10 States That Drink The Most Beer

24/7 Wall St.: In recent years, Americans have increasingly moved away from beer consumption in favor of wines and spirits. U.S. beer consumption fell slightly from 28.3 gallons per drinking-aged adult in 2012 to 27.6 gallons last year.

Despite declining across the United States overall, beer consumption remains quite high in some states. According to a recent study from Beer Marketer’s Insights, a brewing industry trade publisher, North Dakota residents consumed 43.3 gallons of beer per drinking-age adult in 2013, the most of any state. This was more than double the 19.6 gallons per legal age adult consumed in Utah, which drank the least beer. Based on figures from Beer Marketer’s Insights, these are the states that drink the most beer.

Click here to see the States That Drink the Most Beer

Between 2002 and 2012, the share of Americans’ total alcohol intake coming from beer has declined. The average drinking age adult drank the equivalent of 1.39 gallons of pure ethanol alcohol from beer in 2002, with a total intake of 2.39 gallons from all drinks consumed. In 2012, Americans pure alcohol intake was 2.46 gallons per person. Americans’ alcohol intake from wine and spirits rose by 15.2% and 20.9%, respectively, between 2002 and 2012. Meanwhile, intake from beer dropped by 8.6%.

While some of the states that drink the most beer generally followed this national trend, other states did not. Between 2002 and 2012, alcohol intake from beer consumption declined by 17.4% in Nevada, one of the top beer drinking states. In that time, alcohol intake from wine rose by more than 30%. On the other hand, alcohol intake from beer rose by more than 10% in both Vermont and Maine, also among the top beer drinking states.

Consuming excessive amounts of alcohol is associated with a range of health problems. One in 10 deaths among working age adults in the United States is due to excessive drinking, according to figures recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the study, “Excessive alcohol use is responsible for 2.5 million years of potential life lost annually, or an average of about 30 years of potential life lost for each death.” Leading the nation in beer consumption, however, did not necessarily increase years lost per legal-age adult. Only three of the top beer drinking states exceeded the national average for years of potential life lost per 100,000 residents between 2006 and 2010.

According to Mandy Stahre, a co-author on the CDC’s study and an epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health, health outcomes such as alcohol attributable death rates are influenced by a number of factors, not only drinking patterns. “The number and the enforcement of alcohol control policies … sociodemographics, religious affiliation, race and ethnicity” all can play a role in determining the health consequences of drinking.

In an email to 24/7 Wall St., Eric Shepard, vice president and executive editor at Beer Marketer’s Insights, highlighted a study from the U.K.-based Institute of Economic Affairs, a free market think tank. The study explores the relationship between problematic drinking and consumption levels.

Policy makers often believe that high per capita consumption leads to excessive drinking, which includes heavy and binge drinking. However, the study’s authors contend that “per capita alcohol consumption largely depends on the amount of heavy drinking in the population, not vice versa.” Stahre added the she, too, was aware of studies that showed “a good proportion of the alcohol that was consumed was being consumed in a manner [associated with] binge drinking.”

The states with the highest beer consumption rates also had high rates of heavy drinking — defined as more than two drinks per day for men and more than one drink per day for women. In Montana and Wisconsin, 8.5% of adults were heavy drinkers as of 2012, tied for the most in the United States and well above the national rate of 6.1%. Additionally, seven of the states that drink the most beer had among the 10 highest rates of binge drinking — defined by the CDC for women as consuming four or more drinks, and five or more drinks in the case of men, during a single sitting.

Interestingly, while excessive alcohol use is hardly a healthy behavior, many of the states with the highest beer consumption rates were also likely to practice a range of healthy behaviors such as exercising regularly and eating well. People in Maine, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Vermont, for example, were all among the most likely Americans to eat healthy all day last year. Residents of Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont were among the most likely to exercise regularly.

Stahre noted, however, that people are often better at keeping track of other behaviors than they are about drinking. “Because if you aren’t paying the bill or not paying attention to the number of drinks you have, you could really be underestimating what your consumption is.”

To identify the states with the highest beer consumption rates, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Beer Marketer’s Insights’ recent report on alcohol consumption. Drinking habits were measured in gallons shipped to distributors annually per 100,000 drinking-age adults. Adult heavy and binge drinking statistics are from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and are for 2012. We also utilized figures from a recent CDC study, titled “Contribution of Excessive Alcohol Consumption to Deaths and Years of Potential Life Lost in the United States.” This study examined data from 2006 through 2010 for Americans of all ages. We also reviewed healthy behaviors and health outcomes from Gallup’s 2013 HealthWays Well-Being Index. Economic data came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey. Brewery totals are from the Beer Institute’s 2013 Brewer’s Almanac and are for 2012. Tax data are from the Federation of Tax Administrators and are current as of January 2014.

These are the states that drink the most beer.

 States That Drink the Most Beer of  

• > Per capita consumption: 33.2 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 2.55 gallons (23rd highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 21.7% (6th highest) > Total brewers (2012): 38 Like most of the country, Iowa residents have been drinking less beer than they did in 2009, when they consumed slightly more than 36 gallons of beer per drinking-age adult. By 2013, consumption had declined to just over 33 gallons. Iowans, though, still drink more than most Americans. While beer consumption had declined, consumption of other forms of alcohol had increased. Iowa adults drank 59.6% — nearly a third of a gallon — more spirits in 2012 than they did 10 years before, a greater increase than in all but a few other states. Overall, alcohol intake in Iowa rose by 13.3%, among the highest increases in the nation. The state’s relatively high binge drinking rate may be behind the increased alcohol consumption. More than one in five legal-age Iowa residents reported binge drinking in 2012, among the highest rates nationwide. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 34.2 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 2.69 gallons (16th highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 22.1% (3rd highest) > Total brewers (2012): 19 Like most of the nation, beer consumption in Nebraska has fallen in recent years. Consumption of other forms of alcohol has been on the rise. Drinking-age Nebraskans’ intake of hard alcohol rose by 39% in 2012, compared to 2002, among the largest such increases nationwide. This amounted to an additional one-fourth of a gallon of pure alcohol for each drinking-age adult. State residents were also among the most likely to binge drink, as 22.1% of adults reported consuming four or more drinks in one occasion in 2012, which was more than in all but two other states. The CDC has associated binge drinking with a variety of health problems. Nebraska residents, however, are among the nation’s healthiest, according to a recent Gallup poll. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 34.8 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 2.86 gallons (10th highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 17.7% (17th highest) > Total brewers (2012): 47 Beer is exceptionally popular in Maine despite the $0.35 per gallon excise tax in the state, among the higher alcohol tax rates in the country. While alcohol intake from beer consumption fell 8.6% between 2002 and 2012 across the nation, Maine’s intake from beer increased 11% during that time, nearly the largest increase nationwide. Last year, beer consumption amounted to nearly 35 gallons per drinking-age adult in Maine. One explanation for Maine’s high beer consumption could be its low population density, which is often linked to higher substance abuse rates. Maine residents were also more likely than Americans overall to binge drink on a regular basis… Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 34.9 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 3.48 gallons (4th highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 15.1% (13th lowest) > Total brewers (2012): 19 Nevada has among the nation’s highest beer consumption rates. Still, it was one of the few states where total alcohol intake actually decreased between 2002 and 2012. Nevada residents drank more than 8% less alcohol in 2012 than they did in 2002. Over that time, alcohol intake from beer alone fell by more than 17%, also nearly the largest decrease nationwide. Nevada is the only state on this list where residents were less likely than the nation as a whole to binge drink, with just 15% of adults consuming four or more drinks in one sitting in 2012. In Nevada’s case, declines in alcohol consumption may be due to economic conditions and declines in tourism. Nevada has struggled with high unemployment in recent years. Not only are residents strapped for cash, but also the state has raised alcohol taxes in recent years in search of more reliable revenue sources. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 35.8 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 3.20 gallons (5th highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 25.2% (the highest) > Total brewers (2012): 132 More than one-quarter of Wisconsin adults reported binge drinking in 2012, the most nationwide. That year, 8.5% also reported heavy drinking — defined as consuming large numbers of drinks weekly — which was tied with Montana for the most nationwide. State residents have favored wine in recent years. While alcohol intake from beer actually fell by 8% between 2002 and 2012, per capita wine intake increased by 31% over that time, a larger increase than in all but a handful of states. Low taxes may have something to do with beer’s popularity in the state. Wisconsin’s excise tax for a gallon of beer is just six cents, versus a 20 cent nationwide median excise tax and less than all but just two other states. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 35.9 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 3.02 gallons (7th highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 19.3% (10th highest) > Total brewers (2012): 25 While Americans nationwide drank less beer in 2012 than they did in 2002, Vermonters consumed 11.2% more alcohol from beer. This was the largest increase in the country. The dramatic spike may be due in part to growing enthusiasm for craft beers, for which Vermont has become famous. Several local Vermont beers have been rated among the world’s best, and in some cases black markets have emerged in the wake of excess demand. Like several other states with the highest beer consumption rates, wine has also become considerably more popular in recent years. Drinking-age Vermonters consumed nearly one-fifth of a gallon more alcohol from wine in 2012 than they did in 2002, the largest increase in gallons nationwide, and roughly four times the increase across the country. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 38.1 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 2.94 gallons (8th highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 20.6% (8th highest) > Total brewers (2012): 10 South Dakota adults consumed 11.4% more pure alcohol in 2012 than they did in 2002, a larger increase than in all but a handful of states. Most of this increase came from spikes in wine and spirits consumption. While alcohol intake from beer grew by less than 1% — still one of the larger increases nationwide — legal-age adults in South Dakota increased both their wine and spirits intake by more than 30% over that time. Binge drinking may have contributed substantially to the state’s consumption totals. More than 20% of legal-age adults in South Dakota reported consuming at least four drinks in a sitting in 2012, among the highest binge drinking rates nationwide. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 40.5 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 3.13 gallons (6th highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 21.8% (5th highest) > Total brewers (2012): 31 A legal age Montana resident consumed an average of 40.5 gallons of beer in 2013, down from more than 43 gallons in 2009. Montana residents were largely beer drinkers, even though the state ranked 12th in total alcohol intake from spirits in 2012, per capita intake from wine was roughly in line with the nation as a whole. Dangerous drinking was also quite common in the state, where 8.5% of adults were heavy drinkers in 2012, tied with Wisconsin for highest rate in the nation. Additionally, almost 22% of the adult population engaged in binge drinking, more than in all but a few states. High levels of drinking had notable health implications for residents as well. There were 37.7 alcohol-attributable deaths per 100,000 residents in Montana between 2006 and 2010, more than in all but two other states. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 42.2 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 4.74 gallons (the highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 17.0% (22nd highest) > Total brewers (2012): 21 New Hampshire trailed only one other state in total per capita beer consumption in 2013, and it was the nation’s leading state for beer drinking as recently as 2011. Additionally, New Hampshire led the nation in per capita intake of alcohol in 2012, with residents drinking the equivalent of 4.7 gallons of pure alcohol that year on average, versus 2.5 gallons per legal adult nationwide. However, these figures may be somewhat distorted by sales to non-residents by liquor stores located near state borders. Visitors often buy liquor and wine in the state because of the lack of tax at state-run liquor stores. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• > Per capita consumption: 43.3 gallons > Alcohol intake per capita (2012): 3.69 gallons (2nd highest) > Pct. binge drinkers: 24.1% (2nd highest) > Total brewers (2012): 4 North Dakota residents are the nation’s largest beer drinkers, consuming an average of 43.3 gallons per drinking age adult in 2013. One reason for this may be binge drinking. In 2012, more than 24% of the adult population reported binge drinking, more than in any state except for Wisconsin. Between 2002 and 2012, North Dakota led the nation with a 24% increase in pure alcohol consumption per capita. By comparison, consumption nationwide rose by slightly less than 3% in that time. Most of the increase in alcohol intake between 2002 and 2012 came from higher spirits consumption. High levels of beer consumption, binge drinking and alcohol intake may be related to the state’s attractiveness to younger Americans looking for work. North Dakota had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate in 2013 and has had the nation’s fastest growing state economy in each of the past four years. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

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Target: Don't Bring Guns Into Our Stores

Target announced Wednesday it is adopting a no-guns policy and, in a statement, asked that customers not bring guns into stores.

Even customers in localities where guns are allowed will be subject to the chain's new policy.

"Bringing firearms to Target creates an environment that is at odds with the family-friendly shopping and work experience we strive to create," Target's interim CEO John Mulligan said in a statement.

The decision follows protests orchestrated by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a gun control group that in recent months achieved what once seemed like an unlikely goal: convincing many major American companies to take a stance on guns.

"Target's decision shows that moms calling for reasonable reforms can move giants," said Erika Soto Lamb, the communications director for a coalition of gun reform organizations that include Moms Demand Action.

The third largest retailer in the U.S., Target is the biggest company yet to ban the so-called open carry of guns in its stores. (It should be noted that the company's logo is literally a target of the sort used at shooting ranges.) The Minneapolis-based company has about 1,700 stores in the U.S. and brought in more than $70 billion in revenue last year. Chipotle, Chili’s and Sonic have made similar statements in recent months.

The moms' group and pro-gun activists have been warring over retail turf for the past few months, pushing businesses to take a stand on the issue. The pattern has played out like this: a pro-gun group stages demonstrations at a location of a major national chain, bringing rifles into a store or parking lot. Then, the moms' group puts out a statement and urges the chain to prohibit guns.

In Target's case, the Moms' group surfaced photographs early last month of men from a pro-gun group called Open Carry Texas toting rifles in a Dallas-area store. Then the Moms' group launched a national petition to ban guns in Target that garnered more than 350,000 signatures, according to Lamb. The Moms' group staged a small protest outside the retail giant’s shareholder meeting in Dallas on June 11.

A week later, Open Carry Texas returned, rallying in the parking lot outside a Target in Irving, a Dallas suburb. When members of the Moms’ group gathered outside a San Antonio-area Target days after that, they were asked by a Target employee to leave.

Chipotle was the first major company to ask customers not to bring firearms in its locations in May.

Soon after, protests by the same cadre of gun-toting activists prompted bans at Chili’s Bar and Grill and Sonic later that month.

C.J. Grisham, the founder of Open Carry Texas, did not immediately respond to an email from The Huffington Post requesting comment.

It’s an unexpectedly bold move by Mulligan, Target’s long-time financial chief, who has served as interim CEO since Gregg Steinhafel resigned in May. Target's revenue and reputation has suffered since hackers stole millions of customers’ credit- and debit-card records last December.

“They’ve got a lot on their plate right now,” Kenneth Perkins, an analyst at Morningstar, told HuffPost. “They’re trying to sort through stuff and sometimes decisions have to be made to move the company forward.”

Ted Marzilli, CEO and global managing director of YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks the perception of brands, said Target has waded into a dangerous waters by taking a hard stance on a political issue.

"This is going to play different depending on the state you're located in," Marzilli told HuffPost. "Perhaps a more nuanced approach to this might have been a more savvy way to play it politically."

Walmart, which sells more guns than any other company in the world, has no plans to follow Target's lead. A spokeswoman for the retailing giant said it does not plan on making any statement on firearms.

Ben Hallman and Kim Bhasin contributed reporting

14 More Companies That Likely Will Deny Employees Birth Control

Hobby Lobby was just one of dozens of for-profit companies that challenged Obamacare's so-called contraception mandate, which requires companies with 50 or more employees to cover FDA-approved forms of birth control as part of their health care plans.

Many of those companies -- there are 48 of them with cases pending in lower courts, according to the National Women's Law Center -- are "closely held," meaning Monday's Supreme Court decision likely frees them to deny contraception coverage to their employees if they have a legitimate religious objection. (A closely held company is one where the majority of outstanding stock is owned by five or fewer people, according to the IRS.)

HuffPost read the court filings of these cases to determine which of those companies were easily identified as being "closely held" and how many employees were likely to be affected.

So what happens next for all these companies?

"These companies with cases pending, they will probably just go to court and file something simple, saying, 'In light of Monday's decision, we should prevail. We should be exempt from complying with this rule,'" says Louise Melling of the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed amici briefs on behalf of the government in some of these cases.

Melling said she thinks this "will happen very soon."

Here are some of the next companies that will likely win the right to deny contraception coverage to their employees:

1. Tyndale House Publishers

A bible published by Tyndale House Publishers.

This Christian book and Bible publisher, which sued the federal government in 2012 over the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to cover contraception, said in a statement provided to HuffPost that it was “delighted” with the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision.

“We hope the way is now clear for our court to rule that Tyndale House Publishers is not obligated to provide early abortion-causing items, which we find morally objectionable,” the statement said. Tyndale House, which is based in Illinois, has 260 full-time employees, according to court documents. Among other things, the company is known for publishing the works of evangelical icon and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.

2. Trijicon
Trijicon, a Michigan-based company that makes rifle scopes, is no stranger to church-versus-state controversies. In 2010, it was revealed that the manufacturer had been stamping Bible verses onto its gun sights, many of which were used by U.S. and British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The company later agreed to stop the practice.) In August of last year, a district court granted Trijicon a preliminary injunction in its case challenging the federal government’s mandate that companies with more than 50 employees provide coverage for birth control or pay a fine. Trijicon has more than 200 employees, according to the court filing.

Above, a rifle with a scope made by Trijicon.

3. Encompass Develop, Design & Construct
The owner of this Kentucky-based architecture and construction firm also sued the government last year, saying that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to cover “abortion-inducing drugs” would lead to a “wrongful taking of human life” that, as an evangelical Christian, he found “sinful.” The case is currently pending. Encompass has about 70 employees who could be affected by the Hobby Lobby decision.

4. Holland Chevrolet
Holland Chevrolet is a West Virginia-based corporation that sells and services cars. The company provides health insurance to about 150 full-time employees, according to court documents from its 2013 case against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Company owner Joe Holland, a born-again Christian, says in the lawsuit that it is “profoundly immoral” to “endorse any form of abortion.”

5. Johnson Welded Products
Citing freedom of speech violations, this manufacturing company, which makes parts for air brake systems for large vehicles, filed suit last year against the Obamacare birth control coverage requirement. Monday’s Supreme Court decision “will ensure a victory for our case,” Robert Muise, the attorney representing the company, told HuffPost. Johnson Welded Products is a family-run company with more than 200 employees, Muise said.

6. Barron Industries, Inc.
Barron Industries, a family-owned metal casting and machining company based in Michigan, was granted a preliminary injunction by a district court last year in its case challenging the contraception mandate. The company, which has 56 full-time staffers, holds mass for employees at its own on-site chapel, according to the Thomas More Law Center.

7. Zumbiel Packaging
Zumbiel Packaging, a privately owned company in northern Kentucky that makes packaging for consumer products, filed suit against the Obama administration last year, saying that the clause of the Affordable Care Act requiring them to provide certain types of contraception violated the company’s religious beliefs and constitutional rights.

8. Eden Foods
Eden Foods is a natural food company based in Michigan that has 128 full-time employees, according to court documents. The company also sued the government last year, saying the requirement to provide FDA-approved contraceptives was “an unprecedented despoiling of religious rights.” Though a district court denied Eden Foods the injunction it had requested, late last year the company asked the Supreme Court to review that decision.

Eden Foods is one of dozens of companies poised to deny contraception coverage to employees.

9. Ozinga Bros.
This concrete maker in Illinois has more than 750 employees, and sued the government in May 2013 for forcing it to provide FDA-approved forms of contraception in its health care packages. The Hobby Lobby decision means Ozinga, a closely held company, probably won’t have to.

10. Korte & Luitjohan Contractors
Korte & Luitjohan is a construction company based in Illinois with around 90 full-time employees, according to court documents. The company sued the government in 2012 over the contraception requirement and was denied an injunction, but that decision was later reversed. The case is currently pending.

11. Hart Electric LLC
Hart Electric is an electrical-component maker based in Illinois with 54 employees, according to court filings. The company’s owners sued the Obama administration in 2013 over the Obamacare contraception mandate, and the case is still pending.

12. Sioux Chief Manufacturing
Sioux Chief, a company in Missouri that makes plumbing products, also sued the government last year over the mandate, and the case is still pending. The company employs 370 people full time at its location in Missouri, according to court documents.

13. Beckwith Electric
Beckwith Electric, a family-owned company in Florida that makes micro-processor technology, sued the government last year, saying it had a conscientious objection to covering “abortifacients” for employees. The case is currently pending.

14. Randy Reed Automotive, Randy Reed Buick, Randy Reed Nissan, Randy Reed Chevrolet
These family-run car dealerships in Missouri, which have around 179 full-time employees, also sued the federal government over the ACA requirement to cover contraception. The companies’ case cites a “deeply held religious belief that life begins at conception” as its objection to the contraception. The case is currently pending.

Alexander C. Kaufman contributed to this report.

The States With The Most Gun Violence: 24/7 Wall St.

As mass shootings continue to appear in the news, many Americans and state leaders are asking how to address the problem without restricting constitutional rights.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks the number of gun-related fatalities — including homicides, suicides, and accidents — in each state. The frequency of firearm-related deaths varies widely across the U.S. Firearms were associated with just 3.0 deaths per 100,000 residents in Rhode Island in 2011, the lowest gun-related fatality rate of any state. Louisiana, on the other hand, reported 18.8 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 residents, the most of any state. 24/7 Wall St. examined the 10 states with the highest gun-related death rates.

Click here to see the states with the most gun violence.

Suicide is the leading cause of gun-related deaths across the nation in recent years. Of the 32,351 firearm deaths in 2011, nearly 20,000 were suicides. In all but one state with the most gun-related deaths, suicide accounted for the majority of fatalities. Six states — Alaska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Montana, Arkansas, and New Mexico — reported more than 10.0 firearm-related suicides per 100,000 residents, versus the national rate of 6.2.

24/7 Wall St. discussed the CDC’s figures with John Roman, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, an economic and social policy think tank. Roman explained the probability of accidents, suicides, and domestic violence goes up in homes with guns. Americans are “three times more likely to have a suicide in a home with a gun than [they] are in a home without a gun.”

According to Roman, “The overwhelming trend is that strong gun law states have seen dramatic declines in violence. Weak gun law states have not seen the same decline.” While stricter gun laws lead to less violence, Roman noted, this relationship is not exactly straightforward, because people may purchase a gun in one state and bring it into another. “As long as there are weak gun law states, even strong gun law states will see gun violence.”

Federal law controls some aspects of firearm regulation, but for the most part, state legislatures choose to what extent firearms are governed. None of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register their weapons in any of these states. Meanwhile, most of the states with the lowest rates of gun deaths require a permit to purchase a handgun.

In a number of these states homicide and violent crime rates were also particularly high. Gun-related homicide rates in all but three of the 10 states with the most firearm death rates were above the national rate of 3.6 homicides per 100,000 residents. Louisiana, the only state on this list where homicide accounted for more gun-related deaths than suicides, reported 9.4 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2011, more than in any other state.

Although not necessarily gun related, violent crime, overall, was higher in many of these states. Seven states reported at least 420 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2011, versus the national rate of just 386.3 violent crimes per 100,000 residents that year. There were more than 600 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in Alaska, second only to Tennessee. Some specific crimes were even more likely in many of these states. Six of the 10 states reported more than 3,500 incidents of property crime per 100,00 residents, for example, versus a national rate of just 2,908.

According to Roman, politics and culture often influence gun ownership. In fact, a majority of the states with the most deaths from guns are politically conservative. They are also states with residents that tend to be comfortable with carrying and owning guns.

Economic factors also appear to be related to firearm death rates. The poverty rate in seven of the 10 states with the most gun violence was above the national rate of 15.9%. New Mexico and Mississippi, the states with the first and second highest poverty rates in the nation of more than 20%, were among the states with the most gun violence.

Educational attainment rates also tended to be lower in states with the most gun violence. The percentage of residents who had attained at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2012 was lower than the national rate in all of the 10 states with the most gun violence.

Based on CDC data, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 states with the most firearm-related deaths in 2011, including suicides, homicides, and accidents.Firearm death rates represent the CDC”s age-adjusted figures, to avoid distortion in states with large populations of young people. We also considered 2012 data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATF) on the time between a gun’s purchase and its involvement in a crime. Violent crime data are for 2011 and are from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report. Poverty and income figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey. Information on firearm policies for each state are from the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Institute for Legislative Action.

These are the states with the most gun violence, according to 24/7 Wall St.:

 States With The Most Gun Violence: 24/7 Wall St. of  

• Firearm death rate: 14.8 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 6,132 (19th highest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 571.9 per 100,000 (3rd highest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 18.3% (9th highest) There were more than 700 gun-related deaths — including homicide, suicide, and accidents — in South Carolina in 2011, or 14.8 per 100,000 residents when adjusted for age. Overall crime rates were also particularly high in South Carolina. More than 570 violent crimes were committed per 100,000 people in South Carolina during 2011, behind only to Alaska and Tennessee. That year, there were 5.5 firearms related homicides per 100,000 residents in South Carolina, up slightly from the year before and more than in all but three other states. Firearm-related crimes are usually committed many years after the purchase of the associated weapon. In South Carolina, however, nearly 28% of crimes occurred within two years of the gun’s registration, among the higher rates in the nation for crimes committed so shortly after their purchase. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 14.8 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 2,964 (20th lowest) 10 yr. annualized death rate: 15.1 per 100,000 (9th highest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 567.5 per 100,000 (4th highest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 20.8% (2nd highest) Like most of the nation, suicides accounted for the majority of gun-related deaths in New Mexico, where the firearm suicide rate was also particularly high. There were 10.5 suicides by firearm in 2011, more than in all but a handful of states. The state also reported 3.7 gun-related homicides per 100,000 residents that year, roughly in line with the national rate. Despite the relatively low gun-related homicide rate, violent crime has been an issue in the state. Nearly 570 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents were reported in New Mexico in 2011, more than in all but three other states. Poor socioeconomic conditions may partly explain the higher crime rates. More than one in five New Mexico residents lived in poverty in 2012, more than every state except for Mississippi. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 16.0 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 7,713 (15th highest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 420.1 per 100,000 (16th highest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 19.0% (7th highest) While homicides accounted for less than half of all firearm-related deaths in Alabama, the homicide rate was among the highest in the nation. There were more than six gun-related homicides per 100,000 residents in Alabama, more than every state except for Mississippi and Louisiana. Yet, gun deaths due to homicide declined compared to 2007, during which there were eight deaths per 100,000, second-highest in the nation at that time. Overall deaths from firearms also decreased somewhat. In 2007, there were 17.2 gun-related fatalities per 100,000 residents versus 16.0 per 100,000 residents in 2011. Like a majority of states with the most gun violence, Alabama struggles with high poverty. In 2012, 19% of residents lived below the poverty line, more than in all but six other states. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 16.0 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 4,341 (24th lowest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 480.9 per 100,000 (10th highest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 19.8% (4th highest) There were 145 gun-related homicides in Arkansas, or 5.2 per 100,000 residents, among the highest rates nationwide in 2011. When suicides and accidents were taken into account, there were 16 firearm-related deaths in Arkansas that year, slightly higher than in 2007. Gun violence in Arkansas puts female residents particularly at risk. The state had among the highest gun-related murder rates of women in 2011, with 2.3 homicides of women per 100,000 residents. Like nearly all the states on this list, Arkansas’s gun laws are relatively permissive — the purchase of rifles, shotguns, and handguns does not require a permit. Arkansas also shares an exceptionally high poverty rate with the majority of states with high numbers of gun deaths. Nearly 20% of residents lived below the poverty line in 2012, the fourth highest rate nationwide. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 16.3 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 1,476 (12th lowest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 267.5 per 100,000 (17th lowest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 15.5% (25th highest) Known for its outdoors culture, many of Montana residents use their guns for hunting. Although guns are likely a part of daily life in Montana, homicide and accidents accounted for relatively few gun deaths in 2011. There were just 1.2 firearm-related homicides per 100,000 people in Montana, among the lower rates nationwide. Suicides, on the other hand, accounted for a large number of gun-related deaths in the state. Montana led the nation with 14.7 firearm-related suicides per 100,000 residents, more than double the national rate. Montana’s high suicide rate may be due in part to extremely low population density. According to the American Psychological Association, suicide rates tend to be higher in rural areas for a variety of factors, including “greater access to firearms, high rates of drug and alcohol use and few health-care providers and emergency medical facilities.” Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 16.6 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 5,002 (23rd highest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 454.8 per 100,000 (11th highest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 17.2% (15th highest) Gun-related homicide and suicide rates were both relatively high in Oklahoma. In 2011, 166 state residents were committed with the use of firearms, or 4.4 per 100,000 people, versus a national gun-related homicide rate of 3.6 per 100,000 people. There were 440 suicides using firearms in 2011, or 11.5 per 100,000, the fourth highest rate nationwide. Oklahoma does not require a state permit to purchase or possess a handgun, shotgun, or rifle. Like the majority of the states with high gun-related fatality rates, Oklahoma residents are also relatively poor. A typical household income was just $44,312 in 2012, considerably less than the national median household income of $51,371 that year. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 16.7 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 844 (7th lowest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 219.3 per 100,000 (7th lowest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 12.6% (13th lowest) In 2011, Wyoming reported just 96 firearms deaths, among the fewest of any state in the U.S. However, Wyoming is also the nation’s least populous state, with just over 567,000 residents as of 2011. As a result, Wyoming’s firearm-related fatality rate was fourth highest, amounting to an age-adjusted 16.7 firearm deaths per 100,000 residents. Additionally, there were 14.6 suicides per 100,000 residents that year, more than any state except for Montana and more than double the national rate of 6.2 firearm suicides per 100,000 people. However, by many measures, Wyoming is a relatively safe state. There were just 219.3 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2011, versus some 386 crimes for every 100,000 Americans nationwide. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 16.9 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 1,227 (10th lowest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 606.5 per 100,000 (2nd highest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 10.1% (2nd lowest) Over the 10 years through to 2011, there were an average of 18.2 gun-related fatalities per 100,000 residents in Alaska each year, more than in all but one other state. Most of these fatalities, however, were not homicides. The gun-related homicide rate was exceptionally low in Alaska, however, at just 2.4 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2011, versus a national rate of 3.6 homicides per 100,000 residents. Despite the low firearm homicide rate, Alaska had nearly the highest violent crime rate in the nation, with 606.5 violent crimes reported per 100,000 in 2011, second only to Tennessee. Like the majority of the nation, most of the gun-related fatalities in Alaska were suicides. There were 13.5 firearm-related suicides per 100,000 state-residents in 2011, more than in all but two other states. Socioeconomically, Alaska was an exception. The state had among the highest educational attainment rates and median household incomes nationwide in 2012. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 17.9 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 4,965 (24th highest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 269.8 per 100,000 (18th lowest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 24.2% (the highest) There were 7.7 gun-related homicides per 100,000 Mississippi residents in 2011, more than double the national rate of 3.6, and second only to Louisiana. This contributed substantially to the state’s high murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate. Eight Mississippi residents were murdered for every 100,000 people in the state, the second highest rate in the nation. The state’s suicide rate was also quite high. There were 8.9 suicides involving a firearm per 100,000 people in 2011, among the higher rates in the nation. Like many of the states with the most gun deaths, state residents frequently struggle with poverty. Mississippi led the nation with a poverty rate of 24.2% in 2012, and it trailed behind most states in other factors such as access to basic necessities, health care, and household income. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

• Age-adjusted firearm death rate: 18.8 per 100,000 Firearm deaths 2002-2011: 8,544 (13th highest) 2011 Violent crime rate: 555.3 per 100,000 (7th highest) Permit required to buy handgun: No Poverty rate: 19.9% (3rd highest) There were nearly 19 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 residents in Louisiana in 2011, more than in any other state in the nation. Of that, 9.4 deaths per 100,000 people were gun-related homicides, the most nationwide. Louisiana also led the nation with a murder rate with 11.2 per 100,000 people in 2011, well above the national rate of 4.7. Additionally, suicide accounted for 8.2 fatalities per 100,000 residents, versus a national rate of 6.2 per 100,000. Overall, there were more than 8,500 firearm-related deaths in Louisiana between 2002 and 2011, among the higher number of fatalities in the nation. Louisiana residents also struggle with high poverty rates and poor educational attainment. Nearly one in five people in the state lived below the poverty line in 2012, the third highest rate nationally. Like other states on this list, Louisiana’s gun laws do not require residents to have a permit before purchasing a handgun. Read more at 24/7 Wall St.

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