Number of U.S. households with guns reaches record low, General Social Survey says

The number of U.S. households that owned at least one gun in 2014 tied the record low from 2010, says a study by the General Social Survey, which found that 32 percent of households have at least one firearm, Emily Swanson reports for The Associated Press. In all, 22 percent of Americans own a firearm, down from 31 percent in 1985. Some might dispute the survey, considering Gallup released a poll last year that said that 42 percent of American households own guns.

While the General Social Survey did not differentiate between rural and urban gun owners, guns are more prevalent in rural areas, with 51 percent of rural households owning a gun, compared to 36 percent suburban and 25 percent urban, Rich Morin reports for the Pew Research Center in a story from July 2014 that used a 2014 survey. Guns are most likely to be found in the South, where 38 percent of households own a gun, compared to 35 percent in the Midwest, 34 percent in the West and 27 percent in the Northeast. (Pew graphic: Gun ownership, based on 2014 Pew survey)

Alaska led the U.S. in most firearm deaths in 2013, with 19.59 per every 100,000 people, says the Violence Policy Center using Centers for Disease Control data. Following Alaska was Louisiana, 19.15 deaths per every 100,000 people; Alabama, 17.79; Mississippi, 17.55; Wyoming, 17.51; Montana, 16.94; Arkansas, 16.93; Oklahoma, 16.41; Tennessee, 15.86; New Mexico, 15.63; South Carolina, 15.60; and West Virginia, 15.10. Hawaii had the fewest firearm deaths at 2.71 per every 100,000 people. The national average was 10.64 per every 100,000.