2024 BRFSS Survey Results: North Carolina

Firearm Safety

The next questions are about safety and firearms. Some people keep guns for recreational purposes such as hunting or sport shooting.
People also keep guns in the home for protection. Please include weapons such as pistols, shotguns, and rifles: but not BB guns or guns that cannot fire.
Include those kept in a garage, outdoor storage area, or motor vehicle.

Are any firearms kept in or around your home?

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  Total
Respond.^		 Yes No
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
TOTAL 3,180 1,222 41.2 39.1-43.2 1,958 58.8 56.8-60.9
GENDER
Male 1,376 625 48.3 45.3-51.4 751 51.7 48.6-54.7
Female 1,804 597 35.0 32.3-37.7 1,207 65.0 62.3-67.7
RACE/ETHNICITY
Non-Hispanic White 2,005 941 49.8 47.2-52.4 1,064 50.2 47.6-52.8
Non-Hispanic Black 568 179 34.6 30.1-39.5 389 65.4 60.5-69.9
Non-Hispanic Other 146 49 34.9 26.1-44.9 97 65.1 55.1-73.9
Hispanic 442 49 10.9 8.1-14.6 393 89.1 85.4-91.9
AGE
18-34 568 168 33.5 29.1-38.3 400 66.5 61.7-70.9
35-44 493 161 35.6 30.8-40.6 332 64.4 59.4-69.2
45-54 531 217 45.0 40.1-49.9 314 55.0 50.1-59.9
55-64 556 260 50.6 45.6-55.6 296 49.4 44.4-54.4
65-74 533 235 46.4 41.3-51.5 298 53.6 48.5-58.7
75+ 452 172 41.4 35.2-47.9 280 58.6 52.1-64.8
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 326 55 23.8 18.1-30.5 271 76.2 69.5-81.9
H.S. or G.E.D. 665 247 42.5 38.0-47.2 418 57.5 52.8-62.0
Some Post-H.S. 865 366 44.6 40.7-48.5 499 55.4 51.5-59.3
College Graduate 1,315 550 43.0 39.9-46.1 765 57.0 53.9-60.1
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 1,023 402 43.1 39.3-47.0 621 56.9 53.0-60.7
No 2,119 804 40.2 37.7-42.7 1,315 59.8 57.3-62.3
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 328 189 59.7 53.3-65.8 139 40.3 34.2-46.7
Non-Veteran 2,849 1,033 39.0 36.8-41.2 1,816 61.0 58.8-63.2
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 1,690 659 42.2 39.4-45.0 1,031 57.8 55.0-60.6
Unemployed 135 43 32.7 23.8-42.9 92 67.3 57.1-76.2
Retired 923 384 45.2 41.1-49.4 539 54.8 50.6-58.9
Unable to Work 200 72 39.2 31.2-47.7 128 60.8 52.3-68.8
Other not in Labor Force 203 55 28.9 22.1-36.8 148 71.1 63.2-77.9
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 105 27 26.5 17.9-37.5 78 73.5 62.5-82.1
$15,000- 24,999 206 55 31.4 23.9-39.8 151 68.6 60.2-76.1
$25,000- 34,999 251 76 29.3 22.7-37.0 175 70.7 63.0-77.3
$35,000- 49,999 406 142 38.9 33.2-45.0 264 61.1 55.0-66.8
$50,000-74,999 371 149 43.9 37.9-50.1 222 56.1 49.9-62.1
$75,000-100,000 341 160 50.1 43.9-56.3 181 49.9 43.7-56.1
$100,000-150,000 346 177 53.8 47.7-59.8 169 46.2 40.2-52.3
$150,000+ 385 209 53.3 47.7-58.9 176 46.7 41.1-52.3
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 769 227 32.7 28.6-37.1 542 67.3 62.9-71.4
POVERTY LEVEL1
Less than 50% 67 12 15.3 8.4-26.4 55 84.7 73.6-91.6
50% to 100% 205 42 24.2 17.6-32.2 163 75.8 67.8-82.4
101% to 150% 324 109 37.1 30.6-44.1 215 62.9 55.9-69.4
151% to 200% 160 66 39.8 31.0-49.3 94 60.2 50.7-69.0
More than 200% 1,637 763 49.5 46.6-52.3 874 50.5 47.7-53.4
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 769 227 32.7 28.6-37.1 542 67.3 62.9-71.4
HOUSING
Own 2,071 988 48.3 45.8-50.9 1,083 51.7 49.1-54.2
Rent 869 161 19.7 16.7-23.0 708 80.3 77.0-83.3
Other arrangement 215 70 31.8 24.7-39.9 145 68.2 60.1-75.3
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT2
Urban 1,045 267 26.9 23.9-30.2 778 73.1 69.8-76.1
Regional City or Suburban County 920 374 43.7 39.8-47.6 546 56.3 52.4-60.2
Rural 1,215 581 51.9 48.4-55.4 634 48.1 44.6-51.6
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 661 290 46.6 42.0-51.2 371 53.4 48.8-58.0
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 1,051 484 48.6 44.9-52.3 567 51.4 47.7-55.1
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 1,468 448 33.0 30.1-35.9 1,020 67.0 64.1-69.9
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 1,102 400 38.6 35.1-42.2 702 61.4 57.8-64.9
2nd Quartile 994 382 40.7 37.1-44.4 612 59.3 55.6-62.9
3rd Quartile 783 327 43.9 39.8-48.1 456 56.1 51.9-60.2
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 301 113 43.5 36.7-50.5 188 56.5 49.5-63.3

Back to Firearm Safety.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to changes in the weighting methodology and other factors, results from 2024 are NOT comparable to 2010
and earlier years.

***The estimate was suppressed because it did not meet statistical reliability standards. See BRFSS 2024 Annual Results Technical Notes for more details.

1Based on 2024 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. Please see the BRFSS 2024 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

2Based on U.S Census Bureau population estimates at the county level. Please see the BRFSS 2024 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

3NC Dept. of Commerce County Tier Classification, based on respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2024 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 2024 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 18SEP25.

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