Posted on 01/09/2025 8:48:08 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The U.S. has more guns than people, with nearly 400 million in civilian possession.
In this map, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti ranks states by the highest percentage of gun ownership for adults, based on data from the Pew Research Center compiled by Data Pandas as of 2024.
Montana tops the ranking of the states with the highest percentage of gun ownership, with 66.3% of the adult population owning firearms. The state has some of the most relaxed gun control laws in America. No state permit is required to purchase or possess a rifle, shotgun, or handgun.
The state is followed on our list by its neighbor, Wyoming, where 66.2% of adults own a firearm. Alaska comes in third, with 64.5%.
| State | Gun Ownership Rate ↕ |
|---|---|
| Montana | 66.3% |
| Wyoming | 66.2% |
| Alaska | 64.5% |
| Idaho | 60.1% |
| West Virginia | 58.5% |
| Arkansas | 57.2% |
| Mississippi | 55.8% |
| Alabama | 55.5% |
| South Dakota | 55.3% |
| North Dakota | 55.1% |
| Oklahoma | 54.7% |
| Kentucky | 54.6% |
| Louisiana | 53.1% |
| Tennessee | 51.6% |
| Oregon | 50.8% |
| Vermont | 50.5% |
| South Carolina | 49.4% |
| Georgia | 49.2% |
| Kansas | 48.9% |
| Missouri | 48.8% |
| Nevada | 47.3% |
| Maine | 46.8% |
| Utah | 46.8% |
| Arizona | 46.3% |
| New Mexico | 46.2% |
| North Carolina | 45.8% |
| Texas | 45.7% |
| Wisconsin | 45.3% |
| Nebraska | 45.2% |
| Colorado | 45.1% |
| Indiana | 44.8% |
| Virginia | 44.6% |
| Iowa | 43.6% |
| Minnesota | 42.8% |
| Washington | 42.1% |
| New Hampshire | 41.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 40.7% |
| Michigan | 40.2% |
| Ohio | 40.0% |
| Florida | 35.3% |
| Delaware | 34.4% |
| Maryland | 30.2% |
| California | 28.3% |
| Illinois | 27.8% |
| Connecticut | 23.6% |
| New York | 19.9% |
| Hawaii | 14.9% |
| Rhode Island | 14.8% |
| New Jersey | 14.7% |
| Massachusetts | 14.7% |
On the other side of the spectrum, New Jersey and Massachusetts share the lowest gun ownership rate in the country, both at 14.7%.
Two other states with very low ownership rates include Hawaii (14.9%) and Rhode Island (14.8%).
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. gun manufacturing and imports have increased by about 10% annually over the last decade.
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic spurred record demand for firearms, 17 million guns entered the domestic market.
If you enjoyed this post, check out Which U.S. States Have the Most Gun Manufacturers? on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
Not coincidentally, Connecticut, New York, Hawaii, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Massachusetts are next to/surrounded by water.
Lotta boating accidents there, I bet.
I *HIGHLY* doubt NH’s numbers.
-PJ
I have to wonder what their methodology is - in particular, if they were only able to get numbers for *legal* gun ownership. I have no idea how many guns gang members in LA, Chicago, and NYV own, but I suspect the percentages in CA, IL, and NY are higher than presented on that map.
Fourth place? FOURTH place?? I bet they didn’t include what I got for Christmas...
No way I believe PA’s numbers.
I would have guessed 80%, NOT 41%.
“A” firearm? Try +/- 15 - and I’m not a collector, just a life-long hunter.
I guess those numbers are just the ones they know about...
Hehehehe.
Yes.
More than one in this house.
FL at 35%— more like 85%. LA the Sportsmen’s Paradise at 53% more like 90%, in fact every state esp. Alabama and Tennessee they got wrong. So people aren’t talking and right not to be. VA? no way it’s that low.
It is keeping these numbers nebulous that our Republic is kept safe from invasion from within or without.
The phrase from Gen. Yammamoto comes to mind “behind every blade of grass there are armed Americans”.
T
The only things I’ve ever hunted were my keys, and even I have multiple firearms.
That reminds me, I need to rotate my magazines. Or is that my tires?
Notice states with the LOWEST # of guns have the HIGHEST crime.
What about those in MD that own multiple guns...
Can that impact the 30%??
Just asking theoretically...
Florida 35.3%
Delaware 34.4%
Maryland 30.2%
California 28.3%
Illinois 27.8%
Connecticut 23.6%
New York 19.9%
Hawaii 14.9%
Rhode Island 14.8%
New Jersey 14.7%
Massachusetts 14.7%
Suspect that this list, reversed, would be the states with the highest crime rates...
Yeah, I need more guns.
Maybe I am reading this wrong, but I take it to mean the number of people who own at least one registered gun, not total number. Speaking of a friend who has enough to arm his neighborhood, well until their recent boating accident😎
Too bad the ones with a lot of guns didn’t have the b.lls to even SHOW UP with them when their statues were being torn down.
They didn’t even have to be used at all. Showing up would have been enough.
Give me one paesano with a baseball bat (How Italians defended their Columbus statues when it was happening) rather than 100 guys who are afraid to even show up but own 50 guns.
Here in what we lovingly call Redneck County, PA, I’d be astonished if it’s only 66 percent of us owning guns.
Philly and other urban hellscapes are skewing our numbers making us look like...weenies.
I’d like to see the crime stats alongside that list, bet there’s a big old inverse relationship there. :D
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