West Virginia
- Suicides make up 73% of all firearm deaths in West Virginia.
- Nearly two-thirds of all suicides in West Virginia are by firearm.
- In 2019, there were 196 firearm suicide deaths in West Virginia, including 13 children and teens (ages 0-19).
- West Virginia’s firearm suicide rate is higher than most states’ — in 2019, West Virginia had the 17th highest firearm suicide rate in the country.
Data
Firearm Deaths in West Virginia2010-2019
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 West Virginia and the United States2010-2019
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000
West Virginia
United States
Firearm Suicide Rates by County
2010-2019
Age-Adjusted Firearm Suicide Rate per 100,000
- 6.95 to 10.75
- 10.76 to 14.56
- 14.57 to 18.37
- 18.38 to 22.23
-
Suppressed /
Unreliable
[{"county":"Barbour","data":"12.58","test":12.58,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Berkeley","data":"10.54","test":10.54,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Boone","data":"12.95","test":12.95,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Braxton","data":"16.18","test":16.18,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Brooke","data":"12.34","test":12.34,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Cabell","data":"8.9","test":8.9,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Calhoun","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Clay","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Doddridge","data":"21.84","test":21.84,"label":"leg-3"},{"county":"Fayette","data":"10.07","test":10.07,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Gilmer","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Grant","data":"16.23","test":16.23,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Greenbrier","data":"12.61","test":12.61,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Hampshire","data":"10.21","test":10.21,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Hancock","data":"10.17","test":10.17,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Hardy","data":"13.4","test":13.4,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Harrison","data":"11.35","test":11.35,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Jackson","data":"8.77","test":8.77,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Jefferson","data":"7.26","test":7.26,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Kanawha","data":"12.16","test":12.16,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Lewis","data":"13.38","test":13.38,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Lincoln","data":"11.54","test":11.54,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Logan","data":"8.52","test":8.52,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"McDowell","data":"22.23","test":22.23,"label":"leg-3"},{"county":"Marion","data":"10.74","test":10.74,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Marshall","data":"11.59","test":11.59,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Mason","data":"12.54","test":12.54,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Mercer","data":"14.1","test":14.1,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Mineral","data":"10.41","test":10.41,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Mingo","data":"8.62","test":8.62,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Monongalia","data":"8.42","test":8.42,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Monroe","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Morgan","data":"16.08","test":16.08,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Nicholas","data":"16.62","test":16.62,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Ohio","data":"6.95","test":6.95,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Pendleton","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Pleasants","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Pocahontas","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Preston","data":"11.25","test":11.25,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Putnam","data":"7.93","test":7.93,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Raleigh","data":"12.87","test":12.87,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Randolph","data":"16.4","test":16.4,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Ritchie","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Roane","data":"20.83","test":20.83,"label":"leg-3"},{"county":"Summers","data":"14.91","test":14.91,"label":"leg-2"},{"county":"Taylor","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Tucker","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Tyler","data":"Unreliable","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Upshur","data":"12.73","test":12.73,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Wayne","data":"9.45","test":9.45,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Webster","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Wetzel","data":"11.89","test":11.89,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"Wirt","data":"Suppressed","test":0,"label":"leg-na"},{"county":"Wood","data":"8.78","test":8.78,"label":"leg-0"},{"county":"Wyoming","data":"14.12","test":14.12,"label":"leg-1"},{"county":"","data":"11.19","test":11.19,"label":"leg-1"}]
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 West Virginia, White males in particular are disproportionately impacted by firearm suicide. White females have the second highest firearm suicide rate in the state.
Firearm Suicide Deaths in West Virginia by Sex2015-2019
Male
Female
Firearm Suicide Rates in West Virginia by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity2015-2019
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 and males, Asian/ Pacific Islander females and males, Black females and males, and Hispanic/Latino females and males.
Notes:
- The most recently available CDC data is 2019; as such, 2019 data is used where appropriate.
- Unless otherwise specified, statistics reflect 5-year averages (2015-2019).
- 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, 1999-2019. Available: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.
This page was last updated March 2021.