While Washington’s firearm suicide rate decreased 9% from 2017 to 2018, it was still slightly higher than the United States’ rate.
Washington
- Suicides make up 75% of all firearm deaths in Washington.
- Nearly half of all suicides in Washington are by firearm.
- In 2018, there were 599 firearm suicide deaths in Washington, including 40 children and teens (ages 0-19).
- Washington had the 16th lowest firearm suicide rate in the country in 2018.
Data
Firearm Deaths in Washington2009-2018
Number of deaths
Suicide
Homicide
Other
The “other” category is defined as any firearm death that is not defined by the CDC as a homicide or a suicide. This could include unintentional, undetermined, and legal intervention. To obtain the number of deaths in the “other” category, the total number of firearm suicide deaths and firearm homicide deaths were subtracted from the overall firearm deaths in a given year.
Firearm Suicide Rates in Washington and the United States2009-2018
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000
Washington
United States
Firearm Suicide Rates by County
2009-2018
Age-Adjusted Firearm Suicide Rate per 100,000
- 4.83 to 10.63
- 10.64 to 16.44
- 16.45 to 22.25
- 22.26 to 28.08
-
Suppressed /
Unreliable
[{"county":"Adams","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Asotin","data":"12.09","test":12.09,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Benton","data":"8.47","test":8.47,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Chelan","data":"7.89","test":7.89,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Clallam","data":"12.39","test":12.39,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Clark","data":"7.09","test":7.09,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Columbia","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Cowlitz","data":"8.13","test":8.13,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Douglas","data":"5.89","test":5.89,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Ferry","data":"28.08","test":28.08,"label":"leg-3"},{"county":"Franklin","data":"6.61","test":6.61,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Garfield","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Grant","data":"6.82","test":6.82,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Grays Harbor","data":"9.91","test":9.91,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Island","data":"8.37","test":8.37,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Jefferson","data":"9.56","test":9.56,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"King","data":"4.83","test":4.83,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Kitsap","data":"7.3","test":7.3,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Kittitas","data":"10.09","test":10.09,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Klickitat","data":"9.66","test":9.66,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Lewis","data":"10.79","test":10.79,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Lincoln","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Mason","data":"11.83","test":11.83,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Okanogan","data":"13.73","test":13.73,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Pacific","data":"15.61","test":15.61,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Pend Oreille","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Pierce","data":"8.01","test":8.01,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"San Juan","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Skagit","data":"7.82","test":7.82,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Skamania","data":"22.25","test":22.25,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Snohomish","data":"6.75","test":6.75,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Spokane","data":"8.58","test":8.58,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Stevens","data":"16.49","test":16.49,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Thurston","data":"8.56","test":8.56,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Wahkiakum","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Walla Walla","data":"8.35","test":8.35,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Whatcom","data":"7.34","test":7.34,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Whitman","data":"7.66","test":7.66,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Yakima","data":"7.65","test":7.65,"label":"leg-0"}]
The CDC suppresses data in which fewer than 10 deaths are reported in a given time frame and considers firearm suicide rates based on fewer than 20 deaths “statistically unreliable.” Counties that meet this criteria are labeled “Suppressed/Unreliable.”
Demographics
The majority of suicide decedents are males. In Washington, White (non Latino) males in particular are disproportionately impacted by firearm suicide. American Indian/Alaska Native males have the second highest firearm suicide rate in the state.
Firearm Suicide Deaths in Washington by Sex2014-2018
Male
Female
Firearm Suicide Rates in Washington by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity2014-2018
Male
Female
The CDC considers firearm suicide rates based on fewer than 20 deaths “statistically unreliable” and suppresses firearm suicide rates based on fewer than 10 deaths. Fewer than 20 firearm suicides were reported during this time period for the following races and Hispanic Origin category and therefore are omitted from the above chart: American Indian/ Alaska Native females, Asian/ Pacific Islander females, Black females, and Hispanic/Latina females.
Notes:
- The most recently available CDC data is 2018; as such, 2018 data is used where appropriate.
- Unless otherwise specified, statistics reflect 5-year averages (2014-2018).
- All rates listed are age-adjusted in order to allow for accurate comparisons between populations with differing age distributions.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Suicide Deaths and Rates per 100,000. WONDER Online Database, 1999-2018. Available: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.
This page was last updated March 2020.