Table 1

Respondent characteristics by firearm ownership status, 2018 California Safety and Well-being Survey (CSaWS), n=2558

Characteristic (% total sample)Owners, n=429
% (95% CI)
Non-owners
Lives with owners, n=242
% (95% CI)
No owners in the home, n=1797
% (95% CI)
Total*14.4 (12.5 to 16.4)10.5 (8.7 to 12.6)71.0 (68.2 to 73.7)
Age
 18–29 (18.2%)6.5 (3.0 to 13.4)31.6 (22.1 to 43.0)17.9 (14.7 to 21.7)
 30–44 (27.5%)17.5 (12.5 to 24.0)22.0 (15.3 to 30.6)30.2 (26.7 to 33.9)
 45–59 (27.0%)33.2 (26.4 to 40.7)23.0 (16.3 to 31.5)26.5 (23.5 to 29.8)
 ≥60 (27.4%)42.9 (36.3 to 49.8)23.4 (17.6 to 30.3)25.4 (22.7 to 28.1)
Sex
 Male (47.8%)72.9 (66.8 to 78.3)27.0 (18.0 to 38.4)45.4 (41.6 to 49.2)
 Female (52.2%)27.1 (21.7 to 33.2)73.0 (61.6 to 82.0)54.6 (50.8 to 58.4)
Race/ethnicity
 Non-Latinx white (42.8%)64.1 (56.3 to 71.2)55.0 (45.1 to 64.6)36.8 (33.6 to 40.1)
 Latinx (33.3%)20.4 (14.6 to 27.8)24.7 (16.8 to 34.7)37.0 (33.2 to 41.0)
 Non-Latinx black (5.5%)4.4 (2.0 to 9.3)6.4 (3.0 to 13.3)5.6 (4.2 to 7.6)
 Other (16.0%)9.1 (5.1 to 15.7)8.5 (4.2 to 16.6)18.5 (15.6 to 21.9)
 Multiracial (2.4%)2.1 (0.9 to 4.9)5.4 (2.1 to 13.3)2.0 (1.3 to 3.1)
RUCA category†
 Urban (91.5%)83.6 (78.4 to 87.7)87.5 (79.6 to 92.6)93.5 (91.4 to 95.1)
 Sub-Urban (6.5%)11.1 (7.6 to 15.9)8.6 (4.8 to 15.0)5.5 (4.0 to 7.5)
 Large Rural Town (1.2%)2.8 (1.5 to 5.3)3.0 (0.7 to 12.0)0.6 (0.3 to 1.3)
 Small Town/Isolated Rural (0.8%)2.6 (1.5 to 4.7)0.9 (0.3 to 3.0)0.4 (0.2 to 0.7)
Education
 Less than high school (9.2%)2.7 (0.8 to 8.5)2.5 (1.0 to 6.2)11.4 (8.8 to 14.7)
 High school (25.1%)23.0 (16.8 to 30.6)33.5 (23.9 to 44.7)23.6 (20.2 to 27.3)
 Some college (32.5%)42.2 (35.4 to 49.4)38.8 (30.0 to 48.3)29.8 (26.6 to 33.3)
 Bachelor's degree (18.4%)18.7 (14.2 to 24.4)15.0 (10.6 to 20.9)19.2 (16.7 to 21.8)
 Advanced degree (14.7%)13.4 (9.9 to 17.8)10.2 (6.7 to 15.2)16.0 (13.8 to 18.6)
Income
 Less than $25 000 (13.0%)5.3 (3.2 to 8.6)12.0 (6.3 to 21.7)14.3 (12.0 to 16.9)
 $25 000–$59 000 (24.6%)21.9 (16.9 to 27.9)18.1 (12.6 to 25.3)25.8 (22.5 to 29.3)
 $60 000–$99 000 (22.7%)19.8 (15.6 to 24.8)25.2 (17.2 to 35.2)22.6 (19.6 to 25.8)
 More than $100 000 (39.6%)53.0 (46.0 to 60.0)44.7 (35.4 to 54.4)37.4 (33.8 to 41.1)
Marital status
 Married or living with partner (61.4%)71.2 (64.1 to 77.4)63.1 (52.6 to 72.5)59.5 (55.7 to 63.2)
 Widowed (3.8%)3.8 (2.4 to 5.9)2.0 (0.8 to 4.9)4.2 (3.2 to 5.5)
 Divorced or separated (9.7%)13.0 (9.0 to 18.6)6.6 (3.0 to 13.9)9.4 (7.7 to 11.4)
 Never married (25.2%)12.0 (7.5 to 18.5)28.3 (19.4 to 39.2)26.9 (23.5 to 30.7)
Children under 18 in home
 Yes (29.3%)18.3 (13.1 to 24.9)33.0 (24.3 to 42.9)31.6 (28.1 to 35.3)
 No (70.7%)81.8 (75.2 to 86.9)67.0 (57.1 to 75.7)68.4 (64.7 to 71.9)
Political affiliation
 Republican (19.0%)38.2 (31.6 to 45.4)23.9 (16.8 to 32.9)14.3 (12.2 to 16.8)
 Democrat (39.5%)28.4 (22.2 to 35.6)36.0 (27.6 to 45.3)43.8 (40.1 to 47.5)
 No preference (34.2%)27.5 (21.5 to 34.4)32.0 (23.2 to 42.2)35.5 (31.9 to 39.3)
 Other (6.1%)5.6 (3.5 to 8.9)8.0 (3.7 to 16.4)5.7 (4.3 to 7.5)
Grew up in a household with a firearm
 Yes (33.4%)70.9 (64.2 to 76.7)46.6 (37.1 to 56.3)24.9 (22.0 to 28.0)
 No (59.4%)25.8 (20.2 to 32.4)44.9 (35.6 to 54.6)69.9 (66.5 to 73.1)
 Don't know (6.0%)3.2 (1.7 to 5.7)8.4 (4.0 to 16.8)4.4 (3.0 to 6.4)
Member or generally supportive of NRA or other firearm rights organisation
 Yes (19.2%)49.7 (42.5 to 56.8)26.5 (18.9 to 35.8)11.4 (9.3 to 14.0)
 No (75.7%)49.6 (42.5 to 56.8)66.8 (56.9 to 75.4)83.6 (80.6 to 86.3)
Military veteran
 Yes (8.8%)29.2 (23.4 to 35.8)0.5 (0.2 to 1.9)5.8 (4.6 to 7.4)
 No (91.2%)70.8 (64.2 to 76.6)99.5 (98.1 to 99.9)94.2 (92.6 to 95.4)
Carries a firearm for work
 Yes (1.8%)6.1 (3.4 to 10.7)3.2 (0.7 to 13.9)0.8 (0.3 to 2.0)
 No (97.5%)93.6 (89.1 to 96.4)96.9 (86.1 to 99.4)99.1 (98.0 to 99.6)
Has a CCW permit
 Yes (3.0%)15.2 (10.7 to 21.0)2.5 (0.4 to 15.3)0.7 (0.2 to 1.9)
 No (95.7%)83.7 (77.8 to 88.3)96.8 (86.7 to 99.3)98.8 (97.6 to 99.4)
  • *Row does not sum to 100% because some respondents reported not knowing whether there were firearms in their home or refused to answer this question.

  • †Rurality of residential census tract was determined using a four-tier consolidation of Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes (RUCAs) according to the Washington State ‘Guidelines for Using Rural-Urban Classification Systems for Public Health Assessment’, available at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.10.1.359.4369&rep=rep1&type=pdf .

  • CCW, carrying a concealed weapon; NRA, National Rifle Association.