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
-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
GENDER
Male 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
Female 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
AGE
18-34 360 192 50.9 44.7-57.0 105 30.1 24.7-36.1 35 10.0 6.9-14.3 28 9.0 5.8-13.7
35-44 305 156 47.2 40.7-53.8 93 33.3 27.3-39.9 38 14.0 9.8-19.6 18 5.5 3.2- 9.5
45-54 361 173 46.8 40.9-52.8 98 26.5 21.6-32.0 44 13.3 9.6-18.2 46 13.4 9.8-18.1
55-64 412 208 47.5 41.6-53.5 106 26.8 22.0-32.2 37 10.9 7.5-15.5 61 14.8 11.2-19.2
65-74 501 267 51.9 46.0-57.7 135 26.3 21.8-31.5 39 6.9 4.8- 9.7 60 14.9 10.3-21.2
75+ 329 192 56.7 49.7-63.5 59 16.9 12.3-22.7 26 10.4 6.7-15.7 52 16.1 11.8-21.5
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 119 *** *** *** 27 20.2 13.2-29.5 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 471 212 42.1 36.9-47.5 137 31.3 26.5-36.5 47 11.9 8.6-16.1 75 14.7 11.3-19.0
Some Post-H.S. 622 309 48.9 44.2-53.5 161 27.6 23.6-32.1 69 11.1 8.6-14.3 83 12.4 9.8-15.7
College Graduate 1,076 612 55.8 52.4-59.2 273 25.2 22.4-28.2 92 9.5 7.6-11.9 99 9.5 7.6-11.8
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 89 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 150 96 58.7 48.1-68.5 26 20.4 13.3-30.0 14 9.6 5.5-16.3 *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 213 110 48.6 40.1-57.3 52 23.9 17.8-31.4 24 13.8 8.7-21.1 27 13.7 7.7-23.2
$35,000- 49,999 239 111 46.1 38.5-53.8 73 33.7 26.5-41.7 26 11.1 7.2-16.7 29 9.1 6.0-13.6
$50,000- 74,999 319 152 43.9 37.4-50.7 101 33.1 27.1-39.7 38 13.8 9.6-19.4 28 9.1 6.0-13.7
$75,000+ 890 432 46.4 42.6-50.3 256 29.1 25.8-32.8 87 11.2 8.8-14.0 115 13.3 10.8-16.2
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 723 381 50.6 45.9-55.2 160 22.7 19.2-26.7 74 11.0 8.4-14.1 108 15.8 12.3-20.0
No 1,550 806 49.6 46.5-52.6 437 29.3 26.5-32.1 145 10.6 8.8-12.7 162 10.6 8.8-12.6
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 292 96 34.2 27.9-41.1 92 31.0 24.8-37.8 38 14.9 10.7-20.4 66 19.9 15.3-25.5
Non-Veteran 1,996 1,101 52.0 49.3-54.8 507 26.5 24.2-29.0 183 10.2 8.7-12.1 205 11.2 9.4-13.2
RURAL-URBAN CATEGORY1
Urban 663 422 61.8 57.3-66.1 149 23.1 19.5-27.2 50 8.2 6.0-11.2 42 6.8 4.8- 9.6
Regional City or Suburban County 629 330 49.9 45.1-54.6 149 24.4 20.5-28.7 74 13.6 10.6-17.3 76 12.2 9.4-15.6
Rural 997 446 41.3 37.4-45.4 301 31.9 28.3-35.7 97 10.6 8.4-13.3 153 16.2 13.1-19.8
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 1,196 582 46.3 42.9-49.6 341 29.7 26.7-32.9 135 12.5 10.4-15.0 138 11.5 9.5-13.8
Unemployed 83 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 743 416 54.4 49.5-59.2 177 23.0 19.4-27.1 57 8.5 6.2-11.5 93 14.1 10.5-18.5
Unable to Work 148 75 48.1 38.9-57.5 33 21.2 14.9-29.3 19 15.3 9.5-23.6 21 15.4 9.8-23.2
Other not in Labor Force 114 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 21 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 126 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
101% to 150% 141 *** *** *** 34 29.9 21.2-40.4 *** *** *** *** *** ***
151% to 200% 181 86 44.2 35.5-53.2 51 29.3 22.0-37.9 25 12.9 8.3-19.7 *** *** ***
More than 200% 1,426 699 46.9 43.8-50.0 405 28.8 26.1-31.7 145 12.1 10.1-14.5 177 12.2 10.3-14.4
HOUSING
Own 1,752 847 46.3 43.4-49.2 490 28.4 25.9-31.0 188 12.0 10.2-14.0 227 13.4 11.4-15.6
Rent 402 278 69.0 63.5-74.1 68 17.5 13.5-22.5 27 7.4 4.9-11.1 29 6.0 4.0- 9.0
Other arrangement 129 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 516 230 42.2 36.6-48.0 150 30.2 25.3-35.6 53 11.5 8.2-16.0 83 16.1 12.2-20.9
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 1,049 540 47.5 43.8-51.3 273 27.7 24.4-31.2 110 11.4 9.4-13.9 126 13.4 10.7-16.5
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 724 428 57.6 53.3-61.8 176 24.4 20.9-28.2 58 9.5 7.1-12.7 62 8.5 6.4-11.2
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 788 466 54.7 50.3-59.1 194 26.7 23.1-30.7 63 9.6 7.3-12.5 65 9.0 6.4-12.5
2nd Quartile 621 309 48.9 44.2-53.6 169 26.4 22.6-30.6 72 12.6 9.8-16.1 71 12.1 9.2-15.6
3rd Quartile 642 324 49.1 44.3-53.9 162 26.1 22.0-30.7 57 9.3 6.8-12.6 99 15.5 12.5-19.1
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 238 99 36.3 28.9-44.6 74 34.4 26.8-42.8 29 13.6 8.5-21.1 36 15.6 9.6-24.4

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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