Percentage of public school students in grades 9-12 who reported carrying a weapon at least 1 day during the previous 30 days, by location and state: Selected years, 2005 through 2015

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]

State

Anywhere (including on school property)1

On school property2

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

United States3

18.5

(0.80)

18.0

(0.87)

17.5

(0.73)

16.6

(0.65)

17.9

(0.73)

16.2

(0.91)

6.5

(0.46)

5.9

(0.37)

5.6

(0.32)

5.4

(0.35)

5.2

(0.44)

4.1

(0.29)

Alabama

21.0

(1.72)

—

(†)

22.9

(2.27)

21.5

(1.54)

23.1

(1.55)

22.5

(1.91)

8.4

(1.44)

—

(†)

8.7

(1.42)

8.2

(1.02)

5.5

(0.56)

5.6

(1.15)

Alaska

—

(†)

24.4

(1.61)

20.0

(1.30)

19.0

(1.19)

19.2

(1.31)

—

(†)

—

(†)

8.4

(1.07)

7.8

(0.83)

5.7

(0.72)

6.1

(0.80)

8.2

(0.87)

Arizona

20.6

(0.84)

20.5

(0.91)

19.9

(1.25)

17.5

(1.17)

17.5

(1.17)

18.0

(1.28)

7.4

(0.53)

7.0

(0.75)

6.5

(0.64)

5.7

(0.59)

4.8

(0.86)

4.5

(0.93)

Arkansas

25.9

(1.15)

20.7

(1.36)

22.9

(1.82)

21.1

(1.76)

27.1

(1.76)

21.0

(1.40)

10.5

(1.10)

6.8

(0.85)

8.4

(1.02)

6.5

(0.95)

9.1

(1.10)

5.4

(0.90)

California

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

8.9

(1.25)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

2.8

(0.50)

Colorado

17.0

(1.57)

—

(†)

16.7

(1.27)

15.5

(1.31)

—

(†)

—

(†)

5.4

(0.81)

—

(†)

5.5

(0.90)

5.5

(0.69)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Connecticut

16.3

(1.30)

17.2

(1.72)

12.4

(0.89)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

6.4

(0.83)

5.5

(1.03)

3.9

(0.45)

6.6

(0.67)

6.6

(0.82)

6.2

(0.59)

Delaware

16.6

(1.04)

17.1

(1.00)

18.5

(0.92)

13.5

(0.88)

14.4

(0.80)

13.0

(0.91)

5.7

(0.54)

5.4

(0.55)

5.1

(0.59)

5.2

(0.57)

3.1

(0.34)

4.0

(0.54)

District of Columbia

17.2

(1.11)

21.3

(1.45)

—

(†)

18.9

(1.34)

20.0

(0.47)

18.1

(0.40)

6.7

(0.60)

7.4

(0.76)

—

(†)

5.5

(0.88)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Florida

15.2

(0.68)

18.0

(0.93)

17.3

(0.60)

15.6

(0.76)

15.7

(0.67)

15.4

(0.92)

4.7

(0.41)

5.6

(0.41)

4.7

(0.35)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Georgia

22.1

(1.99)

19.5

(0.96)

18.8

(1.11)

22.8

(2.25)

18.5

(1.51)

—

(†)

7.5

(1.50)

5.3

(0.48)

6.0

(0.90)

8.6

(1.80)

4.2

(0.66)

—

(†)

Hawaii

13.3

(1.03)

14.8

(1.56)

15.9

(2.06)

13.9

(0.81)

10.5

(0.87)

10.7

(0.58)

4.9

(0.72)

3.7

(0.92)

4.7

(0.63)

4.2

(0.45)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Idaho

23.9

(1.45)

23.6

(1.35)

21.8

(1.15)

22.8

(1.30)

27.1

(1.31)

28.2

(1.52)

—

(†)

8.9

(0.96)

6.7

(0.59)

6.3

(0.78)

6.5

(0.92)

6.8

(1.02)

Illinois

—

(†)

14.3

(1.01)

16.0

(1.04)

12.6

(0.91)

15.8

(1.22)

15.4

(1.41)

—

(†)

3.7

(0.67)

4.8

(0.59)

3.9

(0.53)

4.7

(0.57)

4.3

(0.51)

Indiana

19.2

(1.25)

20.9

(0.80)

18.1

(1.58)

17.0

(1.46)

—

(†)

19.6

(1.84)

5.8

(0.71)

6.9

(0.64)

5.7

(0.80)

3.7

(0.46)

—

(†)

5.6

(1.13)

Iowa

15.7

(1.49)

12.8

(1.13)

—

(†)

15.8

(1.26)

—

(†)

—

(†)

4.3

(0.70)

4.4

(0.61)

—

(†)

4.5

(0.76)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Kansas

16.2

(1.37)

18.4

(1.19)

16.0

(1.26)

—

(†)

16.1

(0.87)

—

(†)

4.9

(0.85)

5.7

(0.75)

5.1

(0.65)

5.2

(0.72)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Kentucky

23.1

(1.49)

24.4

(1.08)

21.7

(1.72)

22.8

(1.72)

20.7

(1.35)

23.1

(1.62)

6.8

(0.72)

8.0

(0.59)

6.5

(0.77)

7.4

(1.25)

6.4

(0.73)

6.5

(1.03)

Louisiana

—

(†)

—

(†)

19.6

(1.73)

22.2

(0.98)

22.8

(2.78)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

5.8

(1.12)

4.2

(1.01)

7.0

(1.37)

—

(†)

Maine

18.3

(2.00)

15.0

(1.47)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

5.9

(1.03)

4.9

(0.70)

—

(†)

8.0

(0.45)

7.1

(0.46)

5.8

(0.37)

Maryland

19.1

(1.59)

19.3

(1.51)

16.6

(1.19)

15.9

(1.10)

15.8

(0.27)

14.9

(0.24)

6.9

(0.88)

5.9

(0.81)

4.6

(0.58)

5.3

(0.55)

4.8

(0.13)

4.3

(0.14)

Massachusetts

15.2

(0.88)

14.9

(0.88)

12.8

(1.00)

12.3

(0.95)

11.6

(0.83)

12.6

(1.20)

5.8

(0.59)

5.0

(0.48)

4.4

(0.58)

3.7

(0.46)

3.1

(0.50)

3.2

(0.38)

Michigan

15.8

(1.49)

17.9

(1.30)

16.6

(0.69)

15.7

(0.94)

15.5

(1.06)

16.6

(1.50)

4.7

(0.54)

5.0

(0.66)

5.4

(0.33)

3.5

(0.37)

3.8

(0.35)

3.6

(0.60)

Minnesota

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Mississippi

—

(†)

17.3

(1.33)

17.2

(1.02)

18.0

(1.39)

19.1

(1.56)

21.0

(1.50)

—

(†)

4.8

(0.60)

4.5

(0.48)

4.2

(0.76)

4.1

(0.66)

5.2

(0.51)

Missouri

19.4

(1.79)

18.6

(1.48)

16.0

(1.44)

—

(†)

22.2

(1.93)

22.1

(1.72)

7.3

(0.99)

4.6

(0.83)

5.3

(1.02)

—

(†)

—

(†)

5.9

(0.68)

Montana

21.4

(1.20)

22.1

(0.76)

23.0

(1.07)

23.5

(0.96)

25.7

(0.84)

26.4

(0.94)

10.2

(0.89)

9.7

(0.57)

7.9

(0.67)

9.3

(0.69)

9.9

(0.58)

10.6

(0.80)

Nebraska

17.9

(0.89)

—

(†)

—

(†)

18.6

(0.90)

—

(†)

—

(†)

4.8

(0.48)

—

(†)

—

(†)

3.8

(0.45)

—

(†)

8.1

(0.95)

Nevada

18.4

(1.32)

14.5

(1.08)

19.1

(1.08)

—

(†)

16.0

(1.50)

18.3

(1.53)

6.8

(0.91)

4.7

(0.61)

6.2

(0.62)

—

(†)

3.3

(0.64)

3.7

(0.59)

New Hampshire

16.2

(1.26)

18.1

(1.46)

—

(†)

14.5

(1.04)

—

(†)

—

(†)

6.5

(0.93)

5.8

(0.61)

8.8

(1.00)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

New Jersey

10.5

(0.95)

—

(†)

9.6

(0.81)

9.6

(1.17)

10.2

(1.08)

—

(†)

3.1

(0.53)

—

(†)

3.1

(0.45)

—

(†)

2.7

(0.34)

—

(†)

New Mexico

24.5

(1.44)

27.5

(1.20)

27.4

(0.90)

22.8

(0.93)

22.2

(0.88)

22.5

(0.82)

8.0

(0.29)

9.3

(0.66)

8.1

(0.59)

6.5

(0.51)

5.4

(0.42)

4.6

(0.33)

New York

14.3

(0.74)

14.2

(0.76)

13.9

(0.98)

12.6

(0.76)

12.8

(0.82)

13.0

(0.96)

5.2

(0.42)

4.7

(0.41)

4.8

(0.64)

4.2

(0.32)

4.0

(0.38)

4.5

(0.51)

North Carolina

21.5

(1.35)

21.2

(1.19)

19.6

(0.95)

20.8

(1.24)

20.6

(1.34)

19.3

(1.33)

6.4

(0.77)

6.8

(0.94)

4.7

(0.57)

6.1

(0.64)

4.5

(0.67)

3.9

(0.54)

North Dakota

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

6.0

(0.74)

5.0

(0.57)

5.4

(0.64)

5.7

(0.73)

6.4

(0.75)

5.2

(0.49)

Ohio4

15.2

(1.27)

16.6

(1.42)

—

(†)

16.4

(1.37)

14.2

(1.61)

—

(†)

4.4

(0.63)

4.1

(0.51)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Oklahoma

18.9

(1.38)

22.3

(1.65)

19.0

(1.44)

19.4

(1.86)

19.9

(1.41)

19.5

(1.66)

7.0

(0.77)

9.0

(1.43)

5.6

(0.79)

6.1

(1.14)

6.0

(0.77)

4.8

(0.80)

Oregon

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

Pennsylvania

—

(†)

—

(†)

14.8

(1.28)

—

(†)

—

(†)

17.4

(1.27)

—

(†)

—

(†)

3.3

(0.47)

—

(†)

—

(†)

2.0

(0.44)

Rhode Island

12.4

(0.90)

12.0

(0.74)

10.4

(0.50)

11.2

(0.82)

—

(†)

—

(†)

4.9

(0.41)

4.9

(0.63)

4.0

(0.33)

4.0

(0.39)

5.0

(0.78)

4.8

(0.80)

South Carolina

20.5

(1.42)

19.8

(1.69)

20.4

(2.22)

23.4

(1.86)

21.2

(1.25)

20.5

(1.88)

6.7

(0.82)

4.8

(0.79)

4.6

(0.67)

6.3

(0.89)

3.7

(0.48)

2.9

(0.46)

South Dakota4

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

8.3

(0.72)

6.3

(0.80)

9.2

(0.76)

5.7

(0.52)

6.8

(0.87)

7.1

(1.29)

Tennessee

24.1

(1.58)

22.6

(1.41)

20.5

(1.64)

21.1

(1.34)

19.2

(1.70)

—

(†)

8.1

(0.92)

5.6

(0.70)

5.1

(0.70)

5.2

(0.80)

5.4

(0.79)

—

(†)

Texas

19.3

(0.93)

18.8

(0.71)

18.2

(0.89)

17.6

(0.73)

18.4

(1.33)

—

(†)

7.9

(0.63)

6.8

(0.55)

6.4

(0.76)

4.9

(0.45)

5.6

(0.68)

—

(†)

Utah

17.7

(1.70)

17.1

(1.38)

16.0

(1.40)

16.8

(1.48)

17.2

(1.19)

—

(†)

7.0

(1.03)

7.5

(1.00)

4.6

(0.63)

5.9

(1.01)

5.0

(0.57)

—

(†)

Vermont

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

9.1

(0.90)

9.6

(1.05)

9.0

(0.61)

9.1

(0.73)

10.4

(1.28)

7.7

(0.19)

Virginia

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

20.4

(1.26)

15.8

(0.69)

15.0

(0.75)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

5.7

(0.64)

—

(†)

2.6

(0.44)

Washington

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

—

(†)

West Virginia

22.3

(1.32)

21.3

(1.52)

24.4

(1.05)

20.7

(1.64)

24.3

(2.16)

26.1

(1.57)

8.5

(1.00)

6.9

(0.89)

6.5

(0.72)

5.5

(0.75)

5.5

(0.99)

6.5

(0.87)

Wisconsin

15.8

(1.19)

12.7

(0.76)

10.9

(0.81)

10.4

(0.66)

14.4

(1.32)

—

(†)

3.9

(0.54)

3.6

(0.49)

3.4

(0.50)

3.1

(0.41)

3.2

(0.52)

—

(†)

Wyoming

28.0

(1.17)

26.8

(1.28)

26.0

(1.04)

27.1

(1.19)

28.8

(0.95)

29.6

(1.33)

10.0

(0.71)

11.4

(0.76)

11.5

(0.81)

10.5

(0.71)

9.9

(0.62)

10.7

(0.82)

—Not available.

†Not applicable.

1 The term "anywhere" is not used in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) questionnaire; students were simply asked how many days they carried a weapon during the past 30 days.

2 In the question asking students about carrying a weapon at school, "on school property" was not defined for survey respondents.

3 Data for the U.S. total include both public and private schools and were collected through a national survey representing the entire country.

4 Data include both public and private schools.

NOTE: Respondents were asked about carrying "a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club." State-level data include public schools only, with the exception of data for Ohio and South Dakota. Data for the U.S. total, Ohio, and South Dakota include both public and private schools. For specific states, a given year’s data may be unavailable (1) because the state did not participate in the survey that year; (2) because the state omitted this particular survey item from the state-level questionnaire; or (3) because the state had an overall response rate of less than 60 percent (the overall response rate is the school response rate multiplied by the student response rate).

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), 2005 through 2015. (This table was prepared July 2016.)