The Effect of Gun Violence on Local Economies

The research report presents preliminary results on the effect of gun violence on local economies, providing findings from three cities: Minneapolis, Minnesota; Oakland, California; and Washington, DC. The study finds that an increase in gun homicides or gunfire in neighborhoods can lower the number of retail and service business establishments, the number of new jobs created, and the volume of sales in business establishments. While the specific types of local economic effects of gun violence differ by city, in all cities we found that an increase in gun violence has some type of a negative effect on business growth.