UNITED STATES—

Key Highlights

  • California scores 67.09 out of 100 on the Gun Violence Severity Index, ranking 3rd nationally, with 2,256 total gun violence incidents, the 2nd highest incident count in the country.
  • Despite recording the lowest firearm death rate among the top 10 severest states at 7.0 per 100,000, well below the national average of 14.51, California logs 49 total mass shooting incidents, the 3rd highest count nationally.
  • California’s composite score of 67.09 is more than double the Western region average of 30.10, with no other Western state scoring above 39.44, placing California in an entirely separate severity tier within its own region.

California does not make the headlines for firearm death rates, yet it ranks 3rd in the nation on the Gun Violence Severity Index with a composite score of 67.09 out of 100. With 2,256 total gun violence incidents and 49 total mass shooting incidents, the state sits in a severity tier shared only with Texas and Illinois.

The study conducted by Ladah Injury and Car Accident Lawyers Las Vegas analysed three per-100,000-resident metrics across all 50 states: total gun violence incidents from the Gun Violence Archive and The Trace (2025 year-to-date), firearm deaths from CDC mortality records (2024), and mass shooting incidents, weighted at 35, 35, and 30 percent respectively into a composite score out of 100.

California Against All Western States: Severity Rankings Compared

Rank State Total Incidents Firearm Deaths per 100K Total Mass Shootings Composite Score (/100)
1 California 2,256 7.0 49 67.09
2 New Mexico 283 26.6 4 39.44
3 Colorado 735 15.3 13 36.57
4 Arizona 556 16.9 13 35.99
5 Alaska 48 24.4 0 31.19
6 Wyoming 34 23.4 0 29.74
7 Nevada 208 17.2 5 27.13
8 Montana 41 20.2 0 25.84
9 Washington 400 11.0 11 25.31
10 Oregon 203 14.2 6 23.84
11 Idaho 55 15.9 0 20.67
12 Utah 96 13.3 0 18.01
13 Hawaii 407 3.7 0 10.50

 

California’s composite score of 67.09 sits 27.65 points above second-ranked New Mexico at 39.44, with the remaining 11 Western states all more than 30 points behind California’s score. Colorado and Arizona each record under 750 total incidents and 13 total mass shooting incidents, placing them in the mid-range of the national index at 36.57 and 35.99 respectively. 

Looking at the Study, Ramzy Ladah, Founder and CEO of Ladah Injury and Car Accident Lawyers Las Vegas, Commented:

“California’s data tells a story that is easy to misread. Its firearm death rate of 7.0 per 100,000 is the lowest among any of the top-ranking states, yet the sheer volume of incidents and the frequency of mass shootings push it to 3rd nationally. This is a state where gun violence is pervasive and public-facing, even as it translates into fewer deaths per capita than the states surrounding it in the severity rankings.”

California’s Firearm Death Rate vs. States With Similar Severity

Rank State Firearm Deaths per 100K Composite Score (/100)
1 Texas 13.9 78.69
2 Illinois 12.4 74.17
3 California 7.0 67.09
4 Georgia 17.6 60.22
5 Louisiana 22.9 59.56
6 North Carolina 16.3 53.66
7 Florida 12.7 53.11
8 Pennsylvania 11.9 52.65
9 Mississippi 28.0 51.56
10 Ohio 14.6 50.94
11 Tennessee 19.8 50.65
12 Alabama 23.7 50.44

 

Among the 12 states scoring above 50 on the composite index, California records the lowest firearm death rate at 7.0 per 100,000, against an average of 17.62 per 100,000 across the other 11 states in that group. 

Western States Ranked by Mass Shooting Frequency

Rank State Total Mass Shooting Incidents Composite Score (/100)
1 California 49 67.09
2 Colorado 13 36.57
2 Arizona 13 35.99
4 Washington 11 25.31
5 Oregon 6 23.84
6 Nevada 5 27.13
7 New Mexico 4 39.44
8 Alaska 0 31.19
8 Wyoming 0 29.74
8 Montana 0 25.84
8 Idaho 0 20.67
8 Utah 0 18.01
8 Hawaii 0 10.50

 

California accounts for 49 of the 101 total mass shooting incidents recorded across all 13 Western states, nearly matching the combined total of the remaining 12 states at 52. Six of those 12 states record zero mass shooting incidents, and the next closest, Colorado and Arizona, each log only 13. The 36-incident gap between California and the second-highest Western state underscores how concentrated mass shooting frequency is within the region.

Western States Ranked by Total Gun Violence Incident Rate

Rank State Total Incidents Composite Score (/100)
1 California 2,256 67.09
2 Colorado 735 36.57
3 Arizona 556 35.99
4 Hawaii 407 10.50
5 Washington 400 25.31
6 New Mexico 283 39.44
7 Nevada 208 27.13
8 Oregon 203 23.84
9 Utah 96 18.01
10 Idaho 55 20.67
11 Alaska 48 31.19
12 Montana 41 25.84
13 Wyoming 34 29.74

 

California’s 2,256 total incidents is more than three times that of second-ranked Colorado at 735 and more than four times Arizona’s 556, placing it in an entirely separate incident tier within the Western region. The remaining 12 Western states combined record 3,066 total incidents, only 810 more than California logs alone. 

Methodology

The Gun Violence Severity Index ranks all 50 U.S. states using three metrics: total gun violence incidents from the Gun Violence Archive and The Trace (2025 year-to-date), total mass shooting incidents, and firearm death rate per 100,000 from CDC mortality records (2024). Each variable was min-max normalised and weighted at 35 percent for incidents, 35 percent for deaths, and 30 percent for mass shootings into a composite score out of 100. California-specific analysis applies the same index methodology across all 13 Western states. The index is descriptive and does not establish causal relationships between any variable and state-level outcomes.

Data Sources

    • Gun Violence Archive, 2025 Mass Shooting Data: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting?year=2025
    • The Trace, Gun Violence Map 2025: https://projects.thetrace.org/gun-violence-map/?interval=year
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Firearm Mortality by State, 2024: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/firearms.html

About Ladah Injury and Car Accident Lawyers Las Vegas

Ladah Injury and Car Accident Lawyers Las Vegas is a personal injury and car accident law firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada, serving injured individuals throughout the state. The firm produces public-facing safety research and data resources as part of its commitment to community transparency and public awareness.