Report Highlights
Non-Hispanic black Americans perish from firearm-related homicides at higher rates than any other race in the U.S.
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Firearm-related homicide rates among non-Hispanic black Americans rose from 19.4 per 100,000 in 2018 to 30.4 in 2021, then declined to 16.3 in 2025.*
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Those aged 20 to 24 had the highest gun death rate among non-Hispanic black Americans from 2018 to 2025: 75.1 deaths per 100,000.
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Non-Hispanic white Americans accounted for the largest share of total gun deaths (including homicides, suicides, unintentional, and legal intervention/operations of war) at 64.8%, while non-Hispanic black Americans accounted for the largest share of gun-related homicides: 70.5% between 2018 and 2025.*
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Methodology
Data for this report were drawn from federal sources. Annual gun death data by intent, age, and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) were sourced from the CDC WONDER provisional mortality statistics database. Offender and victim information came from the FBI Crime Data Explorer (CDE) and FBI Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR). Additional context on race and firearm homicide was drawn from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
Race categories from the CDC WONDER (used in the sections on gun deaths by year, age, MSA, and comparison across races) reflect non-Hispanic classifications. Race categories drawn from FBI and BJS sources (used in the sections on offender and victim race) follow those agencies’ standard convention, in which Hispanic individuals may be included within race categories unless otherwise specified.
Same-race homicide figures exclude unknown races. Data in this report cover victims and accused perpetrators. The SHR reports the oldest offender. Where multiple offenders exist, only the oldest offender was counted.
Figures drawn from the CDC WONDER and CDE from 2025 are provisional. An asterisk (*) indicates that the data are subject to change.
Black American Gun Deaths by Year
Black American gun deaths in the U.S. accounted for 31.2% (97,733) of all non-Hispanic gun deaths (313,611) between 2018 and 2025.* Of those, 80.4% (78,578) were homicides, while undetermined intent accounted for 0.9% (860). 1
Gun deaths among black Americans rose by 57% (9,713 to 15,290) between 2018 and 2021. They then declined by 25.3% (15,290 to 11,424) between 2021 and 2024. According to the CDC, black American gun deaths continued trending down, with 9,779 reported in 2025. 1
Homicides were the driving factor behind the increase in gun deaths between 2018 and 2025. In 2018, the firearm-related homicide rate among black Americans was 19.4 per 100,000. That rate increased steadily before peaking at 30.4 in 2021. Firearm-related homicides began declining in 2022 (27.5) through 2024 (20.3). The CDC reported a firearm-related homicide rate of 16.3 in 2025, although this figure is subject to change. 1
Number of Black Americans Killed by Guns Annually and How
As stated above, homicides accounted for 80.4% of all gun deaths among black Americans between 2018 and 2025.* Black gun deaths attributed to suicides accounted for 16.7% (16,298); unintentional deaths accounted for 1.0% (995); and legal operations and operations of war accounted for 1.0% (1,002) across all years. 1
The percentage of gun-related homicides among black Americans increased from 81.7% (7,937) in 2018 to 84.7% (11,832) in 2020. The rate declined to 83.2% (12,721) in 2021, and then 81.5% (11,575) in 2022. Despite an increase in total homicides in 2021 (12,721), the overall percentage declined due to an increase in suicides that year (2,165) over the preceding years. 1
Suicides consistently account for the second largest share of gun deaths among black Americans between 2018 and 2025. Gun-related suicides increased by 45.1% from 2018 (1,492 deaths) to 2021 (2,165), coinciding with a 57.0% increase in all gun deaths during that period. After the 2021 spike, all gun deaths among black Americans began declining, which is primarily attributed to the decline in homicide totals between 2022 (11,575) and 2024 (8,719). However, the total number of suicides continued to increase between 2022 (2,237) and 2024 (2,325). 1
Between 2018 and 2025, legal intervention, operations of war, and unintentional gun deaths remained roughly steady at around 1% (995) of all gun deaths, while deaths with undetermined intent accounted for 0.9% (860).
Urban vs. Rural Black American Gun Deaths
According to the CDC WONDER database, 49% of all black American gun deaths between 2018 and 2025* occurred in large central metropolitan areas. Medium metros accounted for the second largest share (21.2%) of black American gun deaths during this period, while large fringe metros accounted for the third (15.4%). Small metros (6.1%), micropolitan areas (5.0%), and non-core rural areas (2.7%) accounted for the fewest black gun deaths during that same period. During this period, 480 deaths (0.5%) remain unclassified. 1
Black American Gun Deaths by Age
Individuals aged 15 to 39 accounted for 73.9% (72,256) of gun deaths among black Americans between 2018 and 2025. 1
Over those years, black Americans aged 20 to 24 died at a rate of 75.1 per 100,000, accounting for the largest share of gun deaths (18.8%) within their demographic. Those aged 25 to 29 accounted for the second-highest rate of gun deaths: 64.6 per 100,000 (17.3%), followed by 15 to 19 (54.1; 13.1%) and 30 to 34 (53.7; 14.4%). 1
From 2018 through 2025* gun death rates among all non-Hispanic black Americans aged 15 to 54 were above the national average at 14.5 per 100,000. Children under 9 and adults over 80 represented the smallest shares of black gun deaths by age group: a combined 1.4% across all years. 1
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