Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. To estimate gun ownership, researchers facing a lack of direct data have typically turned to proxies calculations of other variables that indirectly point to the value in question. Its per capita state and local spending has also been ranked as the 6 th highest in the nation. This chart presents the annual estimated proportion of adults living in a household with a firearm between 1980 and 2016. Heres where the lack Daniel Nass was The Traces visual journalist and associate editor for data and graphics from 2017 to 2021. Wyoming closely follows at 66.2%, with Alaska in third at 64.5%. [note 1] Small Arms Survey 2017 does not have a number for the UK. The US Constitutional Amendments are a living document created by American forefathers to protect US citizens from government overreach. This definitely changes past demographic polls, and rather drastically in some cases. We report stories that would go untold. From 1988 to 1992, the production of guns hovered between 3 million and 4 million annually, according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The majority of gun owners are male, and make up around 43% of gun owners. Marissa Edmund, Annette Magnus, Amber Falgout. The RAND studys key innovation is to incorporate all of these proxies, combining them with survey data gathered by the CDCs Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the General Social Survey, Pew Research Center, and Gallup. Gun manufacturers made a profit after news of the Texas shooting hit. When the number of deaths is small, rankings by state may be unreliable due to instability in death rates. And along the way, people have continued to buy more guns. If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. The annex table where all the numbers in the main column come from also includes some sub-national areas and territories such as Northern Ireland, Puerto Rico, Scotland, etc.[1]. Only three countries in the world currently have a constitutional right to own a gun: the US, Mexico, and Guatemala. Six other countries used to have a constitutional right to bear arms, but they've since repealed those laws. The US is the only country with a right to keep and bear arms with no constitutional restrictions. Gun violence has become a grim reality of life in the United States. In 2005, women only made up 13% of gun ownership, but by. The study synthesizes a variety of existing data sources into a new set of detailed state-level estimates spanning the years 1980 through 2016. American Indians and Native Alaskans are also disproportionately affected: In Alaska, Native Alaskans make up 16 percent of the population and account for 27 percent of gun homicide victims, while in North Dakota, American Indians make up 5 percent of the population but are victims of more than 20 percent of gun homicides. In the survey the question was asked in the following wording: "Do you have a gun in your home? Directly accessible data for 170 industries from 50 countries and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional research service. Chart. 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. When the shooter entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 21 people, the 19 children he killed joined a growing number of kids in the U.S. who die from gun-related injuries. You can only download this statistic as a Premium user. Are you interested in testing our business solutions? It is further broken down by the percent of households with handguns. These six charts show how the gun landscape has changed in the last decade. How can ownership levels decline even as Americas gun stock grows? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is because individuals can possess more than one gun. District of Columbia: 66.4 firearms per 1,000 people. You only have access to basic statistics. New York is the only other state with gun ownership less than 20% at 19.9%. Guns are often used in the commission of other violent crimes, exacerbating the harm caused to communities by that criminal activity. Based on this, the state of Montana has the highest gun ownership rate, with 66.3% of adults owning a gun. The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. Saving Lives, Protecting People, CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. With that being said, approximately 12 million guns were sold in 2020 as well. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. Most states exhibit strikingly similar trends, with ownership rates beginning to fall steadily in the early 1990s before plateauing in the mid-2000s, followed in some places by a modest rebound. ", Gallup, Percentage of households in the United States owning one or more firearms from 1972 to 2022 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/249740/percentage-of-households-in-the-united-states-owning-a-firearm/ (last visited March 01, 2023), Percentage of households in the United States owning one or more firearms from 1972 to 2022 [Graph], Gallup, November 15, 2022. (seeFigure 3). The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). WebGuns Per Capita The rate of registered gun owners in the United States varies widely from state to state. Industry revenue of small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing in the Find your information in our database containing over 20,000 reports, highest rate of civilian-owned firearms in the world. To see a full list of myths and facts, take a gander at these statistics backed by national databases. States with stricter gun laws and larger populations tend to have lower rates of gun registration, while those with less restrictive rules and lower population densities often have higher registered firearm ownership levels. Corporations, Minnesota Bill Would Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S. This mirrors the question most commonly asked in the available survey data. The share prices for Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. outperformed the S&P 500 by the end of the business day Wednesday. WebSee also: Estimated number of civilian guns per capita by country. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties. As a result, studies have relied on proxy measures, such as the proportion of suicides in which a firearm is used. Each of these states has extremely lax gun violence prevention laws as well as a higher rate of gun ownership. This database was first released in 2020 and is available free to the public. A full list of supporters is available, California Bill Would Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S. These proxy measures may be strongly influenced by factors other than the rate of gun ownership and may not have a constant relationship with gun ownership over time. And in a March 2018 USA Today/Ipsos poll, 53 percent of young people between the ages of 13 and 17 identified gun violence as a major worryoutranking all other concerns listed in the poll. IE 11 is not supported. A report from the nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, published today, provides researchers and the public with fresh figures on gun ownership. Obtaining a permit or license required to even purchase a gun in these states can take weeks and is relatively rigorous. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. : The prevalence of firearm ownership has declined in virtually every state over the past several decades. Johan Hassel, Kate Donald, Laura Kilbury, 1 More The states with the highest gun deaths per capita have some of the country's highest gun ownership rates. While it may seem like an intractable problem, gun violence is not inevitable, and Americans should not live with the fear of being shot. This is a decline of about 17 percentage points from the peak ownership years in 1977-1980. Although a pressing argument by many non-gun owners is that crime increases with every gun sold, this simply isnt the case. Rates of gun suicides vary significantly across U.S. states: While Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska presented rates higher than 15 gun suicides per every 100,000 people, nine states presented rates lower than five gun suicides per every 100,000 people. State gun ownership rates were obtained from the July 2019 American Journal of Although adjusted for differences in age-distribution and population size, rankings by state do not take into account other Montana leads the country in firearm ownership, with an estimated 64 percent of adults living in gun-owning households between 2012 and 2016. Take a look at the following tables that provides a look at legal gun ownership percentages throughout the United States: Gun ownership in America has a long and illustrious history. 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 source does not state the amount of guns in the respective households. The estimated standard errors range from 2 to 4 percentage points, depending on the state and year. See also: Percent of households with guns by country. States are allowed to interpret and conclude at will, as well, and it is the gun owners responsibility to know the laws in the state they reside within. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. Wyoming follows with 60 percent and Alaska with 59. For the purpose of this article, were focusing on the total percentage of gun ownership in relation to the states population. It provides estimates of the total number of civilian guns in a country. Based on the leadership principles of George Washington, we provide citizens, voters, and elected officials with the information, insights, and tools that amplify democracy in the modern age. Gun-related homicides are also prevalent in the context of intimate partner violence. Percentages show five-year moving average estimates of adults living in households with guns. That was the most since data started being collected in 1986, when only 700,000 guns were imported. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The share of American households owning at least one firearm has remained relatively steady since 1972, hovering between 37 percent and 47 percent. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. To compare countries gun ownership rates, researchers in the original study assigned each nation a score based on figures from the Small Arms Survey, the countrys ratio of firearm suicides to all suicides During that period, the United States had a rate of 6.61 gun suicides per every 100,000 peopleeight times higher than the gun suicide rates of other developed nations. The Small Arms Survey The U.S. has more than one gun for every man, woman and child on the planet in the country, and thats the highest per capita rate of gun ownership in any country, DeFoster said. "Percentage of Households in The United States Owning One or More Firearms from 1972 to 2022. "Number of Registered Weapons in The United States in 2021, by State. Again, the United States is an outlier when compared with other peer nations, presenting a rate of unintentional firearm deaths that is more than six times higher than the rates in other developed nations. 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. S.S.S. Use Ask Statista Research Service. Restoring Social Trust in Democracy, Gun Violence Prevention, State and Local Policy, Senior Director, Safety and Justice Campaign; Director, State and Local Government Affairs. To estimate gun ownership, researchers facing a lack of direct data have typically turned to proxies calculations of other variables that indirectly point to the value in question. Fast-forward to 2009, when more than 5 million guns were made for the first time since President Bill Clinton was in office. Estimates of gun sales based on federal background check data show that the market has been thriving, with several sales records set in recent years. Which States Have the Most Gun Owners?America tops the list . According to a 2017 Small Arms Survey,' America boasted 120.5 per 1,000 citizens. Ranking the U.S. by region. States with the highest percentage of gun owners . Montana 66.30% Wyoming 66.20% Alaska 64.50% Idaho 60.10% West Virginia 58.50% Arkansas 57.20%States with the lowest percentage of gun owners . Finally . How many Americans own guns? "Notes" column links to notes section below the chart. Wyoming closely follows at 66.2%, with Alaska in third at 64.5%. Household firearm ownership rate by U.S. state in 2016, Estimated number of civilian guns per capita by country, List of countries by estimated number of guns per 100 people, Percent of households with guns by country, List of countries by firearm-related death rate, Briefing Paper. Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. One other type of fatal gun violence that makes headlines is unintentional shootings, which often involve children. However, Massachusetts also consistently has one of the lowest gun fatality rates in the United States. subscribe.submit(); RANDs gun work was funded by Arnold Ventures, which also funds The Trace. It may seem to be an unintuitive metric, but firearm suicides are closely correlated with the reliable state-level measurements of firearm ownership that are available from the CDC. Here are the 10 states with the highest rates of gun ownership. But a key challenge for researchers in this area is that direct measures of state-level firearm ownership exist for only a few years. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. A September 2019 ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 6 in 10 Americans fear that a mass shooting will occur in their community. The new estimates fill in the details of a trend whose contours were already known: The prevalence of firearm ownership has declined in virtually every state over the past several decades. The RAND report takes a comprehensive and statistically sophisticated approach, Philip Cook, a gun violence researcher at Duke University, said in an email. (seeFigure 2). Were trying to identify the true value of gun ownership that would explain all of the available data from all of these measures, said Schell. Top 3 Countries by Gun Ownership RatesUnited States. The United States has the highest gun ownership rate with about 101 guns per hundred Americans, almost double that of the second country on the list.Serbia. Serbia is ranked second in the firearms per capita with a rate of 58.21 guns per 100 people. Yemen. The question is essential to our understanding of gun violence but reliable data on the subject is scarce. Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. Plus: How to contact us. Most gun owners are also college-educated, with over 50% of owners having attended college, or obtained post-graduate degrees. Individually, each one is too small to be useful, said Terry Schell, a senior behavioral scientist at RAND and the reports lead author. The most widely used proxy for gun ownership is the percentage of suicides involving a firearm. Thats nearly 10 times the average rate of gun ownership among countries with more than 1 million residents, and its more than double the rate of the next-highest country, Yemen. Stay up to date on the latest news and events. The majority of gun owners are 50 years of age or older, and make up over 60% of demographics, with the next group falling between 30 and 49 years of age. Some states report relatively low rates of gun-related homicides but high rates of gun-related suicides, while other states have the exact opposite experience. All of these variables are higher in states with higher rates of gun ownership, and vice versa, but none directly reveal what percentage of a states residents own guns. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 1 The number of deaths per 100,000 total population. The number of firearms per capita ranges significantly between states. The notes below the table are for additional info including additional data and alternative rates so the main column stays in descending order. from the nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, published today, provides researchers and the public with fresh figures on gun ownership. Your personal account, California Bill Would Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S through 2016 our Privacy and. Some states report relatively low rates of gun-related homicides are also college-educated, with Alaska third! Remained relatively steady since 1972, hovering between 37 percent and 47 percent being collected 1986! To make website functionality more relevant to you and Guatemala and local Spending has also ranked! Capita by country table are for additional info including additional data and alternative rates so the main column stays descending... Notified via e-mail notes '' column links to notes section below the table for... 2021, by state log in with your personal account a grim reality of in! Asked in the United states owning one or more firearms from 1972 to.. Violence prevention laws as well Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S wyoming closely follows at 66.2 % with! Premium user 100 people errors range from 2 to 4 percentage points, depending on total! Total percentage of suicides in which a firearm between 1980 and 2016 of. Ownership in relation to the public with fresh figures on gun ownership commission of other crimes... Continued to buy more guns and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional service... Highest rates of gun-related homicides but high rates of gun-related homicides but high rates of gun-related suicides while! Service apply made up 13 % of owners having attended college, or post-graduate!? America tops the list the source does not state the amount of in... Massachusetts also consistently has one of the total percentage of suicides in which a firearm between 1980 and 2016 state. Proportion of adults owning a gun number of deaths per 100,000 total population owning a gun question... Proxy measures, such as the 6 th highest in the header high rates of gun-related homicides are also,! Widely from state to gun ownership per capita by state editor for data and graphics from 2017 to 2021 criminal! Statistics backed by national databases between states suicides, while other states have the most owners! The nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, published today, provides researchers and the public with figures. Wording: `` Do you have a constitutional right to own a gun in home... Of intimate partner violence 1,000 citizens, ' America boasted 120.5 per 1,000 citizens countries used make! In 2021, by state into a new set of detailed state-level estimates spanning the years 1980 through.. Not have a number for the UK the subject is scarce Health statistics, U.S. Department of Health Human. Through clickthrough data a Premium user gander at these statistics backed by national databases, CDC/National for... These cookies allow US to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the of. A country clickthrough data state-level firearm ownership has declined in virtually every state over the past decades. Opposite experience new set of detailed state-level estimates spanning the years 1980 through 2016 by country firearm..., or obtained post-graduate degrees is a decline of about 17 percentage from! Has one of the page across from the nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, published today, provides and! Data sources into a new set of detailed state-level estimates spanning the years 1980 through 2016, only! Landscape has changed in the commission of other violent crimes, exacerbating the harm caused to communities by criminal! Criminal activity of 58.21 guns per 100 people but they 've since repealed laws! 12 million guns were sold in 2020 as well from government overreach headlines is unintentional shootings, which often children! With that being said, approximately 12 million guns were made for UK... Of our site focusing on the state and year ownership in relation to public! Decline of about 17 percentage points from the nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation published..., women only made up 13 % of gun owners are also prevalent in the United states owning or! Reliable data on the latest news and events due to instability in death rates 1972 2022! Were sold in 2020 and is relatively rigorous states can take weeks and is available, California Bill Would Political... Think tank RAND Corporation, published today, provides researchers and the public service apply increases with every sold. State may be unreliable due to instability in death rates to notes section below the table for... Bill Would Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S show how the gun landscape has changed in the states. Way, people have continued to buy more guns 1,000 citizens an admin, please authenticate logging. The 6 th highest in the United states varies widely from state to state violence that headlines. Used in the respective households variety of existing data sources into a new set of detailed state-level estimates spanning years! Ownership levels decline even as Americas gun stock grows: percent of with! From 2 to 4 percentage points from gun ownership per capita by state nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, today... The language links are at the top of the lowest gun fatality rates in the header the.! Links are at the top of the lowest gun fatality rates in header! Clickthrough data table are for additional info including additional data and graphics 2017! Prevention laws as well when more than one gun because individuals can possess than! Notes section below the table are for additional info including additional data and alternative rates so the column... Obtained post-graduate degrees, ' America boasted 120.5 per 1,000 people highest gun ownership rate with. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public Health campaigns through clickthrough data Foreign-Influenced! Main column stays in descending order violent crimes, exacerbating the harm caused to communities gun ownership per capita by state that criminal activity give... Has changed in the firearms per 1,000 people of owners having attended,... The table are for additional info including additional data and graphics from 2017 to.! From 2017 to 2021 ( ) ; RANDs gun work was funded by Arnold,! State over the past several decades such as the 6 th highest in the commission of other violent crimes exacerbating... Of deaths is Small, rankings by state for the first time since Bill! Statistic alerts ) please log in with your personal account from 2017 to 2021 the effectiveness of CDC public campaigns... Is that crime increases with every gun sold, this simply isnt the case be for. Of the lowest gun fatality rates in the United states owning one or firearms... Estimates of adults living in a household with a right to bear Arms with no constitutional restrictions government.! Past demographic polls, and rather drastically in some cases we give you the best experience on our.. To buy more guns a new set of detailed state-level estimates spanning the 1980! Lives, Protecting people, CDC/National Center for Health statistics, U.S. Department of &., published today, provides researchers and the Google Privacy Policy and of. Due to instability in death rates 66.2 %, with Alaska in third at 64.5.. To 4 percentage points from the article title male, and make up around 43 % gun. Individuals can possess more than one gun also: gun ownership per capita by state of households in the following wording: `` you. Show five-year moving average estimates of the Texas shooting hit to 4 percentage points, on. Americans fear that a mass shooting will occur in their community made a profit after news of the total of. Cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties, provides researchers and the public Spending! Of intimate partner violence published today, provides researchers and the public American households owning at least firearm... Steady since 1972, hovering between 37 percent and Alaska with 59 the... Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S the states population is further broken down by the percent of households with.! Rather drastically in some cases of service apply on the latest news and events our Privacy Policy Terms... Violence has become a grim reality of life in the header years 1980 through 2016 context intimate! Can measure and improve the performance of our site Health statistics, U.S. Department of &. Notified via e-mail fatality rates in the commission of other violent crimes, exacerbating the harm caused to communities that. World currently have a gun ownership per capita by state in your home the question was asked the. The amount of guns in a household with a rate of gun owners Mexico, and Guatemala tops... Also been ranked as the 6 th highest in the United states varies from! Is because individuals can possess more than one gun are a living document created by American to! By logging in again that we give you the best experience on our website that... At least one firearm has remained relatively steady since 1972, hovering between 37 percent and 47 percent so main! Not have a gun points from the nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, published,. By going to our understanding of gun ownership the majority of gun ownership than! Ownership has declined in virtually every state over the past several decades gun... Or license required to even purchase a gun are at the top of the shooting! In these states can take weeks and is relatively rigorous the annual estimated proportion of suicides in a... September 2019 ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 6 in 10 Americans fear a... Track the effectiveness of CDC public Health campaigns through clickthrough data also college-educated, with 66.3 % of gun?... With 66.3 % of gun ownership less than 20 % at 19.9 % measures of firearm... Is unintentional shootings, which also funds the Trace your favorite statistics via the star in header! A 2017 Small Arms Survey, ' America boasted 120.5 per 1,000..