Report Highlights: The most commonly used weapons in homicides in the U.S. are firearms.
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On average, firearms accounted for 78% of all mechanisms used in homicides between 2018 and 2025.
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Knives accounted for 8% of all homicide mechanisms in the U.S. between 2018 and 2024.
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Wyoming and Maine were the only two states in 2024 where firearms were used in fewer than 50% of homicides.
Related Studies: Accidental Shooting Statistics, Gun Violence Statistics, Gun Deaths in the U.S.: At-Risk Demographics
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Methodology
This analysis uses data from the CDC WONDER database, which compiles death information by state and at the national level. The CDC includes justifiable homicides in its totals. CDC WONDER does not specify weapon type. It instead describes the mechanism of injury, which we refer to as the weapons they are most likely to represent.
CDC WONDER is a more reliable source for homicide totals than the FBI Crime Data Explorer, which is why we used it to produce our findings.
National and state percentages vary due to suppression values. The CDC reports lower totals at the state level due to suppression rules (totals withheld when the underlying count is too small to reliably report). Percentages and totals may therefore vary between state-aggregated data and national totals.
Data for 2025 were partial and provisional. Some states have yet to fully report mechanisms of homicide. These delayed classifications mean that 2025 figures are unreliable, and should accordingly be used only for directional estimates.
Murders in the U.S. by Weapon Type
In 2024, the CDC reported 20,162 homicides in the U.S. Firearms were involved in 76% of cases; cutting instruments, 8%; suffocation, 2%. Individually counted, other injury types accounted for a small fraction of all homicides (poisoning, fire, falls, vehicles, etc.), but accounted for 14% of all homicides when combined.1
In 2023, the United States recorded 22,830 homicides. Firearms were involved in 79% of cases; cutting instruments, 7%; unspecified injuries, 6%; suffocation, 3%; blunt force injuries, 2%.1
Although 2025 data are incomplete, with some states having yet to report homicide mechanisms at the time of writing (early 2026), 75% of all homicides reported involved a firearm, and 9% involved a cutting instrument. 2
Knife Homicides vs. Gun Homicides in the U.S.
According to CDC WONDER, firearms and cutting instruments were used in most homicides in the U.S. between 2018 and 2025. Of the 156,419 homicides reported during those years, 78% involved firearms. Knives and other cutting instruments were used in 8% of homicides nationwide. 1
The total rate of homicides in the U.S. during that timespan was 6.7/100k. Gun homicide rates averaged 5.2/100k, while stabbing deaths averaged 0.5/100k.1 , 2
| Homicide Mechanisms in the U.S., 2018 – 2025 1, 2 |
|---|
| Weapon Type (Injury Mechanism) |
| Firearm | 5.2 | 77.8% |
|---|---|---|
| Cut/Pierce | 0.5 | 8.0% |
| Unspecified Injury | 0.4 | 6.0% |
| Other specified, not elsewhere classified Injury | 0.2 | 2.5% |
| Suffocation | 0.1 | 1.9% |
| Struck by or against | 0.1 | 1.1% |
| Poisoning | 0.1 | 0.8% |
| Other specified, classifiable Injury | 0.1 | 0.8% |
| Fire/Flame | 0.0 | 0.5% |
| Other land transport | 0.0 | 0.4% |
| Drowning | 0.0 | 0.1% |
| Fall | 0.0 | 0.0% |
| Hot object/Substance | 0.0 | 0.0% |
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