Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square
The recent mass shootings at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, highlight the threat gun violence poses to public safety in the United States. And according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the problem is getting worse.
A total of 45,222 people were killed by a firearm in the United States in 2020, the most recent year of available data – up from about 40,000 in 2019, and a 25% increase from 2015. Only three states – Hawaii, New Jersey, and Alaska – reported a decline in deaths resulting from a firearm injury between 2015 and 2020.
In Pennsylvania, firearm deaths have climbed by 18.0% from 2015 to 2020 – the 33rd largest increase among states. According to the CDC, a total of 1,752 people died from a firearm injury in the state in 2020, up from 1,485 in 2015.
The current firearm mortality rate in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, ranks as the 21st lowest among states, at 13.6 deaths for every 100,000 people
Gun sales in the state, measured using FBI firearm background check data as a proxy, also increased over the same period. There were an estimated 1,452,921 gun sales in Pennsylvania in 2020, up from 993,429 in 2015. The 46.3% increase in sales was the 21st smallest among states.
| Rank | State | Change in gun deaths, 2015-2020 | Firearm deaths per 100,000 people, 2020 | Total firearm deaths, 2020 | Firearm background checks, 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 49.7% | 16.9 | 494 | 249,589 |
| 2 | Illinois | 43.0% | 14.1 | 1745 | 7,455,065 |
| 3 | Iowa | 42.1% | 11.2 | 351 | 270,614 |
| 4 | Mississippi | 38.9% | 28.6 | 818 | 366,829 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 37.0% | 21.3 | 1473 | 984,760 |
| 6 | Indiana | 37.0% | 17.3 | 1159 | 1,935,587 |
| 7 | Wyoming | 36.3% | 25.9 | 154 | 91,384 |
| 8 | South Carolina | 33.1% | 22 | 1131 | 530,930 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 31.8% | 16 | 1699 | 890,284 |
| 10 | Colorado | 31.5% | 15.4 | 922 | 680,507 |
| 11 | Georgia | 31.0% | 17.7 | 1897 | 904,035 |
| 12 | Arizona | 30.4% | 16.7 | 1265 | 665,458 |
| 13 | Missouri | 30.3% | 23.9 | 1426 | 708,184 |
| 14 | Texas | 30.0% | 14.2 | 4164 | 2,325,281 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 30.0% | 20.1 | 902 | 3,330,462 |
| 16 | Idaho | 30.0% | 17.6 | 321 | 281,284 |
| 17 | Arkansas | 29.4% | 22.6 | 673 | 324,741 |
| 18 | Ohio | 26.3% | 15.2 | 1764 | 976,751 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | 25.8% | 3.7 | 268 | 262,583 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 25.1% | 8.9 | 513 | 958,391 |
| 21 | South Dakota | 25.0% | 13.6 | 120 | 115,448 |
| 22 | Michigan | 24.9% | 14.6 | 1454 | 1,068,511 |
| 23 | Louisiana | 24.3% | 26.3 | 1183 | 430,537 |
| 24 | Virginia | 24.1% | 13.4 | 1174 | 823,513 |
| 25 | New York | 23.9% | 5.3 | 1052 | 507,940 |
| 26 | New Mexico | 22.8% | 22.7 | 479 | 206,252 |
| 27 | Nevada | 22.6% | 17 | 547 | 219,349 |
| 28 | Oregon | 21.8% | 13 | 592 | 516,096 |
| 29 | Delaware | 20.5% | 14.4 | 135 | 77,057 |
| 30 | Washington | 20.3% | 10.9 | 864 | 781,471 |
| 31 | Alabama | 19.1% | 23.6 | 1141 | 1,085,475 |
| 32 | Florida | 18.8% | 13.7 | 3041 | 1,912,204 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 18.0% | 13.6 | 1752 | 1,452,921 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | 17.0% | 20.7 | 826 | 470,286 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | 17.0% | 12.2 | 717 | 731,618 |
| 36 | West Virginia | 16.9% | 18.1 | 325 | 265,705 |
| 37 | Utah | 16.9% | 13.6 | 429 | 1,216,773 |
| 38 | Nebraska | 16.6% | 10.1 | 197 | 104,511 |
| 39 | Montana | 16.1% | 20.9 | 238 | 172,695 |
| 40 | Connecticut | 15.9% | 6 | 219 | 219,227 |
| 41 | Maryland | 13.4% | 13.5 | 803 | 302,563 |
| 42 | California | 11.4% | 8.5 | 3449 | 1,601,054 |
| 43 | North Dakota | 8.7% | 13.8 | 100 | 85,465 |
| 44 | Vermont | 8.6% | 11.6 | 76 | 57,965 |
| 45 | Maine | 6.3% | 10.4 | 153 | 137,149 |
| 46 | Rhode Island | 5.9% | 5.1 | 54 | 51,369 |
| 47 | New Hampshire | 5.8% | 8.9 | 128 | 174,662 |
| 48 | Alaska | -1.1% | 23.5 | 175 | 98,952 |
| 49 | New Jersey | -6.7% | 5 | 443 | 177,901 |
| 50 | Hawaii | -9.1% | 3.4 | 50 | 20,102 |