Firearm-related deaths
Major differences in firearm-related death rates seen by gender, age, and race/ethnicity.
The Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics collects information on deaths in Washington state from death certificate data. Data on firearm-related death is nuanced when it comes to the two most common causes: suicide and interpersonal violence. In King County, more than half of firearm deaths are a result of suicide. There are major demographic differences between suicide and interpersonal violence that are not presented in the data visualization on this page, but we encourage checking out ‘The impact of firearms in King County Data Dashboard’ to explore this topic further.
The overall rate of firearm-related death among King County residents was 8.7 per 100,000 residents for the years between 2020-2024. In the most recent year, 2024, the rate of firearm-related death among King County residents was 7.9 per 100,000, totaling 193 deaths.
Gender: The rate of firearm-related death was about 6 times higher for men compared to women (15.1 and 2.4 per 100,000, respectively). Firearm-related deaths are more common among men than women in the U.S.
Age: Young adults ages 18-24 (17.1 per 100,000) had the highest rate of firearm-related death than any other adult age group (ranging from 8.7 - 11.0 per 100,000). Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the U.S.
Race and ethnicity: The rate of firearm-related death was highest among Black/African American King County residents (26.9 per 100,000) compared to Hispanic (9.6 per 100,000), White (7.4 per 100,000), and Asian residents (2.9 per 100,000).
Region and City/neighborhood: Residents of King County’s South Region (13.2 per 100,000) had the highest rate of firearm-related death of any region, while those in East King County had the lowest (5.1 per 100,000). On a neighborhood level, Skyway had the highest rate of firearm-related death in King County (21.8 per 100,000), while Federal Way – Dash Point and Southern Rim, Kent – West, and Tukwila also had rates above 17 per 100,000.
Trends: For King County residents, the rate of firearm-related death has generally increased over time, from 7.4 per 100,000 between 2015-2017 to a peak of 9.4 per 100,000 between 2021-2023. When looking at trends over time by race, the largest rate increases have been among Black residents, rising from 17.8 per 100,000 residents from 2018-2020 to a peak of 29.8 per 100,000 residents from 2021-2023, then decreasing slightly to 27.8 per 100,000 residents between 2022-2024.
Additional Resources
King County's Lock It Up Program: Promoting the safe storage of firearms
Notes & Sources
Firearm-related deaths include unintentional death, suicide, and homicide by firearm.
Source: Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics.
To learn more about the Death Certificate data and view the data biography, click here.