2021 BRFSS Survey Results: North Carolina

Firearm Safety

Gun Ownership*

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  Total
Respond.^		 No Gun(s) in home Gun(s) not loaded Gun(s) loaded but locked Gun(s) Loaded and unlocked
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
TOTAL 3,697 2,224 58.8 56.8-60.8 812 22.6 21.0-24.3 294 8.8 7.7-10.0 367 9.9 8.7-11.2
GENDER
Male 1,638 874 52.2 49.2-55.2 395 24.6 22.2-27.2 149 10.7 8.9-12.8 220 12.5 10.7-14.5
Female 2,059 1,350 64.3 61.5-67.0 417 20.9 18.7-23.2 145 7.1 5.9- 8.6 147 7.7 6.1- 9.6
RACE/ETHNICITY
Non-Hispanic White 2,289 1,198 50.0 47.5-52.6 599 27.0 24.9-29.3 221 10.8 9.3-12.5 271 12.2 10.5-14.1
Non-Hispanic Black 734 506 68.3 63.9-72.3 127 17.4 14.2-21.2 44 6.5 4.6- 9.2 57 7.7 5.8-10.4
Non-Hispanic Am Indian 116 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 21 9.0 4.3-18.0
Non-Hispanic Multiracial 51 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Non-Hispanic Other 72 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Hispanic 391 343 88.1 83.5-91.5 31 8.5 5.6-12.9 *** *** *** *** *** ***
AGE
18-34 675 447 65.2 60.8-69.4 136 20.4 16.9-24.3 49 7.2 5.2- 9.8 43 7.2 5.1-10.1
35-44 579 362 59.3 54.4-64.1 132 25.4 21.3-29.9 56 10.8 8.0-14.5 29 4.5 2.9- 6.9
45-54 625 369 56.2 51.5-60.8 136 22.1 18.5-26.2 55 10.3 7.6-13.8 65 11.3 8.6-14.7
55-64 640 378 55.2 50.4-59.9 138 24.2 20.3-28.5 46 8.6 6.1-12.0 78 12.0 9.4-15.3
65-74 688 378 53.6 48.4-58.6 181 25.8 21.8-30.2 51 7.3 5.3-10.0 78 13.4 9.5-18.5
75+ 436 254 57.7 51.5-63.6 81 17.8 13.6-23.0 34 9.2 6.2-13.6 67 15.2 11.5-19.9
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 370 289 75.0 68.3-80.7 43 11.4 8.0-16.2 17 6.0 3.5-10.2 21 7.6 3.9-14.1
H.S. or G.E.D. 853 509 56.0 51.8-60.1 184 24.4 20.9-28.2 68 9.6 7.3-12.6 92 10.1 7.8-12.8
Some Post-H.S. 986 549 55.2 51.4-59.0 230 24.4 21.3-27.8 89 9.4 7.4-11.8 118 11.0 8.9-13.5
College Graduate 1,477 870 58.4 55.4-61.3 351 23.6 21.2-26.2 120 8.6 7.0-10.4 136 9.4 7.8-11.4
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 1,197 715 57.7 54.0-61.3 239 20.7 17.9-23.8 104 9.5 7.6-11.9 139 12.1 9.6-15.0
No 2,477 1,494 59.2 56.8-61.6 569 23.5 21.5-25.6 187 8.3 7.0- 9.8 227 9.0 7.6-10.5
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 439 170 38.6 33.2-44.2 130 29.3 24.4-34.8 51 13.9 10.4-18.3 88 18.1 14.4-22.6
Non-Veteran 3,256 2,052 61.2 59.0-63.3 682 21.8 20.1-23.6 243 8.1 7.0- 9.4 279 8.9 7.6-10.3
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 1,976 1,159 56.7 54.0-59.3 450 23.6 21.4-25.9 179 10.2 8.6-12.0 188 9.5 8.0-11.2
Unemployed 189 150 79.8 71.5-86.1 21 12.1 7.4-19.1 *** *** *** 13 5.0 2.6- 9.5
Retired 1,010 564 54.7 50.5-58.8 243 24.1 20.9-27.7 74 7.7 5.8-10.2 129 13.5 10.5-17.1
Unable to Work 285 180 60.6 53.5-67.3 53 17.7 13.1-23.4 25 11.0 7.0-16.7 27 10.7 7.0-16.0
Other not in Labor Force 222 160 67.7 59.0-75.3 43 23.7 17.2-31.7 *** *** *** *** *** ***
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 223 176 78.0 69.3-84.7 21 13.1 7.5-22.1 *** *** *** 18 7.0 4.0-11.8
$15,000- 24,999 346 255 73.5 66.7-79.3 50 14.5 10.3-20.1 22 6.4 3.9-10.3 19 5.6 2.8-10.9
$25,000- 34,999 403 254 60.2 53.7-66.3 78 18.6 14.4-23.6 33 10.8 7.3-15.7 38 10.4 6.4-16.5
$35,000- 49,999 397 223 57.3 51.1-63.3 99 25.2 20.2-31.0 30 7.6 5.0-11.3 45 9.9 6.9-14.0
$50,000-74,999 456 230 47.5 41.9-53.2 140 32.5 27.4-38.1 48 11.3 8.1-15.5 38 8.7 6.0-12.5
$75,000-100,000 382 202 51.7 45.6-57.7 101 27.5 22.5-33.3 31 9.2 6.0-13.7 48 11.6 8.3-16.0
$100,000-150,000 408 196 47.6 42.0-53.3 123 29.6 24.7-35.0 40 11.4 8.0-16.0 49 11.4 8.3-15.5
$150,000+ 345 168 48.7 42.6-54.9 83 23.0 18.3-28.5 44 13.2 9.6-18.0 50 15.0 11.0-20.2
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 737 520 68.9 64.3-73.1 117 16.6 13.4-20.4 38 5.8 3.9- 8.4 62 8.8 6.4-11.9
POVERTY LEVEL1
Less than 50% 92 79 87.5 77.3-93.4 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 313 238 73.6 66.4-79.8 42 16.8 11.6-23.6 15 5.5 2.8-10.5 18 4.1 2.4- 6.8
101% to 150% 332 227 67.9 61.0-74.0 61 18.9 14.1-24.8 26 7.4 4.6-11.7 18 5.9 3.0-11.0
151% to 200% 299 172 55.4 47.9-62.7 71 23.3 18.0-29.6 28 9.0 5.8-13.6 28 12.3 7.1-20.4
More than 200% 1,914 983 50.2 47.4-52.9 511 27.0 24.7-29.5 185 11.1 9.4-13.0 235 11.7 10.1-13.6
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 737 520 68.9 64.3-73.1 117 16.6 13.4-20.4 38 5.8 3.9- 8.4 62 8.8 6.4-11.9
HOUSING
Own 2,459 1,273 51.3 48.9-53.8 645 26.0 23.9-28.2 239 10.6 9.2-12.3 302 12.1 10.5-13.9
Rent 967 768 79.4 76.0-82.4 109 11.4 9.1-14.2 42 4.7 3.3- 6.7 48 4.4 3.2- 6.2
Other arrangement 249 168 67.3 59.4-74.3 54 23.6 17.2-31.4 12 3.9 2.0- 7.4 15 5.3 3.0- 9.1
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT2
Urban 1,104 769 68.4 65.0-71.7 198 18.5 15.8-21.4 70 6.7 5.1- 8.8 67 6.4 4.9- 8.3
Regional City or Suburban County 981 590 58.4 54.5-62.2 206 21.2 18.2-24.5 90 10.7 8.5-13.4 95 9.7 7.7-12.2
Rural 1,612 865 50.7 47.4-53.9 408 27.3 24.5-30.2 134 9.0 7.4-11.1 205 13.0 10.8-15.6
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 1,056 585 53.3 49.1-57.3 255 25.0 21.7-28.6 90 9.5 7.2-12.4 126 12.2 9.7-15.4
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 1,501 877 56.1 52.9-59.3 333 23.5 20.9-26.3 137 9.9 8.3-11.9 154 10.5 8.6-12.8
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 1,140 762 65.5 62.1-68.7 224 20.0 17.4-22.9 67 7.0 5.3- 9.1 87 7.6 6.0- 9.6
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 1,080 715 63.2 59.5-66.7 218 21.7 18.9-24.9 68 7.3 5.6- 9.5 79 7.8 5.8-10.5
2nd Quartile 943 546 57.8 53.9-61.5 218 22.8 19.8-26.1 88 9.9 7.9-12.4 91 9.5 7.5-12.1
3rd Quartile 1,087 646 58.1 54.3-61.7 231 21.6 18.7-24.8 84 8.6 6.7-11.1 126 11.7 9.6-14.2
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 587 317 51.8 46.2-57.4 145 27.0 22.3-32.3 54 9.4 6.5-13.5 71 11.8 8.2-16.5

Back to Firearm Safety.

Data in this table were derived from the Firearm Safety questions.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to changes in the weighting methodology and other factors, results from 2021 are NOT comparable to 2010
and earlier years.

***The estimate was suppressed because it did not meet statistical reliability standards. See BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for more details.

1Based on 2021 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

2Based on U.S Census Bureau population estimates at the county level. Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

3NC Dept. of Commerce County Tier Classification, based on respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

4Quartile of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index
(https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/index.html) for respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

^Use caution in interpreting cell sizes less than 50, % = Percentage, C.I.(95%) = Confidence Interval (at 95 percent probability level).
Percentages are weighted to population characteristics and therefore cannot be calculated exactly from the numbers in this table.

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This page was generated on 19AUG22.

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