2024 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 3,105 1,958 60.2 58.1-62.3 670 22.6 20.8-24.4 248 9.5 8.2-10.9 229 7.7 6.7- 8.9
-MALES 1,359 751 52.3 49.2-55.4 331 25.9 23.2-28.8 133 11.5 9.6-13.8 144 10.2 8.5-12.2
RACE
Non-Hispanic White 856 383 41.8 38.1-45.7 258 32.1 28.5-35.9 98 13.5 10.9-16.5 117 12.6 10.3-15.3
Non-Hispanic Black 209 124 57.3 49.5-64.7 48 22.9 17.1-30.1 20 10.8 6.7-17.0 17 9.0 5.4-14.5
Other 285 237 78.3 71.3-84.0 24 10.8 6.8-16.7 15 6.9 3.8-12.2 *** *** ***
AGE
18-34 284 190 61.0 54.2-67.4 53 21.6 16.4-27.9 24 11.3 7.5-16.8 17 6.1 3.6-10.2
35-44 214 138 60.0 52.3-67.2 47 22.0 16.5-28.6 15 8.9 5.0-15.2 14 9.2 5.4-15.4
45-54 210 104 46.5 39.0-54.1 57 28.0 21.7-35.4 31 15.1 10.4-21.6 18 10.3 6.4-16.2
55-64 246 128 48.6 41.3-56.0 67 29.8 23.3-37.2 22 10.2 6.5-15.5 29 11.4 7.7-16.5
65-74 218 91 41.1 33.8-48.9 62 28.4 21.9-35.9 27 15.4 10.1-22.7 38 15.1 10.7-21.0
75+ 170 87 47.8 38.1-57.6 43 30.4 21.8-40.6 14 9.2 4.7-17.0 26 12.7 7.9-19.7
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 166 134 74.0 64.6-81.6 18 14.4 8.6-23.1 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 307 163 49.5 43.1-55.9 71 25.1 19.9-31.0 45 16.9 12.4-22.6 28 8.5 5.7-12.5
Some Post-H.S. 346 170 45.9 40.1-51.8 91 29.1 23.9-35.0 38 11.6 8.3-16.0 47 13.4 9.9-17.9
College Graduate 536 281 51.3 46.5-56.1 151 29.0 24.8-33.6 46 9.6 6.9-13.2 58 10.0 7.6-13.2
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 42 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 78 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 86 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$35,000- 49,999 183 105 54.0 45.2-62.7 38 23.6 16.9-31.9 20 13.4 7.9-21.9 20 8.9 5.3-14.7
$50,000- 74,999 157 78 48.0 39.1-57.1 42 25.7 18.7-34.3 22 16.4 10.4-24.7 15 10.0 5.8-16.7
$75,000+ 521 229 42.1 37.3-47.0 158 31.1 26.7-35.9 66 14.2 11.0-18.1 68 12.6 9.8-16.2
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 414 203 45.1 39.4-51.0 108 31.2 25.8-37.1 40 10.5 7.3-14.7 63 13.3 10.0-17.3
No 930 542 55.8 52.1-59.5 219 23.8 20.8-27.1 88 11.2 9.0-13.9 81 9.1 7.2-11.5
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 272 108 37.5 31.1-44.4 77 30.6 24.5-37.5 42 17.9 13.0-24.1 45 14.0 10.1-19.0
Non-Veteran 1,086 642 55.8 52.3-59.3 254 24.8 21.8-28.0 91 10.0 8.0-12.5 99 9.3 7.5-11.6
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Urban 467 330 69.5 64.5-74.1 88 19.6 15.7-24.1 24 6.0 3.9- 9.2 25 5.0 3.2- 7.5
Regional City or Suburban County 408 213 48.9 43.2-54.6 101 26.5 21.8-31.9 46 13.3 9.8-17.9 48 11.2 8.2-15.1
Rural 484 208 38.8 33.9-43.9 142 31.5 26.7-36.7 63 15.3 11.6-19.9 71 14.5 11.2-18.6
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 828 483 55.0 51.0-58.8 197 25.2 21.9-28.8 80 11.3 9.0-14.2 68 8.5 6.6-11.0
Unemployed 63 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 339 151 40.2 34.1-46.7 98 31.8 26.0-38.4 36 13.4 9.3-19.0 54 14.5 10.7-19.3
Unable to Work 85 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 33 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 23 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 91 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 12 12.9 7.1-22.4
101% to 150% 116 *** *** *** 31 29.5 20.4-40.6 *** *** *** *** *** ***
151% to 200% 63 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
More than 200% 761 353 43.4 39.4-47.5 217 29.7 26.1-33.6 96 14.6 11.8-18.0 95 12.3 9.9-15.2
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 275 127 40.9 34.5-47.7 72 30.0 24.0-36.8 36 15.2 10.5-21.5 40 13.8 9.8-19.1
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 429 200 44.6 39.2-50.2 123 29.5 24.7-34.9 48 12.7 9.3-17.0 58 13.1 9.9-17.2
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 655 424 63.0 58.5-67.3 136 21.4 17.9-25.4 49 9.0 6.7-12.2 46 6.5 4.7- 9.0
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 487 278 56.1 50.7-61.4 124 24.7 20.3-29.7 42 10.5 7.5-14.6 43 8.7 6.2-12.0
2nd Quartile 433 247 55.1 49.7-60.4 97 24.6 20.1-29.7 42 10.1 7.2-13.9 47 10.2 7.4-13.8
3rd Quartile 320 165 48.0 41.7-54.3 77 25.7 20.7-31.6 36 13.5 9.5-18.8 42 12.8 9.2-17.6
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 119 61 41.5 32.0-51.6 33 34.6 25.1-45.5 13 15.0 8.3-25.8 12 8.9 4.8-16.1

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

2Based on 2024 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. 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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