The 15 states with the most gun deaths

Mass shootings often dominated news headlines in 2015, continuing an alarming upward trend.

As a result, gun control will likely continue to be one of the principal hot-button issues surrounding the 2016 election.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents polled by Reuters/Ipsos in December 2015 said gun control needed to be addressed. It’s clearly an issue at the forefront of many Americans’ minds.



Of course, the gun control debate hits closer to home for some people than for others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) intermittently releases data on firearm-related deaths. InsideGov examined 2014 data from the CDC — the most recent data set available — on firearm-related deaths to see where the most people were killed in shootings, including self-inflicted deaths. We ranked all 50 states in reverse order by firearm-related deaths per 100K individuals.

Note: Ties in 2014 data were broken based on 2013 data. The state with a higher firearm death rate in 2013 was ranked higher.

 

#15. Kentucky


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 13.8

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 13.7
Percent increase/decrease: +1%

#14. West Virginia


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 14.5

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 14.3
Percent increase/decrease: +1%

#13. Nevada


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 14.7

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 13.8
Percent increase/decrease: +7%

#12. Tennessee


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 14.7

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.4
Percent increase/decrease: -5%

#11. Missouri


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.2

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 14.4
Percent increase/decrease: +6%

#10. South Carolina


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.5

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.2
Percent increase/decrease: +2%

#9. Oklahoma


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.6

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 16.5
Percent increase/decrease: -5%

#8. New Mexico


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.8

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.5
Percent increase/decrease: +2%

#7. Montana


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 15.8

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 16.7
Percent increase/decrease: -5%

#6. Wyoming


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 16.0

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 16.7
Percent increase/decrease: -4%

#5. Arkansas


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 16.4

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 16.8
Percent increase/decrease: -2%

#4. Alabama


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 16.7

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 17.6
Percent increase/decrease: -5%

#3. Mississippi


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 18.0

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 17.8
Percent increase/decrease: +1%

#2. Alaska


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 18.8

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 19.8
Percent increase/decrease: -5%

#1. Louisiana


 



2014 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 18.9

2013 firearm-related deaths per 100K people: 19.3
Percent increase/decrease: -2%

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