GUN DEATHS BY INTENT, 2018
Nearly 100 Vermonters died by gun violence in 2018, an average of more than one person every week. Suicides were 85% of the gun deaths and homicides were 12%.
TRENDS OVER TIME
Over the last 10 years (2009-2018), the overall gun death rate in Vermont increased 44%. 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 22%.
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 in Vermont from 2009-2018, therefore these data points are omitted from the graph above.
County Variations
Age-adjusted gun death rate per 100,000
- 6.44 to 9.24
- 9.25 to 12.05
- 12.06 to 14.86
- 14.87 to 17.48
- Suppressed /
Unreliable

Among the counties in Vermont, Caledonia County had the highest gun death rate, followed by Orange County and Windham County.

Conversely, Chittenden County had the lowest gun death rate, followed by Addison County and Lamoille 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