141 Gun Deaths in South Dakota
Based on most recent available finalized data from CDC (2022).
27
HOMICIDES
99
SUICIDES
15
OTHER
10
CHILDREN & TEENS AGES 1-17
Key Takeaways
The overall gun death rate, driven by the rise in gun homicides, increased 10% in 2022 from the previous year. From 2013 to 2022, the gun death rate increased 57%.
South Dakota had the 2nd highest gun death rate among American Indian/Alaska Native people in the country in 2022.
Young people ages 15-34 accounted for 45% of all gun deaths in 2022. The gun death rate of this age group increased 28% in 2022 from 2021.
Firearms were the third leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1-17 from 2018 to 2022.
An average of one person killed every three days.
Gun violence costs South Dakotans $1.6 billion annually.
Gun homicide rate data is suppressed by the CDC or unreliable for years without a data point on the graph.
Firearm Homicide in South Dakota
70%
70% of all gun homicides in 2022 were young people between the ages 15 to 34.
12X
American Indian/Alaska Native people were nearly 12 times as likely to die by gun homicide than their white counterparts from 2018 to 2022.
56%
In 2022, 56% of firearm homicides were of American Indian/Alaska Native people.
Firearm Suicide in South Dakota
5X
Males were nearly five times as likely to die by firearm suicide than females.
33%
33% of all gun suicide deaths in 2022 were over the age of 54.
48%
White males over the age of 34 accounted for 24% of the population in South Dakota but 48% of all gun suicide deaths in 2022.
Guns are used in the majority of suicides.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death. Age-adjusted Gun Deaths and Rates per 100,000. WONDER Online Database, 1999-2022; & WISQARS. Cost of Injury Modules. 2022
