1,397
gun deaths in North Carolina, including
116
children and teens
(ages 0-19)
39%
Homicides comprised nearly 2/5 of gun deaths
56%
Suicides comprised over 50% of gun deaths
86%
of gun death victims were male
24th
highest gun death rate in the country in 2019

GUN DEATHS BY INTENT, 2019

Nearly 1,400 North Carolinians died by gun violence in 2019, an average of nearly four people every day. Suicides were 56% of the gun deaths and homicides were 39%.

Number of deaths

County Variations

Age-adjusted gun death rate per 100,000

  • 6.31 to 12.11
  • 12.12 to 17.92
  • 17.93 to 23.73
  • 23.74 to 29.58
  • Suppressed /
    Unreliable

Among the counties in North Carolina, Vance County had the highest gun death rate, followed by Robeson County and Graham County.

Conversely, Orange County had the lowest gun death rate, followed by Wake County and Duplin County.

FIREARM HOMICIDES

541
firearm homicides in 2019, including
76
children and teens
16th
highest firearm homicide rate in the U.S.

Gun Deaths by Intent

Nearly 2/5 of gun deaths were homicides in 2019.

Homicide by Method

More than 3/4 of homicides were by firearm in 2019.

FIREARM SUICIDES

781
firearm suicides in 2019, including
32
children and teens
16th
lowest firearm suicide rate in the U.S.

Gun Deaths by Intent

More than half of all gun deaths were suicides in 2019.

Suicide by Method

Nearly 3/5 of suicides were by firearm in 2019.

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 2019, 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, 1999-2019. Available: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.

Last updated January 2021