South Dakota
The latest South Dakota annual gun death data.
112 Gun Deaths in South Dakota
Based on most recent available finalized data from CDC (2023).
11
HOMICIDES
89
SUICIDES
12
OTHER
Key Takeaways
South Dakota had the 14th lowest gun death rate in the country overall in 2023. The overall gun death rate increased by 19% from 2014 to 2023.
South Dakota had the 3rd highest gun death rate among American Indian/Alaska Native people in the country in 2023.
Young people ages 15-34 accounted for 42% of all gun deaths in 2023.
Firearms were the fourth leading cause of death among young people ages 1-17 from 2019 to 2023.
An average of one person killed every three days.
Gun violence costs South Dakotans $1.6 billion annually.
This amounts to $1,778 per person.
Gun homicide rate data is suppressed by the CDC or unreliable for years without a data point on the graph.
Firearm Homicide in South Dakota
12X
American Indian/Alaska Native people were nearly 12 times as likely to die by gun homicide than their white counterparts from 2019 to 2023.
2X
Pennington County had the highest number of gun homicide deaths between 2019 to 2023. The county had a gun homicide rate two times the state average.
Firearm Suicide in South Dakota
8X
Males were nearly eight times as likely to die by firearm suicide than females from 2019 to 2023.
51%
White males over the age of 34 accounted for 23.6% of the population in South Dakota but 51% of all gun suicide deaths in 2023.
48%
48% of all gun suicide deaths in 2023 were over the age of 44.
Guns are used in many homicides and suicides.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death. Age-adjusted Gun Deaths and Rates per 100,000. WONDER Online Database, 1999-2023; & WISQARS. National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) and Cost of Injury Modules. 2022
