From statehealthfacts.org using data from 2006:
At the website you can scroll over each state to see the exact number. The overall rate for the U.S. is 10.2 per 100,000. The high is in the District of Columbia, at 20.6; the high among states was 19.3 in Louisiana. The lowest rate is in Hawaii–2.5 per 100,000.
I don’t know what’s going on in the U.S. Virgin Islands–the table has a rate of 43.2 per 100,000. Perhaps that’s statistical noise in the estimate due to the fact that the territory has a total population of only about 110,000, which might distort rates given per 100,000 population.
I am also embarrassed to admit that until this very moment I thought the Virgin Islands were somewhere in the Pacific, probably near Tahiti. Turns out it’s in the Caribbean. Huh.
Comments 18
Dee — October 16, 2009
I'm surprised at how low the numbers are for places like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maine, etc. Wisconsin (where I live) has a gigantic hunting culture and probably half the houses in my neighborhood have a firearm in them. Is it maybe that there's just a different cultural attitude about what firearms are for; I.E., whether they're primarily for hunting or for self-protection?
Gian — October 16, 2009
The reported rate for the U.S. Virgin Islands is correct, St. Thomas has seen a surge in violent crime in recent years. It is almost certainly due to a combination of drug smuggling and very high youth unemployment.
Kelsey — October 16, 2009
I have no concrete idea of what the District of Columbia's rate is now, but I would imagine that the rate has gone down.
george — October 16, 2009
It's interesting to compare this to the number of violent crime offenses on the same website. For example Whyoming has a very high rate of death from firearms and a very low rate of violent crime. This suggests that some of the apparent trends on the map may come from the availability of medical treatement, rather than the availability of firearms. For example, in Whyoming there are few people who are shot with a firearm, but those who are cannot get to a hospital in time to survive, while in Massachussets many people are attacked, but medical care is more readily available due to the higher population density.
Gexx — October 16, 2009
Wow, and TN just allowed guns in bars. Just what we need.
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jeff boylin — June 29, 2010
guns dont kill people. people kill people!
James Christy — August 15, 2010
I want to know how many of these gun deaths are Drug related and or Gang related. But we all know those to go hand in hand. How many are also illegal immigrant Gang related.
Add those numbers to suicides and tell me what the number actually is for gun deaths.
Drug, Gang and illegal gang deaths are there own choices along with Suicide.
A gun is not the problem in these cases. A gun is a life choice of how they wish to live and or in Suicide to die.
Those that are to the point of committing suicide are going to do it with or without a gun.
Those living a violent, criminal lifestyle are going to die by there own choices.
sacman701 — August 28, 2010
The low numbers in the upper midwest don't surprise me. I lived in Fargo for 3 years. Hunting is a big deal there (I learned very quickly not to schedule a midterm or anything important on the first weekend of deer season) but the entire culture is very nonconfrontational. You almost never hear a car horn.