How Many Weapons within the U.S.: All About America’s Firearms in 2026 (Video) – The Washington Commonplace

Methodology

Because the U.S. does not maintain a national firearm registry, and because factors such as privately manufactured firearms, theft, destruction, and long service life complicate tracking, modern estimates rely on manufacturing data, import records, FBI NICS trends, and national surveys, rather than exact inventories.

The following sections contain an exhaustive list of research, sourced from survey data over the past 20 years.. We compared the year-over-year self-reporting trends to NICS background checks and NSSF sales reports to analyze the number of guns in the U.S accurately.

Because FBI NICS data reflect background checks rather than individual firearms sold, totals are adjusted to remove denied transactions and account for permit-based background checks and multiple-firearm purchases. Estimates of permit-related checks in 2025 are based on observed national trends from 2023 to 2024, as the number of permit requests likely declined with Constitutional carry legislation in many states. As such, figures represent conservative estimates of retail firearm sales rather than exact transaction counts.

How Many Guns Are in America?

Based on available research, the United States is estimated to have 500 million civilian-owned firearms as of 2026. ^{1, 2, 9}

Most notably, the 2017 Small Arms Survey estimated 393 million firearms in the U.S. (46% of the world’s civilian-owned guns at the time).

Sharp increases in purchasing and manufacturing since 2020 (during and after the COVID-19 pandemic) have since added tens of millions of firearms to the civilian market. Although the exact number is unknown, 500 million guns is a reasonable estimate.

How Many Guns per Person in America?

There are about one and a half guns for every person in the U.S. in 2026. Minors are largely prohibited from possessing firearms, meaning there are nearly two guns per U.S. adult. ^{2, 8}

Population estimates for 2024 show that the U.S. has approximately 334 million people, of which 258 million are adults. Compared to our estimate of 500 million civilian-owned firearms, there are more guns than there are people in the country.

How Many Registered Gun Owners in the U.S.?

Per the most recent surveys, 32% of people in the U.S. (111.4 million) are gun owners. Americans generally do not register their firearms. Therefore, the number of registered gun owners in the U.S. is largely irrelevant.

A more accurate baseline of “registered” gun owners would be those with concealed carry permits. As of 2024, 20.88 million Americans held a concealed carry permit. While permits are not required in every state, they do reflect the share of U.S. adults who have formally acquired approval for concealed carry. ¹⁰

Note: Concealed carry permits are not an indicator of the number of gun owners in America. They are not required in all states.

How Many Illegal Guns in the U.S.?

There is no reliable estimate of how many illegal guns exist in the United States, but law enforcement data show that hundreds of thousands of stolen firearms and tens of thousands of unlawfully possessed guns are encountered each year.

Comparing law enforcement recoveries to the overall civilian firearm stock indicates that most firearms in the U.S. are legal, and “illegal” guns account for a small fraction of total guns in circulation.

While most firearms are not illegal, as defined, this section defines “illegal guns” as firearms that are unlawfully possessed or restricted under current law, including stolen firearms, privately manufactured firearms (PMFs) made or possessed illegally, and unregistered NFA weapons. Privately made firearms are not inherently illegal, but become unlawful when produced or possessed in violation of applicable laws.

• Stolen firearms: ATF and FBI data indicate that approximately 266,000 firearms are reported stolen annually. ⁶
• Illegally manufactured or unlawfully possessed PMFs: Law enforcement recovered about 92,700 PMFs between 2017 and 2023. Although trends show a substantial increase over time, this roughly averages 13,242 PMF seizures annually. ^{6, 7}
• Unregistered NFA firearms: ATF data indicate more than 11,000 illegal machine gun conversion devices and other unregistered NFA-regulated firearms were recovered between 2019 and 2024. This roughly averages 2,200 unregistered NFA seizures annually. ^{7, 8}

Notably, recoveries of illegally possessed PMFs have increased sharply in recent years, rising from fewer than 2,000 in 2017 to more than 25,000 in 2022, even though they continue to represent a minority of total crime guns traced by the ATF.

How Many Guns Per Household in America?

As of 2024, there were 123.6 million households in the U.S. The latest surveys reflect that 52% of American households have at least one firearm.

Current estimates show that 65,190,000 households in America have at least one firearm.

How Many Handguns in the U.S.?

Handguns account for the majority of firearms (55 to 60%) in the U.S. per manufacturing and sales data. Applied to our estimated 500 million firearms, there are approximately 255 to 280 million handguns in the U.S. in 2026. ^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Production data further illustrate the dominance of handguns over other firearm types in circulation. Between 1986 and 2012, U.S. manufacturers reportedly produced 49.5 million handguns, compared to 40.8 million rifles and 23.2 million shotguns, according to ATF manufacturing reports. By 2000, the ATF estimated there were already approximately 92 million handguns and 92 million rifles in civilian circulation, indicating that handguns had reached parity with rifles more than two decades ago.

More recent ownership data reinforce this trend. By 2017, surveys found that 72% of gun owners reported owning at least one handgun, making handguns the most commonly owned firearm type in the country. Because many handgun owners possess multiple firearms, the number of handguns in circulation substantially exceeds the number of handgun owners, contributing to the continued growth of the U.S. handgun stock.

Number of Guns Through the Years

The Small Arms Survey estimated 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the U.S. in 2017. When combined with sustained post-2020 purchasing, during which Americans acquired at least 1 million firearms per month for the past five years, and the growth of privately manufactured firearms, an estimate of roughly 500 million civilian-owned firearms is reasonable. ^{1, 2, 9}

Historical data support this trajectory. The ATF estimated 242 million firearms in circulation in 1996, rising to 259 million in 2000, 294 million in 2007, and over 310 million by 2009, before reaching 393 million by 2018. In total, more than 490 million firearms have been manufactured or imported for civilian use between 1899 and 2025, though this figure includes guns that may have been destroyed, lost, or otherwise removed from circulation. ^{3, 4, 9}

Interestingly, spikes in manufacturing and purchasing were prevalent just before the 1993 Brady Handgun Bill, after the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and during the pandemic.

Note: NICS-based purchase estimates assume a completed sale of one firearm and exclude permit substitutions and rechecks.

Wrap-Up

The United States has a significant number of firearms compared to most other countries, with current estimates suggesting there are around 500 million firearms in circulation. This translates to approximately one and a half firearms per person, making the U.S. unique in having more guns than people.

However, accurately determining the exact number of firearms is challenging due to factors such as unregistered guns, private sales, and reporting constraints. These complexities mean that the true number of firearms in the country could be higher than current estimates. This situation highlights the challenges in tracking gun ownership and distribution in the U.S., where the right to own firearms is both widely exercised and protected.

Sources

1. One Million Monthly Gun Sales Streak Ends at 71
2. Small Arms Survey 2018
3. ATF Number of Guns in 2000
4. ATF Firearms 1998-2012
5. ATF Ghost Guns 2022
6. DOJ Report on Ghost Guns and Unregistered Guns
7. ATF Trace Data
8. U.S. Household and Population Data
9. Firearms Commerce in the United States: Statistical Update 2024
10. Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across the United States: 2025

Article posted with permission from Ammo.com