Firearm Deaths in New England

In 2019, the United States incurred more than 39,700 firearm deaths, or about 12.1 firearm deaths per 100,000 population.  By 2019, firearms-caused deaths per 100,000 population in the U.S. had increased about 17% from 1999 levels.  The six-state New England region witnessed similar growth in its firearm death rate, which rose from 5.0 deaths per 100,000 population in 1999 to 5.9 deaths per 100,000 population in 2019.  Despite this unfavorable experience, New England remains the region of the country with the lowest firearms-caused death rate per 100,000 population.  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 New England over the past twenty years:

Firearm Deaths in New England

Area/Deaths	1999	2009	2019
CT	199	173	190
MA	195	207	247
ME	113	122	163
NH	71	89	156
RI	56	56	48
VT	57	60	67
Region	691	707	871
U.S.	28,874	31,347	39,707
Area/Death Rate*	1999	2009	2019
CT	5.9	4.9	5.3
MA	3.1	3.2	3.6
ME	8.9	9.2	12.1
NH	5.8	6.8	11.5
RI	5.4	5.3	4.5
VT	9.4	9.6	10.7
Region	5.0	4.9	5.9
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