Firearm Deaths - Age 65+ in United States
United States
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United States Value:
13.5
Number of deaths among individuals age 65 and older due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide or undetermined) per 100,000 population
Firearm Deaths - Age 65+ in depth:
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Firearm Deaths - Age 65+ by State
Number of deaths among individuals age 65 and older due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide or undetermined) per 100,000 population
Firearm Deaths - Age 65+ in
Data from CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2020-2022
<= 9.9
10.0 - 14.7
14.8 - 16.4
16.5 - 20.4
>= 20.5
No Data
Firearm Deaths - Age 65+
- CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2020-2022
About Firearm Deaths - Age 65+
US Value: 13.5
Top State(s): Massachusetts: 3.3
Bottom State(s): Wyoming: 32.9
Definition: Number of deaths among individuals age 65 and older due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide or undetermined) per 100,000 population
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.
Firearm violence is a significant public health issue in the United States. Firearms are the most common method of suicide in the U.S., accounting for more than 50% of all suicide deaths. This issue is of particular concern for older adults, who have higher overall suicide rates and are significantly more likely to commit suicide by firearm — 70% of suicide deaths among adults age 65 and older in 2018 involved a firearm.
The firearm homicide rate is also on the rise. In 2020, 79% of homicides in the U.S. used a firearm, a 35% increase from the year before and a record high since 1994.
According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the firearm death rate is higher among:
- Older men, who have a rate nearly ten times that of older women.
- Those age 85 and older compared with those ages 65-74.
- White older adults. However, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities were disproportionately affected by the firearm homicide spike in 2020.
- Counties with higher levels of poverty.
Community- and policy-level initiatives are key to preventing firearm deaths. Community violence interventions can offer conflict resolution, mental health and social support services targeted at the specific needs of a local community, and they are most effective when partnered with local government agencies that can expand their resources and reach. State-level policy recommendations include strengthening firearm legislation, particularly through background check and permit laws.
Improving access to mental health resources can help prevent firearm suicide. Examples include expanding coverage for mental health care, incentivizing providers to work in underserved areas and investing in community activities and education that promote healthy relationships, skills and norms. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential support for individuals 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.
Interventions in the clinical setting may include implementing a universal firearm injury risk screening that helps normalize conversations about firearm safety between patients and health care providers.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released Suicide Prevention is Everyone’s Business: A Toolkit for Safe Firearm Storage in Your Community in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. This resource can be used to learn gun safety practices and safe storage methods.
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.
Kegler, Scott R., Thomas R. Simon, Marissa L. Zwald, May S. Chen, James A. Mercy, Christopher M. Jones, Melissa C. Mercado-Crespo, et al. “Vital Signs: Changes in Firearm Homicide and Suicide Rates — United States, 2019–2020.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 71, no. 19 (May 10, 2022). https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7119e1.
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.
Price, James H., and Jagdish Khubchandani. “Firearm Suicides in the Elderly: A Narrative Review and Call for Action.” Journal of Community Health 46, no. 5 (October 2021): 1050–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-021-00964-7.
Sathya, Chethan, and Sandeep Kapoor. “Universal Screening for Firearm Injury Risk Could Reduce Healthcare’s Hesistancy in Talking to Patients About Firearm Safety.” Annals of Surgery Open 3, no. 1 (March 2022): e121. https://doi.org/10.1097/AS9.0000000000000121.
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