Gun violence in the United States continued to decline significantly in 2024, providing yet another signal that the pandemic-era surge has come to an end. Firearm deaths and injuries dropped for a third straight year. Homicides in major cities, mass shootings, and child and teen gun deaths also fell.
Yet the toll of gun violence remains. Even as shootings decline, tens of thousands of lives continue to be lost or permanently changed by guns.
Data helps provide a clearer picture of gun violence trends, informing prevention efforts and highlighting both the progress made and the challenges that remain.
Below, we examine 13 statistics that help shed light on America’s gun violence epidemic.
16,576
The number of firearm deaths, excluding suicides, in 2024
Gun deaths decreased for a third consecutive year, dropping 12 percent from 2023’s total of nearly 19,000. While still slightly above pre-pandemic levels, gun deaths this year were 21 percent lower than the pandemic-era peak of more than 21,000 in 2021. These figures, compiled by the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, include murders, accidental shootings, and homicides deemed legally justified. GVA does not track suicides, which account for more than half of all gun deaths. [Gun Violence Archive]
-14 percent
The decrease in firearm injuries in 2024
Firearm injuries fell to 31,409 in 2024 — down nearly 14 percent from 2023, when there were 36,338. Tracking gun injuries is challenging. The Gun Violence Archive attempts it by monitoring media reports, which may not capture all incidents. Still, the data suggests a significant overall decline in firearm injuries. [Gun Violence Archive]
5,151
The number of children and teenagers shot in 2024
Firearms are one of the leading causes of death for young people. This year, the number of children and teenagers killed or wounded in shootings plummeted nearly 17 percent compared to 2023. Of the 5,151 children and teenagers under 18 who were shot this year, 1,403 died. [Gun Violence Archive]
-24 percent
The decrease in mass shootings in 2024
2023 endured the second-highest number of mass shootings on record, but this year, the number fell significantly. There were 499 mass shootings in 2024. That is 24 percent less than in 2023. Still, this year’s mass shootings — defined as incidents in which at least four people were shot, excluding the shooter — killed 507 people and injured at least 2,169 others. [Gun Violence Archive]
At least 30
The number of transgender and gender nonconforming people killed in 2024
This total is an undercount. Deaths of transgender and gender nonconforming people often go unreported or misreported because the victims may be misgendered or deadnamed by law enforcement, media reports, or next of kin. Of the victims identified by the Human Rights Campaign, at least 60 percent were killed with guns. More than 75 percent of the victims were people of color. In 2023, at least 32 transgender and gender nonconforming people were killed. [Human Rights Campaign]
1,133
The number of civilians shot and killed by police in 2024
This marks a slight decrease from 2023, when police killed 1,164 people — the highest number on record. The number of people fatally shot by police in the United States has remained relatively stable at around 1,000 annually, though the total has risen slightly in recent years and has exceeded 1,000 every year since 2020. Black Americans are killed at more than twice the rate of any other racial or ethnic group. [The Washington Post]
13.6 million
The number of guns Americans bought in 2024
It was the fourth yearly decline since 2020, when gun sales hit record highs amid concerns over COVID-19, protests against racial injustice, other social unrest, and the 2020 presidential election. Gun sales typically spike around presidential elections and major social events, yet gun sales actually fell from 1.36 million in November 2023 to 1.28 million in November 2024. [The Trace]
More than 1,600
The number of federal district and appellate court decisions that have cited the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision since 2022
In 2022, the Supreme Court expanded gun rights in a decision called New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. v. Bruen, laying out a new test for lower courts to use in evaluating the constitutionality of gun restrictions. It placed dozens of local, state, and federal gun laws under threat. Over the past year, The Trace has compiled data on more than 1,600 challenges to gun laws since Bruen was handed down. [The Trace]
8 to 1
The vote of the U.S. Supreme Court in Rahimi, upholding domestic violence gun restrictions
The court’s 8-1 decision in United States v. Rahimi, the first significant Second Amendment decision from the Supreme Court since Bruen, upheld a federal law that prohibits domestic abusers from possessing guns while under a restraining order. It put to rest a constitutional challenge that threatened to invalidate a key protection for domestic violence victims. All but one of the court’s justices joined to uphold the law, reversing a lower court decision that relied on Bruen to strike down the provision. [The Trace]
At least $137 million
The amount of federal funding spent on gun violence research since 2020
Federal funding for gun violence research has grown significantly in recent years, with at least $137 million allocated across 127 research projects since 2020. This marks a substantial increase compared to the preceding five years, which saw just $24.5 million spent. Annual spending averaged less than $500,000 from 2005 to 2015. Most funding comes from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. [The Trace]
6
The number of states that passed laws this year banning all or some firearms at polling places
California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Mexico passed laws to restrict guns at polling sites before the election this year. Michigan was the latest state to ban guns at polling places, ballot boxes, and vote counting sites, but the legislation was not in effect before the 2024 election. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed that legislation into law on December 3, bringing the total number of states with such bans to 24. [The Trace]
-18 percent
The average decrease in homicides across 277 U.S. cities in 2024
Homicides have plummeted at a record pace for the past two years. 2023 concluded with one of the largest national declines in homicide ever recorded, and 2024 is likely to finish with an even larger decrease. Data from 277 cities shows that nearly three in five experienced a year-to-date drop in homicides. More than 70 cities saw homicides fall by 50 percent or more. The vast majority of homicides are committed with guns. [AH Datalytics]
-43 percent and -31 percent
The decline in homicides in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., in 2024
Most major U.S. cities saw homicides decrease in 2024 over last year. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. — where homicides fell 43 percent and 31 percent, respectively — saw some of the biggest drops. The decline in Philadelphia has brought that city’s annual homicide total to its lowest level in a decade.
