Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Firearm Deaths in the Southeastern U.S.

There were more than 39,700 firearm deaths, or about 12.1 firearm deaths per 100,000 population, in the United States in 2019.  Nationally, by 2019 the number of firearms-caused deaths per 100,000 population had increased approximately 17% and 18% from 1999 and 2009 levels, respectively.  The twelve-state Southeast region saw its firearm death rate jump from 13.6 deaths per 100,000 population in 1999 to 16.1 deaths per 100,000 population in 2019.  Already a region with a higher firearms-caused death rate than most regions of the country in 1999, by 2019 the firearm death rate (per 100,000 population) in the Southeast was 33% higher than the national average.  A closer review of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, reveals the following about the trend in firearm deaths in the Southeastern U.S. over the past twenty years:

Firearm Deaths in the Southeastern U.S.
Firearm Deaths in the Southeastern U.S.

Area/Deaths 1999 2009 2019
AL 790 830 1,076
AR 388 465 580
FL 1,721 2,324 2,872
GA 1,105 1,247 1,695
KY 525 560 682
LA 779 810 1,013
MS 515 487 710
NC 1,057 1,112 1,397
SC 552 634 1,012
TN 848 966 1,270
VA 823 836 1,025
WV 250 251 300
Region 9,353 10,522 13,632
U.S. 28,874 31,347 39,707
Area/Death Rate* 1999 2009 2019
AL 17.8 17.4 21.9
AR 14.6 16.1 19.2
FL 10.9 12.5 13.4
GA 13.7 13.0 16.0
KY 13.1 13.0 15.3
LA 17.5 18.0 21.8
MS 18.2 16.5 23.9
NC 13.3 11.8 13.3
SC 13.9 13.8 19.7
TN 15.0 15.3 18.6
VA 11.8 10.5 12.0
WV 13.8 13.6 16.7
Region 13.6 13.5 16.1
U.S. 10.3 10.2 12.1

(*) number of firearm-caused deaths per 100,000 population; death count includes both intentional and unintentional fatalities caused by a firearm

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2020. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on June 2, 2021

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