Homicide rates moved in near lockstep with drug overdoses, alcohol deaths and gun purchases

All four trends rose after 2014, peaked between 2020 and 2022 and have declined since.

Because the trends are measured in different units, each is standardized against its own 2010–2025 mean and standard deviation. The chart shows how far each year ran above or below that trend's mean, not the actual numbers. The middle line is that mean. "Gun purchases" reflects FBI firearm background checks. Alcohol-related deaths cover adults ages 30–44. Mortality figures for 2025 are projected from the first seven months of data, compared with the same period in 2024.
Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-NDSource: CDC WONDER; FBI NICSGet the data Download imageCreated with Datawrapper