What Is Gun Ownership Like State by State

There's no way to get a precise account of gun ownership in the United States on a state-by-state basis. 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 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.

Guns in the U.S.

According to the Washington Post, there are more than 350 million guns in the U.S. That figure comes from a 2015 analysis of data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). But other sources say there are far fewer guns in the U.S., perhaps 245 million or even 207 million. Even if you use a lower estimate, that's still more than one-third of all civilian-owned guns in the world, making America No 1. in terms of gun ownership in the world.

A 2017 survey by the Pew Research Center reveals some more interesting stats about guns in the U.S. Handguns are the most common choice of firearm among gun owners, especially those who only own one weapon. The South is the region with the most guns (about 36 percent), followed by the Midwest and West (32 and 31 percent, respectively) and the Northeast (16 percent).

Men are more likely than women to own a gun, according to Pew.

About 40 percent of men say they own a firearm, while 22 percent of women do. A closer analysis of this demographic data reveals that about 46 percent of guns are owned by rural households, while just 19 percent of urban households do. About 66 percent of firearms in the U.S. are owned by people aged 50 and older.

People aged 30 to 49 own about 28 percent of the nation's guns, with the rest belonging to this 18 to 29. Politically, Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to own a gun.

Number of Guns Ranked by State

The following data is based on 2017 gun registration statistics from the ATF, as compiled by HuntingMark.com. States (plus Washington D.C.) are ranked by guns per capita. If you were to rank states by total guns registered, Texas would be No. 1. For a different perspective, CBS conducted a telephone survey that placed Alaska at the top of the per-capita ranking.

Sources

CBS News staff. "Gun Ownership and Gun Violence in America, by the Numbers." CBSNews.com, 15 February 2018.

Edwards, Jeff. "Gun Ownership Mapped: How Many Guns Each State Had In 2017?" HuntingMark.com, 18 February 2018.

Ingraham, Christopher. "There are Now More Guns Than People in the United States." WashingtonPost.com, 5 October 2015.

McCarthy, Tom; Beckett, Lois; and Glenza, Jessica. "America's Passion for Guns: Ownership and Violence by the Numbers." TheGuardian.com, 3 October 2017.

Parker, Kim; Horowitz, Juliana Menasche; Igielnik, Ruth; Oliphant, Baxter; and Brown, Anna. "The Demographics of Gun Ownership." Pew Research Center, 22 June 2017.