Firearm Deaths - Children in United States
United States
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United States Value:
5.9
Number of deaths due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide or undetermined) per 100,000 children ages 1-19
Firearm Deaths - Children in depth:
Additional Measures:
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Firearm Deaths - Children by State: Black
Number of deaths due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide or undetermined) per 100,000 non-Hispanic Black children ages 1-19
Firearm Deaths - Children in
Data from CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2020-2022
<= 13.7
13.8 - 18.3
18.4 - 24.8
24.9 - 33.1
>= 33.2
No Data
Firearm Deaths - Children: Black
- CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2020-2022
About Firearm Deaths - Children
US Value: 5.9
Top State(s): Massachusetts: 1.2
Bottom State(s): Louisiana: 15.1
Definition: Number of deaths due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide or undetermined) per 100,000 children ages 1-19
Data Source and Years(s): CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2020-2022
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
Gun violence has become a public health crisis in the United States. The United States is the only nation among its peers where firearm deaths are the leading cause of child mortality. Firearm-related deaths are not among the top five leading causes of death in children in any other peer country except for Canada, and the per capita firearm death rate for U.S. children is 9.5 times higher than Canada’s rate.
In addition to the direct physical harm caused by gun violence, exposure can negatively impact the health of children in other, indirect ways, such as reduced physical activity from wanting to spend less time outside.
The firearm death rate is higher among:
- Children ages 15-19 compared with children ages 1-14.
- Black children compared with Asian, multiracial or white children. Black children are also more likely to be exposed to firearm violence compared with white children.
- Boys compared with girls.
- Children in states with higher levels of poverty.
- Children who live in gun-owning households where firearms are not securely locked and separated from ammunition, compared with children in households with firearms that are stored more safely.
Firearm deaths are preventable, and there is a lot that can be done at the individual, community and policy levels to reduce the firearm death rate.
It is safest not to keep any guns in the home, but gun owners can take steps to improve household gun safety, like:
- Making sure all guns inside the house are unloaded and locked away securely.
- Keeping all lock combinations, codes and storage keys appropriately hidden, especially from children.
- Never leaving children unsupervised in a home with a gun.
Communities can offer resources and support to help resolve conflicts before they escalate to gun violence, and can also partner with public health and public safety agencies to examine local trends in gun violence to generate solutions. State-level policy recommendations include strengthening firearm legislation, particularly through background checks and permit laws.
Improving access to mental health resources can help prevent suicide. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential support for people in distress 24/7, everywhere in the U.S. Their website offers additional forms of crisis support, and the previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (1-800-273-TALK(8255)) is still active and usable.
Healthy People 2030 has several violence prevention objectives related to firearms, including:
Davis, Ari, Lisa Geller, Rose Kim, Silvia Villarreal, Alexander McCourt, Janel Cubbage, and Cassandra Crifasi. “A Year in Review: 2020 Gun Deaths in the U.S.” Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, 2022. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/2020-gun-deaths-in-the-us-4-28-2022-b.pdf.
Grossman, David C. “Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries.” JAMA 293, no. 6 (February 9, 2005): 707. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.6.707.
Lee, Lois K., Eric W. Fleegler, Caitlin Farrell, Elorm Avakame, Saranya Srinivasan, David Hemenway, and Michael C. Monuteaux. “Firearm Laws and Firearm Homicides: A Systematic Review.” JAMA Internal Medicine 177, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 106. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.7051.
Martin, Rachel, Sonali Rajan, Faizah Shareef, Kristal C. Xie, Kalice A. Allen, Marc Zimmerman, and Jonathan Jay. “Racial Disparities in Child Exposure to Firearm Violence Before and During COVID-19.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 63, no. 2 (August 2022): 204–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.02.007.
Roberts, Bailey K., Colleen P. Nofi, Emma Cornell, Sandeep Kapoor, Laura Harrison, and Chethan Sathya. “Trends and Disparities in Firearm Deaths Among Children.” Pediatrics 152, no. 3 (September 1, 2023): e2023061296. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-061296.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2024. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/firearm-violence-advisory.pdf.
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