GUN DEATHS BY INTENT, 2018
More than 150 Mainers died by gun violence in 2018, an average of three people every week. Suicides were 92% of the gun deaths.
Note: The CDC suppresses data in which fewer than 10 deaths are reported in a given year. In 2018, there were fewer than 10 firearm homicide deaths reported in Maine, therefore these deaths are collapsed into the “other” category.
TRENDS OVER TIME
Over the last 10 years (2009-2018), the overall gun death rate in Maine increased 21%. Increases in the suicide rate contributed to the overall change over the course of the decade; in that time period, the firearm suicide rate increased 27%.
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000
Note: The CDC considers firearm homicide rates based on fewer than 20 deaths “statistically unreliable.” There were fewer than 20 firearm homicides reported from 2009-2018, therefore these data points are omitted from the graph above.
County Variations
Age-adjusted gun death rate per 100,000
- 6.33 to 8.83
- 8.84 to 11.34
- 11.35 to 13.85
- 13.86 to 16.28
- Suppressed /
Unreliable

Among the counties in Maine, Washington County had the highest gun death rate, followed by Piscataquis County and Somerset County.

Conversely, Cumberland County had the lowest gun death rate, followed by Androscoggin County and Hancock County.
FIREARM HOMICIDES
Gun Deaths by Intent
Homicide by Method
FIREARM SUICIDES
Gun Deaths by Intent
Suicide by Method
Resources
Additional Information
Notes
- All rates listed are age-adjusted in order to allow for accurate comparisons between populations with different age distributions.
- All data is from 2018, the most recent year of data available, unless otherwise indicated.
- Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. WONDER Online Database, 1999-2018. Available: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.
Last updated September 2020