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Official website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means it's official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Pennsylvania Gun Violence Data & Resource Hub

    Data, tools, and resources to prevent gun violence, save lives, and make PA communities safer.

    View the Gun Violence in Pennsylvania Statewide Fact Sheet
    Coming Soon: County/Regional Fact Sheet

    A Public Health and Public Safety Issue

    Gun violence affects the health, safety, and quality of life of Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth. Each year, more than 1,600 Pennsylvanians die from firearm-related injuries, most suicide-related. Firearm-related injuries, fatalities, and crime are preventable, and Pennsylvania is tackling this issue through both a public safety and public health lens, investing in comprehensive and effective initiatives in small rural towns to big cities. 

    Firearm-related Injuries, Fatalities, and Crime are Preventable

    Key Facts + Resources

    Pennsylvania hospitals treated approximately 10,640 new, nonfatal firearm injuries between 2016 and 2021, leading to direct medical costs totaling more than $51 million annually.

    Cost of Non-fatal Firearm Injuries in Pennsylvania, 2016-2021

    Using a rich dataset from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4), researchers from PCCD/IUP performed a statistical analysis of non-fatal firearm injuries from 2016 to 2021, finding the following:

    Read the Full Report Here

    10,640

    Estimated new injuries treated in PA hospitals (2016–2021)

    $308.4M

    Total initial treatment costs (2016–2021)

    $34,837

    Avg cost per initial treatment (2020)

    +107%

    Medical costs (2016-2020) *report includes partial 2021 estimates

    In 2023, 1,807 Pennsylvanians died from firearm-related injuries. The majority of these gun deaths were suicides (60%).  

    Pennsylvania Department of Health

    Violence Dashboard

    The Violence Dashboard is an interactive tool designed to display aggregated statistics for hospital discharge reasons and causes of deaths in Pennsylvania.  Counts, crude rates, and age-adjusted rates can be produced for assaults, self-harm attempts, and suicides by firearms, cuts and piercing, and poisonings. 

    View the Dashboard Here

    Death Cause and Hospital Discharge Summary Statistics

    Violence Dashboard showing ranked counts of 2024 hospital discharge reasons in Pennsylvania. A stacked bar chart compares male and female counts for poisoning (self-harm), struck by/against (assault), cut/pierce (self-harm), firearm (assault), and firearm (self-harm). Poisoning (self-harm) has the highest total, followed by struck by/against (assault) and cut/pierce (self-harm). Filters for dataset type, year, race/ethnicity, age group, and geography appear above the chart. Ranked counts of 2024 hospital discharge reasons in Pennsylvania by gender. Poisoning (self-harm) shows the highest number of hospitalizations, followed by assault-related injuries and firearm-related incidents.

    Ranked Counts of Cause of Death and Hospital Discharge Reason

    Violence Dashboard displaying 2023–2024 summary statistics for deaths and hospitalizations in Pennsylvania. The dashboard shows counts, crude rates per 100,000 population, and age-adjusted rates for homicide (assault) and cut/pierce (self-harm). In 2023, homicide (assault) deaths total 903. In 2024, cut/pierce (self-harm) hospitalizations total 1,066. Filters for year, cause of death, hospital discharge reason, gender, and geography are displayed at the top. Summary statistics for selected causes of death and hospital discharge reasons in Pennsylvania. The dashboard displays counts and rates per 100,000 population for homicide (assault) and self-harm-related injuries.

    In 2024, statewide homicides fell 23% compared to the prior year. During that same time period, aggravated assaults by firearm decreased 15% and robberies by firearm fell 32% statewide.

    Firearms in Pennsylvania

    Produced annually by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Firearms Division, these statewide reports provide information and data on background checks, license to carry permits, and firearm-related crime trends.

    Read the 2024 Report Here
    View Current + Past Reports Here

    1,068,645

    Background Checks Conducted (2024)

    19,254

    Denials Issued (2024)

    What Pennsylvania is Doing

    Pennsylvania has taken a comprehensive, data-driven approach to reducing gun violence, including:

    Pennsylvania’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP)

    Reestablished through Executive Order 2024-02 and charting a plan for the Commonwealth.

    Learn More About OGVP

    Strategic Investments

    Investing in effective community-based strategies through the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) and Building Opportunities through Out of School Time (BOOST) Grant programs and other funding streams.

    Gun Violence Grants & Funding

    Comprehensive Technical Assistance & Capacity Building

    Supporting comprehensive technical assistance and capacity building for organizations working to prevent violence in their communities.

    Gun Violence Technical Assistance

    Connecting the Dots and Analyzing Data

    Connecting and analyzing relevant data sets and supporting new research efforts to better understand gun violence trends and state and local implementation needs.

    More About Data & Research

    Key Issues

    Community Violence

    Understand the scope of gun violence across Pennsylvania with clear data, trends, and insights that highlight where communities are making progress—and where support is still needed

    Read More About Community Violence Here

    Domestic Violence & Firearms

    Learn how firearms impact domestic violence in Pennsylvania, with data that underscores risks and highlights opportunities to better protect victims and families.

    Read More About Domestic Violence & Firearms

    Youth Violence

    See how gun violence affects children and teens in Pennsylvania—and discover data that can help guide prevention strategies and create safer futures for young people.

    Read More About Youth Violence

    Firearm Suicide

    Explore the leading role firearms play in suicide and access data that helps inform prevention efforts, save lives, and support mental health initiatives across the Commonwealth.

    Learn More About Firearm Suicide