nWe relied primarily on mortality data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in its WONDER database<\/a>. Our analysis includes supplemental data from the FBI\u2019s Crime Data Explorer<\/a>, as well as cross-national statistics from the Global Burden of Disease database<\/a> published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Additional information about all sources can be found by following the links in the text.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n\n- How many people die from gun-related injuries in the U.S. each year?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What share of U.S. gun deaths are homicides? What share are suicides?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What share of all <\/em>homicides and suicides in the U.S. involve a gun?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How has the number of U.S. gun deaths changed over time?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How has the rate<\/em> of U.S. gun deaths changed over time?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Which states have the highest and lowest gun death rates in the U.S.?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How does the U.S. compare with other countries on gun deaths?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How many people are killed in mass shootings in the U.S. every year?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How has the number of mass shootings in the U.S. changed over time?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Which types of firearms are most commonly used in gun murders in the U.S.?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How many people die from gun-related injuries in the U.S. each year?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In 2024, the most recent year with complete data, 44,447 people died from gun-related injuries, according to the CDC. That figure includes gun homicides and gun suicides, along with three less common types of gun-related deaths the CDC tracks: those that involved law enforcement, those that were accidental and those with undetermined circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The total excludes deaths in which gunshot injuries played a contributing, but not principal, role. (CDC fatality statistics are based on information from official death certificates, which identify a single cause of death.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What share of U.S. gun deaths are homicides? What share are suicides?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSuicides accounted for around 6 in 10 U.S. gun deaths in 2024<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t% of U.S. gun deaths, by type<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Chart\"](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/04\/suicides_accounted_for_around_6_in_10_us_gun_deaths_in_2024-300149-1777382854.png\")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNote: “Other” includes gun deaths that involved law enforcement, were accidental or had undetermined circumstances.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSource: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This analysis builds on our previous work about guns and gun policy<\/a> in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We relied primarily on mortality data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in its WONDER database<\/a>. Our analysis includes supplemental data from the FBI\u2019s Crime Data Explorer<\/a>, as well as cross-national statistics from the Global Burden of Disease database<\/a> published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Additional information about all sources can be found by following the links in the text.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n In 2024, the most recent year with complete data, 44,447 people died from gun-related injuries, according to the CDC. That figure includes gun homicides and gun suicides, along with three less common types of gun-related deaths the CDC tracks: those that involved law enforcement, those that were accidental and those with undetermined circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The total excludes deaths in which gunshot injuries played a contributing, but not principal, role. (CDC fatality statistics are based on information from official death certificates, which identify a single cause of death.)<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow did we do this?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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How many people die from gun-related injuries in the U.S. each year?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What share of U.S. gun deaths are homicides? What share are suicides?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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