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
-MALES 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
RACE
Non-Hispanic White 1,034 464 42.9 39.3-46.5 291 28.7 25.5-32.1 114 13.0 10.6-15.8 165 15.5 13.1-18.2
Non-Hispanic Black 282 162 57.3 50.0-64.4 64 22.1 16.7-28.6 24 9.7 6.1-15.0 32 10.9 7.4-15.9
Other 300 234 82.9 76.9-87.6 35 10.9 7.3-16.1 *** *** *** 21 3.0 1.7- 5.3
AGE
18-34 333 216 64.4 58.0-70.4 65 18.8 14.3-24.2 29 10.3 6.9-15.2 23 6.5 4.0-10.2
35-44 253 137 50.9 43.6-58.2 65 27.3 21.3-34.3 31 14.2 9.5-20.7 20 7.6 4.5-12.6
45-54 303 164 51.0 44.4-57.7 70 23.5 18.4-29.5 29 11.2 7.4-16.8 40 14.2 10.2-19.5
55-64 274 146 48.6 41.5-55.7 64 26.6 20.7-33.4 16 7.6 4.4-12.9 48 17.2 12.6-23.1
65-74 286 135 45.5 38.5-52.6 80 28.5 22.6-35.2 27 10.4 6.7-15.7 44 15.7 11.1-21.7
75+ 170 65 36.4 28.0-45.8 46 28.7 20.5-38.6 16 11.2 6.5-18.7 43 23.6 16.9-31.9
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 173 131 72.6 63.5-80.2 21 15.2 9.4-23.6 *** *** *** 14 6.9 3.8-12.4
H.S. or G.E.D. 425 214 47.6 41.9-53.3 104 26.7 21.9-32.2 48 13.6 9.9-18.4 59 12.1 9.0-16.0
Some Post-H.S. 413 198 48.9 43.1-54.7 103 25.0 20.5-30.1 43 11.6 8.3-15.9 69 14.6 11.2-18.8
College Graduate 621 328 51.7 47.2-56.2 164 26.1 22.4-30.1 51 9.0 6.7-12.1 78 13.2 10.3-16.8
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 71 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 133 *** *** *** 24 19.4 11.8-30.2 12 9.6 4.8-18.4 *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 163 97 55.3 45.6-64.6 31 20.0 13.5-28.7 17 16.7 10.1-26.4 18 8.0 4.6-13.5
$35,000- 49,999 208 110 52.5 44.3-60.5 48 25.1 18.6-33.1 17 8.6 5.1-14.4 33 13.7 9.3-19.7
$50,000- 74,999 231 99 38.4 31.3-46.0 80 36.7 29.6-44.4 28 14.0 9.1-20.8 24 11.0 6.9-17.0
$75,000+ 550 240 44.2 39.4-49.2 154 25.8 21.9-30.1 59 12.8 9.5-16.9 97 17.2 13.8-21.2
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 498 242 46.2 40.9-51.6 119 26.0 21.4-31.3 55 11.4 8.4-15.3 82 16.3 12.8-20.6
No 1,131 627 54.8 51.2-58.4 274 24.0 21.2-27.1 92 10.2 8.1-12.8 138 10.9 9.0-13.2
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 377 136 36.6 30.9-42.7 114 29.1 24.1-34.8 45 14.4 10.7-19.3 82 19.8 15.6-24.8
Non-Veteran 1,260 737 56.1 52.6-59.4 281 23.5 20.7-26.5 104 9.8 7.8-12.2 138 10.7 8.8-12.9
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Urban 510 335 65.4 60.3-70.2 94 17.6 14.0-21.8 37 8.2 5.6-11.7 44 8.9 6.4-12.2
Regional City or Suburban County 435 227 51.2 45.3-57.0 109 23.8 19.4-28.9 40 12.0 8.4-16.7 59 13.1 9.8-17.2
Rural 693 312 41.4 37.0-45.9 192 31.4 27.2-35.9 72 12.0 9.2-15.4 117 15.2 12.4-18.7
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 981 537 51.8 48.1-55.6 231 24.5 21.4-27.9 98 12.2 9.8-15.2 115 11.4 9.3-13.9
Unemployed 85 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 408 172 40.4 34.7-46.4 120 32.0 26.5-38.1 39 10.3 7.2-14.5 77 17.3 13.4-22.0
Unable to Work 120 *** *** *** 28 21.7 14.4-31.2 *** *** *** 18 17.0 10.3-26.6
Other not in Labor Force 38 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 27 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 117 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 11 6.1 3.2-11.3
101% to 150% 132 *** *** *** 24 20.1 12.5-30.5 13 11.1 5.8-20.4 *** *** ***
151% to 200% 133 69 49.9 40.0-59.8 34 28.9 20.6-38.8 14 10.4 5.9-17.8 16 10.8 5.9-18.9
More than 200% 940 424 43.8 40.1-47.7 262 27.3 24.1-30.7 101 13.3 10.7-16.4 153 15.6 13.1-18.5
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 427 201 42.7 36.9-48.7 117 30.2 25.0-36.0 45 12.9 9.0-18.1 64 14.2 10.7-18.7
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 679 348 49.5 44.9-54.2 165 25.2 21.3-29.4 70 12.4 9.6-15.9 96 12.9 10.3-16.0
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 532 325 61.0 55.9-65.8 113 20.6 16.9-24.9 34 7.5 5.0-11.0 60 11.0 8.2-14.5
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 505 303 58.8 53.5-63.8 115 23.8 19.6-28.6 37 8.4 5.8-12.0 50 9.0 6.5-12.3
2nd Quartile 432 215 50.5 44.9-56.2 109 23.7 19.4-28.6 47 12.4 9.1-16.7 61 13.3 10.1-17.4
3rd Quartile 480 252 50.9 45.3-56.4 113 24.0 19.6-28.9 40 10.5 7.2-15.0 75 14.7 11.4-18.7
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 221 104 41.9 33.8-50.5 58 31.9 24.4-40.6 25 12.3 7.5-19.3 34 13.9 9.0-20.9

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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