Table 1. Largest Decreases and Increases in County-Level Firearm Death Rates, 1989 to 1993 vs 2015 to 2019.
| Rank | Largest decreases in firearm death rates (per 100 000) | Largest increases in firearm death rates (per 100 000) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County name | State | Population sizeb | Age-standardized ratea | Rate change, %c | County name | State | Population sizeb | Age-standardized ratea | Rate change, %c | |||
| 1989-1993 | 2015-2019 | 1989-1993 | 2015-2019 | |||||||||
| 1 | Hinsdale | Colorado | 765 | DS | DS | −76.58 (NA) | Terrell | Texas | 996 | DS | DS | 102.79 (802.16) |
| 2 | King | Texas | 307 | DS | DS | −64.26 (NA) | Keya Paha | Nebraska | 902 | DS | DS | 68.95 (NA) |
| 3 | Meagher | Montana | 1999 | DS | DS | −62.11 (−78.14) | McMullen | Texas | 883 | DS | DS | 55.85 (NA) |
| 4 | Alpine | California | 1159 | DS | DS | −49.63 (NA) | Carter | Montana | 1320 | DS | DS | 43.13 (471.95) |
| 5 | District of Columbia | DC | 55 0521 | 60.87 | 15.99 | −44.88 (−73.73) | Deer Lodge | Montana | 8948 | DS | DS | 41.69 (405.7) |
| 6 | Storey | Nevada | 4074 | DS | DS | −44.8 (−57.31) | Graham | Kansas | 2721 | DS | DS | 41.14 (629.76) |
| 7 | Oldham | Texas | 2118 | DS | DS | −40.44 (NA) | Harney | Oregon | 6898 | DS | DS | 38.98 (745.21) |
| 8 | Pershing | Nevada | 6360 | DS | DS | −39.32 (−66.69) | Campbell | South Dakota | 1565 | DS | DS | 38.43 (NA) |
| 9 | Daggett | Utah | 943 | DS | DS | −38.15 (−49.39) | La Paz | Arizona | 20 238 | DS | DS | 37.93 (NA) |
| 10 | Houston | Tennessee | 7988 | DS | DS | −36.86 (−93.17) | Blaine | Nebraska | 484 | DS | DS | 36.75 (NA) |
| 11 | Cumberland | Virginia | 9378 | DS | DS | −35.85 (−81.58) | Taliaferro | Georgia | 1826 | DS | DS | 36.05 (NA) |
| 12 | Winchester City | Virginia | 25 119 | 56.22 | 20.55 | −35.67 (−63.44) | Huerfano | Colorado | 7771 | DS | DS | 35.8 (226.34) |
| 13 | Kenedy | Texas | 417 | DS | DS | −33.72 (NA) | Haakon | South Dakota | 1912 | DS | DS | 35.29 (342.56) |
| 14 | Lafayette | Florida | 7953 | DS | DS | −33.45 (−94.65) | Foard | Texas | 1518 | DS | DS | 35.21 (NA) |
| 15 | Cottle | Texas | 1746 | DS | DS | −33.32 (NA) | Stafford | Kansas | 4488 | DS | DS | 34.87 (326.49) |
| 16 | Keweenaw | Michigan | 2195 | DS | DS | −33.02 (NA) | Esmeralda | Nevada | 787 | DS | DS | 34.25 (236.76) |
| 17 | Wheeler | Oregon | 1455 | DS | DS | −32.97 (−38.77) | Custer | Colorado | 3860 | DS | DS | 34.01 (297.4) |
| 18 | Motley | Texas | 1299 | DS | DS | −32.6 (−58.16) | Sweet Grass | Montana | 3672 | DS | DS | 32.92 (281.77) |
| 19 | Throckmorton | Texas | 1618 | DS | DS | −32.47 (−74.65) | Rich | Utah | 2051 | DS | DS | 30.5 (132.84) |
| 20 | Fulton | Kentucky | 7217 | DS | DS | −30.35 (−68.06) | Eddy | North Dakota | 2626 | DS | DS | 30.41 (NA) |
| 21 | Sanborn | South Dakota | 2541 | DS | DS | −29.46 (NA) | Loving | Texas | 62 | DS | DS | 29.3 (NA) |
| 22 | Sheridan | North Dakota | 1430 | DS | DS | −28.91 (NA) | Wells | North Dakota | 4574 | DS | DS | 28.6 (NA) |
| 23 | Hall | Texas | 3700 | DS | DS | −28.76 (−68.46) | Sierra | California | 3434 | DS | DS | 27.74 (124.82) |
| 24 | Garfield | Nebraska | 1816 | DS | DS | −28.27 (NA) | Sherman | Oregon | 1749 | DS | DS | 27.63 (91.65) |
| 25 | Hyde | North Carolina | 5413 | DS | DS | −26.93 (−86.4) | Adams | Idaho | 3591 | DS | DS | 27.39 (166.46) |
Abbreviations: DS, data suppressed; NA, not applicable.
a
Rates based on small counts (<10), or which could be derived from rate change, were suppressed to preserve data confidentiality.
b
Population sizes were based on estimates from 2005 (ie, study period midpoint).
c
Percentage change is not available for counties that have rates that equal 0. For example, dividing by 0 produces unmeaningful estimates (ie, infinity).