Table 1. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Respondents, by Firearm Ownership Status, 2020 California Safety and Wellbeing Surveya.
| Characteristic | Nonowners (n = 1989) | Firearm owners (n = 529) | Nonowners who live with owners (n = 219) | Total (n = 2870) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) [95% CI] | No. (%) [95% CI] | No. (%) [95% CI] | No. (%) [95% CI] | |
| Age, y | ||||
| 18-29 | 156 (17.3) [14.6-20.5] | 12 (8.1) [4.4-14.6] | 23 (24.6) [16.0-35.9] | 200 (16.3) [14.0-18.9] |
| 30-44 | 387 (31.2) [28.0-34.6] | 54 (25.1) [18.6-33.0] | 40 (20.4) [13.9-29.0] | 511 (29.7) [27.0-32.5] |
| 45-59 | 517 (26.4) [23.7-29.4] | 130 (29.1) [23.5-35.5] | 50 (23.7) [16.6-32.7] | 738 (26.7) [24.4-29.2] |
| 60+ | 929 (25) [22.8-27.5] | 333 (37.6) [32.1-43.5] | 106 (31.3) [23.6-40.0] | 1421 (27.3) [25.3-29.4] |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 1010 (54.8) [51.5-58.1] | 126 (26.5) [21.3-32.3] | 166 (74.9) [64.8-82.9] | 1364 (52.3) [49.5-55.0] |
| Male | 979 (45.2) [41.9-48.5] | 403 (73.5) [67.7-78.7] | 53 (25.1) [17.1-35.2] | 1506 (47.7) [45.0-50.5] |
| Race/ethnicityb | ||||
| White | 1035 (36.7) [33.7-39.8] | 373 (60.2) [53.1-67.0] | 141 (55.8) [45.7-65.3] | 1615 (41.9) [39.3-44.6] |
| Latinx | 653 (38.1) [34.9-41.5] | 97 (22.2) [16.6-29.0] | 54 (22.9) [15.9-31.9] | 849 (34.7) [32.0-37.4] |
| Asian | 169 (16.7) [14.1-19.7] | 22 (10.4) [6.2-16.9] | 7 (6.1) [2.6-13.9] | 208 (14.4) [12.3-16.8 |
| Black | 86 (5.7) [4.3-7.5] | 26 (6.0) [3.4-10.2] | 7 (4.8) [1.7-12.8] | 127 (5.8) [4.6-7.3] |
| Multirace/other | 46 (2.8) [1.8-4.2] | 11 (1.2) [0.6-2.6] | 10 (10.4) [4.9-20.9] | 71 (3.2) [2.3-4.5] |
| Education | ||||
| <High school | 137 (18.6) [15.7-21.8] | 6 (3.5) [1.4-8.1] | 8 (10.3) [4.8-20.5] | 158 (15.4) [13.1-18.0] |
| High school degree | 253 (19.4) [16.7-22.3] | 64 (24.7) [18.5-32.1] | 26 (20.6) [12.9-31.3] | 364 (20.4) [18.1-23.0] |
| Some college | 581 (28.1) [25.3-31.0] | 213 (44.6) [38.1-51.3] | 80 (41.2) [32.0-51.0] | 938 (32.7) [30.2-35.2] |
| College degree | 558 (18.7) [16.5-21.1] | 137 (16.5) [12.3-21.7] | 57 (14.6) [10.2-20.6] | 775 (17.5) [15.7-19.4] |
| Advanced degree | 460 (15.3) [13.2-17.7] | 109 (10.8) [8.3-14.1] | 48 (13.4) [8.9-19.6] | 635 (14.0) [12.4-15.8] |
| Household income, $ | ||||
| <25 000 | 334 (16.8) [14.4-19.4] | 52 (8.3) [5.3-12.8] | 19 (8.4) [4.6-14.9] | 431 (15.1) [13.2-17.2] |
| 25 000-59 999 | 539 (26.0) [23.3-29.0] | 128 (19) [14.8-24.0] | 45 (17.8) [11.5-26.4] | 744 (23.9) [21.7-26.3] |
| 60 000-99 999 | 523 (23.1) [20.4-26.0] | 132 (19.1) [14.8-24.2] | 60 (20.9) [14.8-28.7] | 757 (22.6) [20.4-24.9] |
| ≥100 000 | 593 (34.1) [31.0-37.4] | 217 (53.6) [46.9-60.1] | 95 (52.9) [43.2-62.3] | 938 (38.5) [35.8-41.3] |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married or living with partner | 1123 (59.2) [55.9-62.4] | 344 (66.7) [60.1-72.7] | 156 (64.3) [54.1-73.4] | 1704 (61.0) [58.2-63.7] |
| Widowed | 150 (4.4) [3.5-5.5] | 39 (5.7) [3.6-8.9] | 9 (3.8) [1.6-8.9] | 204 (4.4) [3.6-5.3] |
| Divorced or separated | 302 (10.8) [9.1-12.7] | 89 (13.6) [9.7-18.8] | 22 (7.3) [4.4-12.1] | 432 (11.1) [9.6-12.7] |
| Never married | 414 (25.6) [22.6-28.8] | 57 (13.9) [9.6-19.8] | 32 (24.6) [16.3-35.3] | 530 (23.5) [21.1-26.1] |
| Political ideology | ||||
| Liberal | 738 (34.2) [31.1-37.4] | 109 (20.5) [15.6-26.4] | 68 (31.3) [23.1-40.9] | 940 (31.1) [28.6]-33.7 |
| Moderate | 551 (30.5) [27.5-33.7] | 143 (28.5) [22.7-35.2] | 69 (36.5) [27.5-46.6] | 795 (30.8) [28.2-33.5] |
| Conservative | 511 (23.5) [20.9-26.4] | 245 (43.3) [36.8-50.1] | 66 (24.4) [17.5-33.0] | 882 (27.3) [25.0-29.8] |
| State region | ||||
| Superior California | 142 (6.7) [5.2-8.5] | 79 (15.2) [10.6-21.2] | 20 (5.8) [3.2-10.3] | 253 (8.1) [6.7-9.7] |
| North Coast | 47 (2.2) [1.3-3.5] | 32 (4.8) [3.0-7.5] | 9 (2.3) [1.1-4.9] | 90 (2.5) [1.8-3.5] |
| San Francisco Bay Area | 396 (20.9) [18.1-24.1] | 75 (11.8) [8.2-16.5] | 25 (14.8) [8.7-24.1] | 513 (18.5) [16.3-21.0] |
| Northern San Joaquin Valley | 69 (3.6) [2.6-5.1] | 35 (7.6) [4.8-11.8] | 15 (4.4) [2.2-8.4] | 129 (4.5) [3.5-5.7] |
| Central Coast | 143 (6.0) [4.8-7.4] | 38 (4.9) [3.2-7.4] | 19 (13.3) [7.3-22.9] | 204 (6.2) [5.1-7.5] |
| Southern San Joaquin Valley | 116 (5.4) [4.2-7.0] | 34 (7.1) [4.1-12.3] | 20 (7.8) [4.3-13.6] | 182 (6.0) [4.8-7.4] |
| Inland Empire | 225 (10.4) [8.6-12.5] | 74 (13.6) [9.7-18.6] | 31 (8.5) [5.2-13.5] | 358 (11.0) [9.5-12.8] |
| Los Angeles County | 500 (27.1) [24.4-30.1] | 74 (18.1) [13.4-24.1] | 50 (28) [20.1-37.5] | 647 (25.9) [23.6-28.4] |
| Orange County | 137 (8.7) [6.9-10.8] | 38 (7.5) [4.5-12.1] | 10 (7.2) [2.9-16.7] | 195 (8.3) [6.8-10.0] |
| San Diego–Imperial | 214 (9.0) [7.4-11.0] | 50 (9.5) [6.0-14.7] | 20 (8.0) [4.0-15.6] | 299 (9.1) [7.7-10.8] |
a
Totals may not sum to 100% because refusals and “don't know” responses are not shown.
b
Respondents were asked, “Are you Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino? Indicate what you consider your race to be. We appreciate your effort to describe your background using these US Census Bureau categories (select all that apply): American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, and White.” Among respondents who did not endorse Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino ethnicity, American Indian or Alaska Native (n = 10), Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (n = 2), and those who selected more than 1 race (n = 59) were combined by the authors into a multirace/other category.