Gun Deaths Compared to Motor Vehicle Deaths

Motor vehicle deaths are on a steady decline nationwide, thanks to decades of applying proven public health-based injury prevention strategies to reduce death and injury. Meanwhile, gun deaths continue unabated. Guns remain the only consumer products not regulated for health and safety in the United States.

The VPC publishes analyses of federal Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention data comparing gun deaths and motor vehicle deaths on a state-by-state basis. The most recent VPC analysis shows that in 2020, gun deaths outpaced motor vehicle deaths in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

Nine out of 10 American households have access to a motor vehicle while a little less than a third of American households contain a gun. To reduce the unacceptable toll of death and injury, firearms must be regulated for health and safety just as we regulate motor vehicles and all other consumer products.

Publications
Gun Deaths Surpass Motor Vehicle Deaths in 34 States and the District of Columbia in 2020 (April 2022)
View the press release

Previous Publications Comparing Gun Deaths to Motor Vehicle Deaths
Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 21 States and the District of Columbia in 2014 (January 2016)
View the press release

Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 17 States and the District of Columbia in 2013 (April 2015)
View the press release

Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 14 States and the District of Columbia in 2011 (July 2014)
View the press release

Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 12 States and the District of Columbia in 2010 (May 2013)
View the press release

Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in the DMV in 2010 (October 2012)
View the press release

Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 10 States in 2009 (May 2012)
View the press release