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%)
North Carolina 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
-FEMALES 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
Non-Hispanic White 1,255 734 56.1 52.5-59.6 308 25.6 22.7-28.8 107 8.9 7.1-11.0 106 9.4 7.2-12.2
Non-Hispanic Black 452 344 76.1 70.8-80.6 63 14.1 10.5-18.7 20 4.3 2.5- 7.2 25 5.5 3.5- 8.6
Other 330 256 80.7 73.9-86.0 42 11.3 7.4-16.9 17 3.9 2.0- 7.5 15 4.1 1.6-10.2
AGE
18-34 342 231 66.0 59.7-71.8 71 21.8 16.9-27.6 20 4.3 2.6- 6.8 20 7.9 4.8-12.7
35-44 326 225 66.3 59.7-72.3 67 23.8 18.5-30.0 25 8.1 5.2-12.4 *** *** ***
45-54 322 205 60.6 54.0-66.9 66 21.0 16.2-26.8 26 9.6 6.2-14.5 25 8.8 5.6-13.7
55-64 366 232 60.8 54.3-66.9 74 22.2 17.3-27.8 30 9.4 6.0-14.4 30 7.7 5.1-11.4
65-74 402 243 60.0 52.6-67.1 101 23.6 18.5-29.7 24 4.8 3.1- 7.4 34 11.5 6.2-20.5
75+ 266 189 72.6 65.0-79.0 35 10.2 6.9-14.9 18 7.8 4.3-13.8 24 9.4 5.6-15.4
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 197 158 77.1 66.5-85.1 22 8.2 4.8-13.5 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 428 295 65.5 59.4-71.1 80 21.7 17.1-27.1 20 5.1 3.0- 8.4 33 7.8 4.9-12.2
Some Post-H.S. 573 351 60.0 54.9-64.9 127 24.0 19.8-28.8 46 7.7 5.5-10.5 49 8.3 5.9-11.6
College Graduate 856 542 63.0 59.1-66.8 187 21.9 18.8-25.4 69 8.3 6.3-10.8 58 6.8 5.0- 9.2
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 152 121 77.7 67.3-85.5 14 13.2 6.8-23.9 *** *** *** 12 7.6 3.9-14.3
$15,000- 24,999 213 168 79.2 70.6-85.8 26 11.0 6.9-17.3 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 240 157 63.5 54.7-71.5 47 17.5 12.6-24.0 16 6.8 3.7-12.1 20 12.1 6.3-22.1
$35,000- 49,999 189 113 62.5 53.1-71.1 51 25.3 18.1-34.1 13 6.4 3.3-12.1 12 5.8 2.5-12.7
$50,000- 74,999 225 131 58.8 50.5-66.6 60 27.4 20.6-35.4 20 7.9 4.7-13.0 14 5.9 3.2-10.7
$75,000+ 585 326 53.9 49.1-58.7 153 27.8 23.6-32.4 56 9.9 7.4-13.1 50 8.4 6.0-11.7
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 699 473 66.6 61.6-71.4 120 16.6 13.4-20.3 49 8.1 5.7-11.3 57 8.7 5.7-13.2
No 1,346 867 63.0 59.7-66.3 295 23.1 20.3-26.0 95 6.7 5.3- 8.4 89 7.2 5.6- 9.4
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 62 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Non-Veteran 1,996 1,315 64.7 61.9-67.4 401 20.6 18.5-22.9 139 7.0 5.8- 8.5 141 7.6 6.0- 9.6
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Urban 594 434 71.0 66.4-75.3 104 19.2 15.6-23.5 33 5.5 3.7- 8.0 23 4.2 2.7- 6.7
Regional City or Suburban County 546 363 64.3 59.2-69.1 97 19.1 15.2-23.6 50 9.7 7.1-13.0 36 7.0 4.7-10.2
Rural 919 553 58.5 53.8-63.0 216 23.7 20.3-27.6 62 6.6 4.7- 9.1 88 11.2 8.0-15.3
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 995 622 61.7 57.9-65.3 219 22.6 19.6-26.0 81 8.1 6.4-10.4 73 7.6 5.7- 9.9
Unemployed 104 86 85.3 74.7-92.0 11 11.4 5.4-22.3 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 602 392 64.8 58.9-70.2 123 18.5 14.9-22.8 35 5.9 3.8- 9.2 52 10.8 6.9-16.5
Unable to Work 165 115 66.7 57.1-75.1 25 14.5 9.3-21.8 16 13.2 7.5-22.2 *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 184 129 62.9 53.0-71.9 38 27.6 19.7-37.1 *** *** *** *** *** ***
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 65 56 87.8 75.2-94.5 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 196 156 77.7 69.1-84.4 25 16.2 10.2-24.7 *** *** *** *** *** ***
101% to 150% 200 140 70.0 61.1-77.6 37 18.0 12.4-25.4 13 4.7 2.5- 8.7 *** *** ***
151% to 200% 166 *** *** *** 37 19.1 13.0-27.2 14 7.9 4.1-14.8 *** *** ***
More than 200% 974 559 56.5 52.6-60.3 249 26.7 23.4-30.3 84 8.9 7.0-11.3 82 7.9 6.0-10.2
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 629 384 61.5 55.9-66.9 138 21.0 16.9-25.7 45 6.8 4.5-10.3 62 10.7 7.3-15.4
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 822 529 61.5 57.1-65.8 168 22.1 18.6-26.0 67 7.9 6.0-10.2 58 8.5 6.0-12.1
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 608 437 69.4 64.9-73.6 111 19.5 16.0-23.5 33 6.5 4.5- 9.4 27 4.6 2.9- 7.1
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 575 412 66.9 61.6-71.8 103 19.9 16.3-24.2 31 6.4 4.3- 9.4 29 6.7 3.9-11.4
2nd Quartile 511 331 63.9 58.7-68.8 109 22.0 18.0-26.6 41 7.8 5.5-10.8 30 6.3 4.0- 9.8
3rd Quartile 607 394 64.1 59.1-68.8 118 19.6 15.9-24.0 44 7.1 5.0- 9.9 51 9.2 6.7-12.6
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 366 213 59.1 51.5-66.3 87 23.3 17.8-30.0 29 7.4 4.2-12.7 37 10.2 5.8-17.4

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

2Based on 2021 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. 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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