Ohio Has Ranked Among the Worst States for Gun Crime for Over a Decade

By Sam Stebbins Published Feb 7, 10:45AM EST

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Ohio Has Ranked Among the Worst States for Gun Crime for Over a Decade — © Matthew Hatcher / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Firearm sales have hit historic highs in the U.S. in recent years, and the ongoing proliferation of firearms may be fueling a rise in gun crime.

When firearms are recovered at a crime scene or taken from a suspect, they are often reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for tracing. In these cases, the ATF assists in criminal investigations by using serial numbers and other markings to determine when and where a firearm was originally purchased — and over the last 12 years, firearm-related offenses have been taking up a growing share of federal resources.

Between 2010 and 2022, the number of guns traced by the ATF surged by 174%, from 145,600 to 399,400, climbing by anywhere from 3% to 18% in a single year. Most homicides in the U.S. are committed with a firearm, and over the same period, the national homicide rate climbed by over 50%.

While not all guns traced by the ATF were used in a crime — and not all firearms used for illicit purposes are traced — federal tracing data offers valuable insight into trends and geographic patterns related to gun violence in the United States.

Mirroring the national trend, gun tracings are up sharply in Ohio. The ATF traced 17,477 seized firearms in the state in 2022, compared to 6,646 in 2010. Adjusting for population, gun crime has long been more common in Ohio than it is across the U.S. as a whole. In each of the last 13 years, the number of firearm tracings for every 100,000 people in the state was above the comparable national rate.

As of 2022, the most recent year of available data, the ATF traced 149 seized firearms for every 100,000 people in the state, the 12th highest gun-tracing rate among states.

2010: 6,646 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2010: 57.6 per 100,000 people (12th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2010: 47.1 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2010: 4.2 per 100,000 people (24th lowest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2010: 4.8 per 100,000 people

2011: 6,575 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2011: 57.0 per 100,000 people (11th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2011: 47.9 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2011: 4.3 per 100,000 people (24th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2011: 4.7 per 100,000 people

2012: 6,700 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2012: 58.0 per 100,000 people (16th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2012: 49.8 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2012: 4.1 per 100,000 people (25th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2012: 4.7 per 100,000 people

2013: 7,676 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2013: 66.3 per 100,000 people (14th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2013: 52.6 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2013: 4.1 per 100,000 people (25th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2013: 4.5 per 100,000 people

2014: 7,602 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2014: 65.6 per 100,000 people (12th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2014: 53.4 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2014: 4.0 per 100,000 people (25th lowest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2014: 4.4 per 100,000 people

2015: 7,582 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2015: 65.3 per 100,000 people (17th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2015: 59.3 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2015: 4.5 per 100,000 people (25th lowest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2015: 4.9 per 100,000 people

2016: 8,115 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2016: 69.9 per 100,000 people (18th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2016: 65.4 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2016: 5.9 per 100,000 people (20th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2016: 5.4 per 100,000 people

2017: 10,154 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2017: 87.1 per 100,000 people (14th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2017: 73.4 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2017: 6.4 per 100,000 people (14th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2017: 5.3 per 100,000 people

2018: 10,391 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2018: 88.9 per 100,000 people (16th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2018: 77.9 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2018: 5.1 per 100,000 people (22nd highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2018: 5.0 per 100,000 people

2019: 11,215 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2019: 95.9 per 100,000 people (18th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2019: 82.0 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2019: 5.0 per 100,000 people (23rd highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2019: 5.1 per 100,000 people

2020: 14,072 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2020: 120.5 per 100,000 people (13th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2020: 93.9 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2020: 7.0 per 100,000 people (19th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2020: 6.5 per 100,000 people

2021: 18,085 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2021: 153.5 per 100,000 people (7th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2021: 108.9 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2021: 8.0 per 100,000 people
U.S. homicide rate, 2021: 7.7 per 100,000 people

2022: 17,477 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio, 2022: 148.7 per 100,000 people (12th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2022: 119.8 per 100,000 people
Ohio homicide rate, 2022: 6.5 per 100,000 people (25th lowest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2022: 7.3 per 100,000 people

Year	Firearm tracings per 100,000 people in Ohio	Firearm tracings per 100,000 people in the US	Total firearms traced by the ATF in Ohio	Total firearms traced by the ATF in the US
2022	148.7	119.8	17,477	399,397
2021	153.5	108.9	18,085	361,587
2020	120.5	93.9	14,072	306,686
2019	95.9	82.0	11,215	269,250
2018	88.9	77.9	10,391	254,700
2017	87.1	73.4	10,154	239,175
2016	69.9	65.4	8,115	211,384
2015	65.3	59.3	7,582	190,538
2014	65.6	53.4	7,602	170,344
2013	66.3	52.6	7,676	166,426
2012	58.0	49.8	6,700	156,346
2011	57.0	47.9	6,575	149,276
2010	57.6	47.1	6,646	145,604

About the Author Sam Stebbins →

Sam Stebbins is a writer at a673b.bigscoots-temp.com where his primary focus is on government policy, politics, companies, and broad social and economic trends. Sam has been writing in the money and news verticals for over 8 years and holds a bachelor's degree from Hobart College, which he earned in 2010. Sam resides in upstate New York and enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, and skiing in the Adirondack Mountains and across the Northeast.