Gun Possession by State (2026 Statistics)

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Methodology

Gun ownership data in the U.S. are dependent on self-reporting surveys and purchase records, as no firearm registry exists for guns not regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) per the National Firearms Act (NFA). The number of registered firearms in each state was sourced from the ATF’s 2024 Firearms Commerce in the United States report. Machine guns, shotguns, rifles, and weapons classified as “Any Other Weapon” were included. Suppressors and destructive devices were not.

State-level household ownership rates were sourced from the RAND Corporation, which compiled 51 nationally representative surveys conducted between 1980 and 2016. The Federal Bureau of Investigation maintains background check records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which provides recent gun sales data. Rates were adjusted to produce more realistic sales totals and may undercount some state-level sales in which concealed-carry permit holders were exempt from federal background checks.

Pew Research Center and Gallup surveys were consulted for national individual ownership rates. Estimates in this report are based on household gun ownership due to data limitations, as comprehensive surveys only cover national firearm prevalence.

Firearm death rates are sourced from the CDC WONDER database, which provides complete data up to 2024. All death rates cited in this report cover 2018 to 2024, as 2025 data are incomplete at the time of writing.

Rates of Gun Ownership by State

According to RAND, Montana had the highest rate of gun ownership, with an estimated 66.3 per 100 adults living in a home with firearms as of 2016. Massachusetts and New Jersey shared the lowest rate, at 14.7 per 100 adults living in a home with firearms.

More recent 2024 purchasing records indicate that Wyoming and Montana had the most sales (16.1 per 100 and 15.9 per 100, respectively), while Alaska (15.4 per 100), New Hampshire (13.3 per 100), and Oregon (13.2 per 100) led all remaining states in firearm sales. These data may indicate that state-level ownership rankings have shifted slightly.

Gun Ownership by Country

The latest global ownership survey in 2017 suggests there are approximately 857 million civilian-owned firearms globally.

The U.S. had the highest rate of civilian gun ownership at 120.5 firearms for every 100 civilians. Canada ranked second, with 34.7 firearms per 100 civilians, followed by Switzerland at 27.58. At 3.58 per 100, China had the fewest guns per capita among the countries ranked.

Guns Per Person in the U.S.

Estimates based on a 2017 survey suggest there are 1.2 guns per person in the U.S. Accounting for elevated gun buying trends between 2020 and 2026, a more realistic estimate is 1.5 guns per person, or 1.79 guns per adult.

These figures are calculated from NICS data and adjusted to approximate annual firearm purchases. An estimated 15.5 million guns were sold in 2025, representing a decline from the pandemic peak of 22.7 million in 2020.

Recent surveys in 2024 and 2025 suggest that around 30% of Americans own guns, two-thirds of gun owners have more than one firearm, and the average gun owner has four to five guns. This suggests that Americans report owning approximately 293 million firearms; a figure that undercounts the more realistic total estimated from NICS data. For more on who’s behind those numbers, see our breakdown of how many gun owners are in America.

How Permits-to-Purchase and Background Checks Affect Gun Ownership

As of 2026, 15 states require permits or licenses to purchase firearms. Despite these requirements, ownership and purchasing rates remained high in 2024.

Oregon had the fifth most sales in 2024, with 132.2 guns purchased per 1,000 residents. Michigan (63.9 sales per 1,000 residents) and Minnesota (72.4 sales per 1,000 residents) also ranked high in gun purchases. For how these rules track with public-safety outcomes, see our analysis of gun laws vs. crime rates.

Which State Has the Most Registered Guns?

Because conventional firearms aren’t registered, there is no reliable count of how many total guns each state has. The only state-level registration data available comes from the ATF, which tracks firearms regulated under the NFA. Texas (188,805 registered guns), Florida (145,889), and Georgia (100,958) are the three states with the most registered NFA guns.

Read the full report here: https://ammo.com/articles/gun-ownership-by-state