(November 15, 2022). White, Deborah. Thirty-three percent of Americans aged 50 and older own at least one gun. This is, perhaps, not surprising, considering that eight-in-ten gun owners cite more than one reason for owning a gun including 44% who say there is more than one major reason and may need different types of guns for different purposes. Measuring gun ownership comes with its own set of challenges. Gun ownership is more common among men than women, and white men are particularly likely to be gun owners. An estimated 58.5% of West Virginia adults have guns in their homes. Small Arms Survey, 2018. The lowest is 3 per 1,000 people in Rhode Island and New York, to 229 per 1,000 people in Wyoming. Law Enforcement Approaches for Reducing Gun Violence, Personal Firearm Storage in the United States, The Challenges of Defining and Measuring Defensive Gun Use, Methodological Challenges to Identifying the Effects of Gun Policies, state-level estimates of household firearm ownership from 1980 to 2016. These once-illegally-owned guns were seized by the New York Police Department in 2013. Similar to Rhode Island and New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts have the lowest gun ownership rates in the U.S., with only 14.7% of each state's residents owning a gun. As for the gun-owning majority, Steward said, "The low end's . Gun ownership in the U.S. 1972-2022 Published by Statista Research Department , Dec 7, 2022 The share of American households owning at least one firearm has remained relatively steady since. One-in-ten men who didnt grow up with guns in their household say they went hunting often or sometimes, compared with 5% of women. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Moore is right that Canada has a far lower rate of firearm homicides than its . You need a Statista Account for unlimited access. Regardless of the type of community they lived in growing up, adults who grew up with guns in their households are far more likely than those who did not to be gun owners themselves. Prince William County prosecutor Richard C. Conway holds the grip of a small gun during a 2003 trial. "What Is Gun Ownership Like State by State." Based on this, the state of Montana has the highest gun ownership rate, with 66.3% of adults owning a gun. 31, 2021, thoughtco.com/gun-owners-percentage-of-state-populations-3325153. Number of registered weapons in the U.S. in 2019, by state. Interestingly, gun owners who see their local community as unsafe are not significantly more likely than those who say they live in a safe community to say protection is central to why they own a gun. Statista. "What Is Gun Ownership Like State by State." Alaska, Montana, and South Dakota, which are all among the 10 smallest states, rank in the top five for estimated per-capita gun sales. This figure displays three-year rolling averages for household gun ownership rates in each state and the nation overall. While non-gun owners are less likely to have grown up in a gun-owning household, a substantial share (40%) say this is the case, and about six-in-ten (61%) say they have fired a gun. Assessments vary between gun owners and those who dont own guns across community types, but differences are particularly pronounced among those who live in urban or suburban areas. First published on September 13, 2017 / 12:29 PM. The number of legal guns in Germany is about 7 per 100 residents. But there are several reputable organizations that track firearms-related statistics, such as the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, which can provide a fairly accurate look at gun ownership by state, as well as annual federal licensing data. Most guns in the United States are owned by rural households, while more men own guns than women. And while 36% of whites report that they are gun owners, about a quarter of blacks (24%) and 15% of Hispanics say they own a gun. An estimated 45.1% of adults in Colorado say they live in homes with guns. With a steel-constructed body constituting its thickness measured in gauges and secured with one (or more) of the three major lock . The passing of conceal and open carry laws has helped reduce violent crimes, and those who are issued permits for concealed carry has shown that those people are 14% less likely to engage in a violent crime. The U.S. has over 50% more firearms per capita than the next two highest nations, Serbia and Yemen at about 0.55 and three times as many as major European countries such as France and Germany. Information on estimated standard errors for each state-year estimate is provided in the full data set. Gun violence in the United States by state - Wikipedia Gun violence in the United States by state This article is a list of the U.S. states, with population, murders and non-negligent manslaughter, murders, gun murders, and gun ownership percentage, then calculated rates per 100,000. Owning and keeping a gun in the home (or business), even if you do not carry, helps reduce the likelihood of being made a target. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/249740/percentage-of-households-in-the-united-states-owning-a-firearm/, Percentage of households in the United States owning one or more firearms from 1972 to 2022, Available to download in PNG, PDF, XLS format, Gun ownership in the U.S. 2022, by gender, Gun ownership in the U.S. 2021, by ethnicity, Gun ownership in the U.S. 2021, by education level, Gun ownership U.S. 2022, by party affiliation, U.S. number of firearms manufactured 1986-2021, Number of total firearms manufactured U.S. 2021, by firearm category, Economic impact of U.S. sporting arms and ammunition industry 2020, Number of exported firearms U.S.1986-2021, U.S. number of exported firearms manufactured 2021, by firearm category, Number of imported firearms U.S. 1986-2020, Number of imported firearms U.S. 2020, by firearm category, NICS background checks performed in the U.S. 1998-2021, Number of homicides by firearm in the U.S. 2006-2021, Homicides by firearm in the U.S. 2006-2020, Homicide by firearm rate in the U.S. 2006-2020, Murders involving firearms in the U.S. 2020, by state, Number of firearm deaths U.S. 2019, by gender, U.S. public opinion on the strictness of laws covering firearms sale 1990-2022, Support for stricter gun control laws U.S. 2022, by party, Support for protecting or limiting gun ownership rights U.S. 2022, by party, U.S. public opinion on a law that bans private handgun possession 1990-2022, Support for banning assault-style weapons in the U.S. 2022, by party, Support for banning high-capacity ammunition magazines U.S. 2022, by party, Percentage of U.S. population who know gun violence victims, as of 2013, Gun ownership in the U.S. 2012, by ethnicity, Gun ownership in the U.S. 2012, by education, Gun ownership in the U.S. 2017, by region, United States: presence of a firearm at home 2022, Gun ownership in the U.S. 2014, by gender, U.S. public opinion on safety gains through more concealed weapons 2015, U.S. public opinion on background checks for all gun purchases 2015, How many Americans agree with concealed carry, by gender 2018, Number of registered firearms in South Korea 2007-2016, U.S. public opinion on people in neighborhood watch programs carrying guns 2012, U.S. public opinion on the "stand your ground laws" in March 2012, Firearm ownership rate, by household income U.S. 2014, Satisfaction with gun policy in the US 2014, Latin America & Caribbean: number of armed civilians by country 2017, Firearm ownership rate, by proximity to urban centers U.S. 2017, Find your information in our database containing over 20,000 reports, large number of deaths due to firearms in the country. A model walks the runway during the NRA Concealed Carry Fashion Show in Milwaukee. Source: RAND Corporation . An estimated 40.7% of adults in Pennsylvania have guns in their homes. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. White, Deborah. Around 44.6% of adults in Virginia have guns at home. The resulting measure represents the proportion of adults living in a household with a firearm in each U.S. state for each year between 1980 and 2016. The number of firearms per capita ranges significantly between states. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. Of these states, Texas has the most registered guns, with 588,696. Both Israel and Switzerland probably have much higher gun ownership rates, but including them, the way the Small Arms Survey does, biases the results so that those countries look lower than they actually are. In this photo, Rick Berg target shoots at the National Guard Armory in Bismarck. Below is a table of each state's total registered guns and the number of registered guns per 1,000 people. About eight-in-ten young adults who grew up in a gun-owning household (79%) say this was a reason, compared with 66% of those ages 30 to 49, 60% of those ages 50 to 64, and just 34% of those ages 65 and older. About half of men who grew up with guns in their homes say they went hunting often (27%) or sometimes (23%). White, Deborah. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); ProjectGunner is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Among women who grew up in a gun-owning household, about one-in-five (22%) say they went hunting at least sometimes when they were growing up, while most say they hardly ever (18%) or never (61%) did this. Among all current and past gun owners, the average age at which Americans say they first became gun owners is 22 years. This fact still rings true, with the only major difference being that the United States population and the number of guns in the nation have grown in size. 30-34% of 70-80 million Americans own a gun. That's a total of 104,998 registered guns among 3,080,156 residents. Table 1 (left side) shows that the 31.0% of households reported having a firearm in 2014, essentially tying with 2010 for the lowest level of gun ownership in the last 40-some years. Guns and daily life: Identity, experiences, activities and involvement, Gun ownership is most common among men, whites, Two-thirds of gun owners cite protection as a major reason for owning a gun, About two-thirds of gun owners own more than one gun, Most gun owners say there were guns in their household growing up, Most Americans say they have fired a gun at some point, Most Americans say society has a negative view of gun owners, but that people in their own communities look at gun owners is a positive way, 2. The United States has nearly twice as many guns per 100 people as the next closest country, Yemen 88.8 guns per 100 as opposed to 54.8 in Yemen: ( The Guardian/Phillybdizzle ) Some Americans who dont personally own guns live with someone who does or may have owned a gun in the past. Overall, 45% of American men and 40% of American women live in a household with a gun. A North Little Rock gun shop displays a semi-automatic handgun and a holster. in 2015, the Deseret News reported reported Americans own guns at a staggering rate of 88.8 firearms per 100 people. Contents 1 List of countries by number of guns 2 See also These social gun cultures have rarely been formally studied but may be important determinants of gun ownership," the study's authors wrote. Gun owners are far more likely than non-gun owners to say people in their community look at most gun owners in a positive way; 78% of gun owners say this is the case, compared with 53% of non-gun owners. In this photo, high school students prepare for a trapshooting match in Osage. Men are more likely than women to own a gun, according to Pew. In New Mexico, 46.2% of adults have at least one gun at home. Overall, about seven-in-ten gun owners say they own a handgun or pistol (72%), while 62% own a rifle and 54% own a shotgun. Thirty-nine percent of men say they own a firearm, while 22% of women do. Mike Jones poses beside a display in a gun store in Simpsonville. While men and women are equally likely to say there were guns in their household growing up, men who grew up in a gun-owning household are far more likely than their female counterparts to say they went hunting or shooting when they were growing up. In April, gun sales were down 23% compared with the . And while 36% of whites report that they are gun owners, about a quarter of blacks (24%) and 15% of Hispanics say they own a gun. The top 5 states that currently have the most guns include: But these are large states, with large populations. Here are the results: As shown, when considered from a global perspective, there is no correlation between the number of guns per capita in a country and the number of firearm-related homicides. If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. According to the Congressional Research Service, there are roughly twice as many guns per capita in the United States as there were in 1968: more than 300 million guns in all. You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature. Of Wyoming's 581,075 people, there are 132,806 registered guns. This map presents the average proportion of adults living in a household with a firearm, between 2007 and 2016. So, to support research in this area, RAND developed a longitudinal database of state-level estimates of household firearm ownership from 1980 to 2016. An estimated 42.8% of Minnesotans share their homes with at least one firearm. Because of this, over 70% of gun owners own a handgun of some sort, with rifles and shotguns making up the rest. That's an average of 32 guns for every 1,000 residents. In Kentucky, 54.6% of adults have firearms at home. About seven-in-ten adults (72%) say they have fired a gun at some point in their lives. Although adjusted for differences in age-distribution and population size, rankings by state do not take into account other state specific population . As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND researchers developed annual, state-level estimates of household firearm ownership by combining data from surveys and administrative sources. The Second Amendment is often hotly contested since it deals with the right to bear arms, and is often broken down and criticized for not being up to date or not applicable to modern firearms. Overall, 69% of all U.S. adults and 75% of those who own a gun say the world has become a more dangerous place. Men who grew up in a gun-owning household are also more likely than women who grew up with guns in their homes to say they went shooting or to a gun range growing up, though relatively few men or women say they did this often (13% and 7%, respectively). Canada, on the other hand, ranks 13th on the study's list, with 9.95 million firearms or 31 per 100 residents. Pew Research Center, 2017. About seven-in-ten say they own a handgun or pistol (72%), while 62% own a rifle and 54% own a shotgun. In the United States over 300 million people own firearms. Among those who own a single gun, most (62%) say that gun is a handgun or pistol, while far fewer say they own a rifle (22%) or a shotgun (16%). Hopefully, this article has introduced some interesting statistics surrounding gun ownership in the United States and has provided you some insights into the vast number of firearms in existence, how they are used, and who they are owned by. Although a pressing argument by many non-gun owners is that crime increases with every gun sold, this simply isnt the case. In contrast, seven-in-ten of those who grew up in a gun-owning household in a city say there were guns in their household for protection; about half cite hunting (51%) or sport shooting (50%) as reasons there were guns in their household growing up. An estimated 53.1% of adults in the Bayou State have guns at home. An estimated 48.9% of Kansas adults have firearms in their homes. The RAND report found that 45.8% of adults in North Carolina have guns in their homes. An estimated 14.7% of Massachusetts adults have a gun in their home. On the other side of the scale, we have the states with the lowest percentage of gun owners. But higher shares of male than female gun owners say hunting (43% of men vs. 31% of women) and sport shooting (34% vs. 23%) are major reasons they personally own a gun. Guns are in the households of an estimated 42.1% of Washington state residents. However, as a living document, it encompasses the legal right to own and bear guns, and the amount of guns owned by law-abiding US citizens illustrates just how seriously they take this right. CBS News staff. Register in seconds and access exclusive features. But the trend has not always been upward. Still, this can give us an idea of how gun ownership breaks down by state. 17-19% of 40-45 million adults own a handgun. According to the Small Arms Survey of 2017, the United States had a population size of around 326,474,000 people. Among whites, about four-in-ten of those with a high school diploma or less (40%) or with some college (42%) are gun owners, compared with roughly a quarter of white college graduates (26%). Worldwide study: fewer guns mean fewer gun deaths. Is Mental Illness a Risk Factor for Gun Violence? Unlike the states with higher guns per capita, these states all have some of the country's strictest gun laws. The household ownership of firearms has declined in recent decades. Convention-goers look at Old West handguns at an NRA gathering in Nashville. It is estimated that approximately 393 million legal guns are owned in the United States, meaning its possible every person owns a gun, possibly two. About three-quarters of gun owners who say the community where they live is not too safe or not at all safe (74%) and 66% of those who say they live in a community that is very or somewhat safe cite protection as a major reason they own gun. Sales in Kentucky are at or near the top of the FBI list most months. What the data says about abortion in the U.S. Are you in the American middle class? Directly accessible data for 170 industries from 50 countries and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional research service. In addition to the three-in-ten adults who currently own a gun, another 10% say they have owned one in the past; 58% say they have never owned a gun. That's due in large part to lack of national standards for licensing and registering firearms, which is left to the states and their varying degrees of regulation. But a key challenge for researchers in this area is that direct measures of state-level firearm ownership exist for only a few years. To delve into this alarming statistic, U.S.-trained Universit de Montral economist . Massachusetts and New Jersey have the lowest gun ownership rate of 14.7%, followed by Rhode Island, with 14.8%, and Hawaii, with 14.9%. For example, men who have never owned a gun are more likely than their female counterparts to say they have fired one (64% vs. 50%). They were made to safeguard freedoms against tyranny, and are not granted by the Government, but considered a God-given right and are not to be infringed upon by any government. Gun sales have . This figure displays mean estimated household gun ownership rates for each state for 2007 to 2016. Although many own more than one, only 38% of hunters and 30% of sport shooters claim those are their only reason for gun ownership. In Michigan, 40.2% of adults have at least one gun at home. 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Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images, MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images, Chris Melzer/picture alliance via Getty Images, Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, Laurie Skrivan/St. Of Minnesotans share their homes large populations 22 % of adults have at least one gun in Michigan, %. Gun-Owning majority, Steward said, & quot ; the low end & # x27 ; s a of. Around 326,474,000 people: But these are large states, Texas has the most registered guns isnt... In Simpsonville guns and the nation overall of a small gun during a 2003 trial own.. Guns in Germany is about 7 per 100 people they first became gun owners firearms per ranges. Exist for only a few years the lowest is 3 per 1,000 people in Wyoming residents. Provided in the United states over 300 million people own firearms with its own set of challenges #... Map presents the average age at which Americans say they live in homes with at one... 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