How Many Guns Does The Average American Own? (137 Startling Gun Ownership Statistics)

How many guns does the average American own?

In this article, you’ll learn about:

how many gun owners there are in America
how many guns there are in America
states with the most and least amount of guns
how many guns are registered vs unregistered (it’s a lot)
gun ownership demographics

Let’s dig into these gun ownership statistics.

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Key Gun Ownership Statistics In America

There are 393.3 million guns in America.
There are 7.4 million registered guns in America.
Only 1.89% of the guns in America are registered.
There are 5,292% more unregistered guns than registered guns in America.
40.5 million guns were bought during the pandemic.
22% of the 40.5 million were bought without a background check.
The average American owns 1.17 unregistered guns and 0.02 registered guns.
Gun sales have grown at an average of 3.7% per year over the past 20 years.
30% of Americans own a gun.
36% of people in the south own a gun.
74% of people believe second amendment gun rights are essential to their freedoms.
66% (about two-thirds) of gun owners own more than one gun.
67% of people own guns for protection.
38% of gun owners keep a loaded gun nearby.
1/3 of civilian guns in the world are owned by Americans.
81.4 million Americans own a gun.
44% of American households have a gun.
48% of white males own a gun.
There are 7.4 million registered guns in America.
There are 385.9 million unregistered guns in America.
There are 1.21 guns per person in the US.
37% of people owned a gun before they were 18 years old.
Men buy their first gun at 19 years old, on average.
Women buy their first gun at 27 years old, on average.
48% of people grew up with guns in their households.
There are 390 million guns in circulation in the US.
Wyoming has the most guns per capita at 12.9 guns per capita.
Rhode Island has the least guns per capita at 0.23 guns per capita.
There were 45,222 gun-related deaths last year.
44% of people know someone who has been shot.
53 people die by a gun per day
19,384 homicides were gun-related last year.
73% of homicides involve a gun in America.
There were 692 mass shootings last year. 280 led to firearm deaths.
Joe Biden had 5,000 more fatal shootings in his first year than Trump.
7 states have assault weapon bans in America.

How Many Guns Does The Average American Own?

The average American owns the following amount of guns:

# of Guns Owned	% of People
1	32%
2 - 4	37%
5+	29%

What Percent Of Americans Own Guns?

32% of Americans own guns.
44% of Americans live in a gun-owning household.

Gun Ownership By Age Group

The 65+ age group owns the largest percentage of guns.
18 – 29-year-olds own the smallest number of guns.
31.3% of Americans own a gun, regardless of age group.

Let’s look at how many guns the average American owns by age:

Age Group	Gun Owner	Lives In Gun Household
18 - 29	22%	38%
30 - 49	35%	45%
50 - 64	32%	45%
65+	36%	48%

Gun Ownership By Income Group

Higher-income groups are more likely to own guns than lower-income groups.

Income Group	Gun Owner	Lives In Gun Household
$100,000+	38%	55%
$40,000 to $100,000	34%	51%
<$40,000	25%	31%

Gun Ownership By Level Of Education

Level Of Education	Gun Owner	Lives In Gun Household
Postgraduate	26%	36%
College graduate only	35%	50%
Some college	34%	48%
No college	31%	41%

How Many Guns Are In America?

There are 393.3 million guns in America.

The number of guns in America grows at a rate of 3.7% per year.

Some of the gun ownership statistics this section covers are:

how many gun owners are in America
number of guns purchased per year
how many guns are in circulation and what types
how many guns are in the world
gun ownership by gun types

How Many Gun Owners Are In America?

There are 99.6 million registered gun owners in America.

Roughly 30% of Americans own a gun.

Number of Guns Purchased Per Year

18.7 million guns were purchased last year.
An average of 15.7 million guns have been purchased per year for the past 10 years.
An average of 12.3 million guns have been purchased per year for the past 20 years.
Since 2020, the average number of guns purchased per year is 20.3 million guns.

This data gets pulled from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

The gun ownership rate has increased significantly over the past 5-10 years.

Gun sales have grown at an average of 5.4% over the past 20 years.

40.5 million guns were purchased during the pandemic.

Table Showing The Number Of Guns Purchased Per Year

Year	Number Of Guns Purchased (Millions)
2000	7.5
2001	7.8
2002	7.4
2003	7.4
2004	7.7
2005	8.0
2006	8.4
2007	8.8
2008	9.6
2009	10.2
2010	10.0
2011	11.5
2012	14.5
2013	15.5
2014	13.7
2015	14.8
2016	16.2
2017	14.5
2018	13.5
2019	13.5
2020	21.6
2021	18.9
2022	14.6

How Many Guns Were Sold In 2020?

21.6 million guns were sold in 2020 in America.

How Many Guns Are In Circulation In The US

There are 393.3 million guns in circulation in the US.

The number of guns in circulation based on firearm type is:

144.6 million handguns
139.6 million rifles
109.1 million shotguns

Gun Ownership by Firearm Type

The most common firearms are handguns.

Most common types of guns:

Firearm Type	% Of People That Own This Gun Type
Handguns	72%
Rifles	62%
Shotguns	54%

Number Of Guns In America Over Time

We can calculate the number of guns in America over time.

We know how many guns are in America today.

And we know how many guns were sold each year (393.3 million).

Table Showing The Number Of Guns In America Over Time

Year	Number Of Guns In America
2000	144.1
2001	151.9
2002	159.3
2003	166.7
2004	174.4
2005	182.4
2006	190.8
2007	199.6
2008	209.2
2009	219.5
2010	229.5
2011	240.9
2012	255.5
2013	271.0
2014	284.7
2015	299.5
2016	315.7
2017	330.1
2018	343.6
2019	357.1
2020	378.7
2021	393.3
2022	393.3

How Many Guns Are In The World?

There are 1.01 billion guns in the world.

Here is how the ownership of guns in the world is broken down:

857 million civilian-held firearms
133 million firearms held by the military
22.7 million held by law enforcement
America owns 38.8% of the guns in the world.

There is 1 gun for every 8 people based on the world population.

Number Of Gun Owners In The US

Let’s look at some statistics about the number of gun owners in the US.

How many registered gun owners are there?
How many guns per capita are there?

How Many Registered Gun Owners Are In The US?

There are 77.5 million registered, legal gun owners in America.

But only Registered guns make up 1.89% of the guns in America.

Guns Per Capita

America has 1.21 guns per capita in the US.

For every 100 people in the US, there are 120.5 guns in America.

Gun Ownership In America By Gender

Men are 177% more likely to own a gun compared to women.
36.9 million women own a gun.
63.3 million men own a gun.
48% of white males own a gun.
24% of non-white males own a gun.

Most common types of guns for men:

handgun: 73%
rifle: 69%
shotgun: 60%

Most common types of guns for women:

handgun: 71%
rifle: 50%
shotgun: 44%

Female Gun Ownership Statistics

22% of women own a gun.
Female gun ownership is 56% that of male gun ownership.
18% of women live in a gun-owning household.
24% of white women own a gun.
16% of non-white women own a gun.
45% of women say that they intend to buy a gun for the first time soon.
71% of women say they own a gun for protection and self-defense.

The Geography Of Gun Ownership

Gun ownership in the US varies depending on where people live.

Rural areas have the highest gun ownership rates.

While people living in the cities have the least amount of guns.

Rural Areas: 72%
Small Towns: 52%
Suburbs: 37%
Cities: 39%

Southern states have the highest rate of gun ownership.

Those who live in the north own a gun at a rate that’s 44% of the south.

Northeast: 16%
Midwest: 32%
South: 36%
West: 31%

The south has a gun ownership rate that’s 225% higher than the north.

Gun Ownership By State

Texas has the most registered guns at 1,006,555.
Texas has 94% more guns than Florida.
Texas has more guns than the 20 lowest gun-owning states combined.
Texas owns 13.5% of the guns in America.
The 10 highest gun-owning states own 52.3% of the guns in America.
The Bible Belt owns 1.46 million guns (19.7% of guns owned).
66.3% of people in Wyoming own a gun.
Only 14.7% of people in New Jersey own a gun.

Highest Gun-Owning States

Texas – 1,006,555
Florida – 518,725
Virginia – 423,707
California – 406,360
Pennsylvania – 348,167
Georgia – 304,124
Arizona – 258,691
North Carolina – 222,166
Ohio – 208,661
Alabama – 194,920

Lowest Gun-Owning States

Rhode Island – 4,887
Delaware – 6,092
Hawaii – 9,280
Vermont – 9,451
Maine – 21,396
Alaska – 28,237
North Dakota – 30,975
Montana – 36,678
Nebraska – 43,261
Massachusetts – 45,138

Which State Has The Most Guns

Texas has the most registered guns at 1,006,555.

Florida has the 2nd largest amount of registered guns at 518,725.

It’s estimated that Texas has 52,960,968 unregistered guns.

This takes into account the number of registered and unregistered guns.

Gun Purchases By State

This table looks at the number of guns purchased in each state last year.

Table Showing The Gun Purchases By State

State	Guns Sold By State
Texas	1,624,677
Florida	1,422,294
California	1,096,943
Pennsylvania	1,019,744
Tennessee	700,084
Ohio	655,772
Michigan	648,752
Virginia	620,267
Missouri	601,604
Alabama	593,790
Indiana	568,539
Illinois	545,849
Colorado	536,628
Washington	504,401
Georgia	495,897
Wisconsin	479,426
Arizona	479,269
Oklahoma	395,286
New York	383,059
Oregon	374,575
Minnesota	374,056
Louisiana	373,524
Kentucky	366,137
South Carolina	326,070
Mississippi	305,468
North Carolina	300,107
Arkansas	244,326
New Jersey	224,853
Maryland	209,139
Kansas	207,888
West Virginia	202,854
Idaho	197,744
New Mexico	190,418
Utah	160,587
Montana	149,751
Nevada	146,330
New Hampshire	141,943
Massachusetts	141,488
Maine	125,921
Connecticut	119,179
South Dakota	98,736
Alaska	90,843
Wyoming	79,218
North Dakota	74,850
Delaware	66,355
Iowa	63,957
Vermont	53,682
Rhode Island	41,893
Nebraska	31,310
District of Columbia	4,934
Hawaii	33

Gun Ownership Per Capita By State

Wyoming has 13 guns per person, the most guns per capita.
Wyoming has 342% more guns per capita than the next highest state (South Dakota).
Rhode Island has 0.23 guns per person, the least guns per capita.
Registered guns make up 1.89% of the guns in America.
There are 5,292% more unregistered guns than registered guns in America.
The average American owns 1.17 unregistered guns and 0.02 registered guns.
There are 5,292% more unregistered guns than registered guns in America.

For this section, we know three things:

the number of registered guns per state
the total number of guns circulating in America
the population of America

We can estimate how many guns the average American adult owns in each state.

State	Total Registered Guns	Registered Guns Per Capita	Total Unregistered Guns	Unregistered Guns Per Capita
Alabama	194,920	0.04	10,316,395	2.03
Alaska	28,237	0.04	1,494,480	2.02
Arizona	258,691	0.04	13,691,558	1.87
Arkansas	133,981	0.04	7,091,119	2.34
California	406,360	0.01	21,507,132	0.54
Colorado	149,382	0.03	7,906,237	1.33
Connecticut	74,874	0.02	3,962,804	1.10
Delaware	6,092	0.01	322,427	0.32
Florida	518,725	0.02	27,454,195	1.24
Georgia	304,124	0.03	16,096,158	1.47
Hawaii	9,280	0.01	491,156	0.33
Idaho	76,425	0.04	4,044,893	2.14
Illinois	144,749	0.01	7,661,029	0.60
Indiana	157,546	0.02	8,338,327	1.22
Iowa	54,178	0.02	2,867,441	0.89
Kansas	69,850	0.02	3,696,902	1.25
Kentucky	108,833	0.02	5,760,128	1.27
Louisiana	152,061	0.03	8,048,026	1.72
Maine	21,396	0.02	1,132,411	0.83
Maryland	136,257	0.02	7,211,579	1.15
Massachusetts	45,138	0.01	2,388,987	0.34
Michigan	109,835	0.01	5,813,160	0.57
Minnesota	129,825	0.02	6,871,157	1.19
Mississippi	80,712	0.03	4,271,788	1.44
Missouri	113,351	0.02	5,999,249	0.97
Montana	36,678	0.03	1,941,231	1.76
Nebraska	43,261	0.02	2,289,645	1.15
Nevada	119,007	0.04	6,298,600	1.98
New Hampshire	72,433	0.05	3,833,611	2.76
New Jersey	102,228	0.01	5,410,550	0.58
New Mexico	122,968	0.06	6,508,241	3.06
New York	92,191	0.00	4,879,329	0.24
North Carolina	222,166	0.02	11,758,425	1.11
North Dakota	30,975	0.04	1,639,392	2.05
Ohio	208,661	0.02	11,043,655	0.93
Oklahoma	103,368	0.03	5,470,886	1.37
Oregon	97,474	0.02	5,158,938	1.19
Pennsylvania	348,167	0.03	18,427,191	1.41
Rhode Island	4,887	0.00	258,651	0.23
South Carolina	119,205	0.02	6,309,080	1.21
South Dakota	64,666	0.07	3,422,532	3.80
Tennessee	151,536	0.02	8,020,240	1.14
Texas	1,000,655	0.03	52,960,968	1.77
Utah	118,408	0.04	6,266,897	1.86
Vermont	9,451	0.01	500,206	0.77
Virginia	423,707	0.05	22,425,244	2.56
Washington	165,534	0.02	8,761,102	1.11
West Virginia	50,963	0.03	2,697,283	1.51
Wisconsin	95,430	0.02	5,050,757	0.85
Wyoming	142,247	0.25	7,528,608	12.99

What State Has The Most Guns Per Capita?

Wyoming has the most guns per capita.

Wyoming has:

12.9 unregistered guns per capita
0.25 registered guns per capita

Political Party Demographics

Here is the number of people that own guns in each political party:

Republicans – 41%
Democrats – 16%
Independents – 36%

Some interesting statistics come from this:

16.5 million Republicans own a gun.
8.2 million Democrats own a gun.
20.6 million Independents own a gun.
Republicans are 256% more likely to own a gun than Democrats.
251% more Independents own a gun compared to Democrats.
Democrats own 49.7% of the number of guns compared to Republicans.

This data is based on some math.

There are 154.6 million people who vote.

Then, we know that the breakdown of voting per party is:

Republicans – 26%
Democrats – 33%
Independents – 37%

We calculate how many people there are in each party.

And we calculate how many people in each party own a gun.

Reasons for Gun Ownership In America

The top reasons for gun ownership in America were for:

protection (i.e., self-defense): 67%
hunting: 38%
sports shooting: 30%
gun collections: 13%
their job (i.e., law enforcement): 8%

The majority of gun owners cite multiple reasons for gun ownership.

But “protection” was the main reason for owning a gun.

65% of men said that protection was the #1 reason.

While 71% of women cited protection as the reason for gun ownership.

Data For These Gun Ownership Statistics

We pulled our data on firearm ownership statistics from sources, like:

Pew Research Center
Small Arms Survey
National Rifle Association (NRA)
National Firearms Survey
Harvard & Northeastern

Our data covers topics like:

gun control
gun deaths
number of firearms bought
gun violence
who the average gun owner is