Texas tops list of firearm-related deaths in 2021, more than California and Florida

Jesus Vidales, Austin American-Statesman
Updated ·2 min read
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Texas made the top of the list in firearm-related deaths in 2021 with 4,613, surpassing California and Florida, according to a new report by USAFacts, a nonprofit that analyzes government data.

The data were gathered from the CDC WONDER database, which collects data on death certificates and information from the National Vital Statistics System, operated by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Texas first surpassed California's firearm deaths in 2015 and has remained among the top states. Texas had 1,067 more deaths than California in 2021. Nationwide, suicides have accounted for the majority of gun-related deaths since 1981. A rise in mass shootings in Texas and nationwide has steadily added to the number of homicides.

Firearm death rates have risen in 34 states and Washington, D.C., over the past four decades. In Texas, the rate of firearm deaths per 100,000 people went down from 23 in 1981 to 15.6 in 2021. However, the rate is slowly increasing and has reached numbers not seen since the mid-1990s.

Who was most affected by firearm deaths?

The analysis shows that those most affected are men, younger adults and African Americans.

Between 2012 and 2021, firearm deaths in the U.S. rose 90% for Black or African Americans.

Twice as many white people died as a result of firearms as Black Americans in 2021 nationwide, at 29,663 and 14,311, respectively. However, adjusting for population size, the annual death rate was 12 per 100,000 white people and 33.9 per 100,000 Black people in the age group most affected by gun deaths.

The average age in most firearm deaths ranges from 20 to 34, a continuous trend for decades. This age group accounted for more than a third of the 48,830 firearm-related deaths in 2021.

Six times more men than women died in firearm-related incidents in 2021. That year, 41,866 men died and 6,964 women died. Men have experienced a drastic increase in deaths from firearms, from 28,343 in 1981 to 41,866 by 2021.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas tops list of gun-related deaths in 2021, report finds