We all know that the rate of gun deaths in the United States is very high: nearly 11,000 this year. In the last study done by the Centers For Disease Control, a total of 25,423 firearm homicides and 34,235 firearm suicides occurred among U.S. residents. That included over four thousand homicides among those aged 10-19, whose statistics was slightly higher than that of victims of all ages.

To further study the numbers, the U.S. was divided into regions (Midwest, Northeast, South, and West) as defined by the Census Bureau and further divided into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The homicide rate for guns in the 50 largest MSAs collectively was a little more than 5 per 100,000 persons per year. Sixty-six of the MSAs had rates that exceeded the national rate of 4.2 (33 out of 50).