Gun Facts in the U.S. 2024: The Reality of Firearms in America

Cassandra McBride — November 18, 2024

Gun facts in the US 2024; graphic by author.

Firearms are deeply ingrained in American culture, from hunting to personal defense and sport shooting.

The United States is not only known for having some of the most intriguing politicians but is also a nation of gun owners. With more civilian-owned firearms than any other country in the world, it’s clear that guns are deeply ingrained in our culture.

However, gun ownership in America isn’t as simple as many believe. Between growth trends and demographic disparities, there is a lot to learn about guns in the U.S.

We’ve done a deep dive into guns in the U.S. and listed our findings in the following sections.

Report Highlights:

An estimated 32% (107,000,000) of Americans personally own at least one firearm.
Men own more guns than women, but women are the fastest-growing demographic of gun owners.
As of 2017, Americans possessed 46% of the world’s civilian-owned firearms.
40% (or 52 million) of American households contain at least one firearm).
81% of gun owners and 57% of non-gun owners say a firearm makes them safer.

Methodology

Firearm ownership is not recorded, tracked, or monitored in the United States. Furthermore, state and federal data may differ due to reporting issues. Therefore, we must rely on various sources to understand firearm-related statistics.

All information collected below comes from the most reputable sources available.

Here is how we compiled the data in this article:

Self-Reporting surveys – Gun ownership and feelings towards guns.
The CDC Wonder – Firearm-related deaths, homicides, and suicides.
Peer-Reviewed Studies – Studying correlations between gun ownership, crime, and deaths.
State-level Data – Every state in the U.S. has different gun laws and tracking methods (the data does not always align with national levels).
NICS and ATF Reports – The National Instant Background Check system and ATF records are used to understand firearm sales and firearms involved in crimes.

How Many Americans Own Guns?

Despite many new first-time gun buyers and the highest-ever gun sales, just under half of the adult American population owns guns. Recent polls show that 30% (or 100,800,000 people) of the American population owns guns as of 2024. ¹

As of 2023, over 65 million households in the United States have at least one firearm, up from 56 million households in 2019. This means that more than half of the homes in the U.S. have firearms. ²

In 2023, approximately 32% of Americans own a firearm, which equates to roughly 84 million people.
In 2023, 40% of American households have at least one firearm, totaling about 52.8 million households.
In 2019, 30% of American households had at least one firearm, equating to approximately 39.6 million households.

Gun ownership in America; graphic by author.

Number of People vs. Guns in the U.S.

The recent estimates from the FBI NICS background check system indicate that there were over 500 million privately owned firearms in the United States as of 2023. This figure aligns with data from sources such as the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and other industry reports, which consistently show high numbers of firearm sales and ownership in the U.S. ^{7, 8, 10}

Additionally, the U.S. population is approximately 336 million people as of recent estimates. This figure is based on the latest census and population data available (NSSF).

These statistics underscore the significant presence of firearms in the United States, both in terms of the number of guns and the percentage of the population that owns them. ^{30, 31}

To say that Americans have more guns than any other country is an understatement. There are 1.5 firearms for every U.S. citizen and nearly two for every U.S. adult. ^{30, 31}

The United States has a population of approximately 336 million people as of 2024 and there are estimated to be over 400 million privately owned firearms in the United States. ^{3, 10, 12}
This means there are roughly 1.2 firearms for every U.S. citizen.
There are approximately 1.5 firearms per adult, given that not all citizens are adults.

Population and gun ownership; graphic by author.

States with the Most Guns

It’s nearly impossible to estimate the number of firearms in each state. However, based on surveys and NICS records, we can deduce which states have the highest rate of gun ownership. ⁸

Wyoming has more guns per person than any other state, with 581,000 people in 2024 and 245 firearms for every one thousand individuals. West Virginia trails in second place with 92 firearms per 1,000 people. South Dakota, New Mexico, and New Hampshire round up the top three in the firearms per capita category. ³²

Here are the five states with the highest estimated guns per capita:

Wyoming – 245 per 1,000 people
West Virginia – 92 per 1,000 people
South Dakota – 72 per 1,000 people
New Mexico – 58 per 1,000 people
New Hampshire – 52 per 1,000 people

Note: All data included in this section is collected through self-reporting surveys on a state-by-state basis and do not align with national levels. The per capita rates are likely higher.

5 states with the most guns per capita; graphic by author.

What Percentage of All the Guns in the World Are Owned by Americans?

Another common point of interest in the gun debate is how many of the world’s guns Americans own. Due to the fact that firearms are incredibly challenging to trace, we can only estimate how many guns are in the hands of civilians.

According to the 2017 Small Arms Survey, the global estimate of firearms is over one billion. Of these, approximately 857 million (85%) are in civilian hands, 133 million (13%) are in military arsenals, and 23 million (2%) are owned by law enforcement agencies.

In 2017, the Small Arms Survey estimated that Americans owned 393 million firearms, which is about 120.5 firearms per 100 people. This means that Americans hold roughly 46% of the world’s civilian-owned firearms. ³

Man vs. Woman Gun Ownership

While men are more likely to personally own a firearm, women are becoming new gun owners at faster rates.

In 2017, 22% of U.S. females, or approximately 36.9 million women, owned firearms. By 2023, this percentage increased to 25%, meaning around 41 million women in the U.S. personally owned a gun. This shows a growing trend in female gun ownership over the years. ^{22, 25}

Male firearm ownership has seen a decline. In 2023, 39% of men, or approximately 66 million, reported owning firearms. This is a decrease from previous years when nearly half (46%) of men owned guns indicating a shift in gun ownership demographics over the past few years. ^{22, 23, 25}

In 2023, 29.2% of handgun permit holders in the United States were women, an increase from 28.3% in 2021. This data highlights the growing trend of female participation in firearm ownership and concealed carry. ¹⁴

Men

2007 – 46%
2011 – 45%
2015 – 43%
2019 – 43%
2022 – 43%

Women

2007 – 13%
2011 – 19%
2015 – 15%
2019 – 18%
2022 – 22%

How Many Illegal Gun Owners are in America

Unfortunately, criminals and prohibited individuals don’t reveal their ownership rate. Prohibited persons aren’t likely to obtain firearms via legal means. ⁵ Therefore, we can’t examine NICS reports for data either. However, we do know how many citizens are prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms.

More than 28 million people in the U.S. are classified as prohibited persons out of the total population of 336 million. Nearly half of these individuals are prohibited due to their citizenship status rather than a criminal or mental health background. Over seven million people are prohibited due to mental health reasons, while felony convictions are the least common reason for being classified as a prohibited person. ⁶

As of January 2023, there are 28,407,758 individuals prohibited from possessing firearms in the United States.
The largest subset of prohibited persons is due to citizenship status, comprising 12,529,823 individuals.
The second largest subset is those prohibited due to mental adjudication, totaling 7,150,138 individuals.
The third largest subset includes those with felony convictions, totaling 5,157,203 individuals.
From 2020 to 2021, the number of prohibited persons increased by 8.79%, from 23,377,233 to 25,430,959.
Only 1.26% of all NICS background checks result in denial.
The average time-to-crime of firearms, from the date of purchase via an FFL, is 6.99 years. ^{7, 8}

Fact checks on prohibited gun owners in the US; graphic by author.

How Many Illegal Guns Are in the U.S.?

When we get down to brass tacks, there are no illegal firearms in the U.S. For example, a Thompson machine gun is largely considered illegal, but some people can legally own them. Therefore, the following statistics reflect firearms that are no longer in possession of a responsible gun owner.

Others may consider unserialized firearms illegal. However, they are still legal, and it wasn’t until 1968 that manufacturers were required to add serial numbers. Therefore, it is possible that there are millions of untraceable firearms in the United States.

While we don’t know the exact number of illegal guns in the U.S., we do know that there are millions of firearms in the hands of criminals or will be in the coming years. As of 2021, the ATF traced more than 400,000 firearms used during the commission of a crime. Nearly all of those firearms were obtained illegally. ⁹

When a law enforcement agency acquires a firearm (presumably during the commission of a crime), it sends a trace request to the ATF. Between 2017 and 2021, nearly two million trace requests were sent to the ATF ¹¹.

As of 2021, the ATF traced 404,334 firearms seized in the commission of a crime.
93% of guns used in crimes were obtained illegally.
1,922,577 firearms were submitted to the ATF between 2017 and 2021 for trace requests (presumably recovered in crimes).
Recent reports show that an average of 160,000 firearms are reported stolen annually.

Overall, gun control nationwide is losing support. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of Americans who support background checks declined from 90% to 84%, and overall support declined to 56%. ^{21, 22}

High-capacity magazines are a controversial term because standards vary depending on the firearm. However, registered Democrats are the most likely group to support magazine bans. Independent voters are the second most likely, and only 32% of Republicans strongly support bans.

Semi-automatic rifles, often referred to as assault rifles, have been a hotly debated topic for decades. Similar to other gun control measures, support for weapons bans has decreased from 61% in 2019 to 55% in 2022. ²²

It’s no secret that Americans worry about the adverse effects of having so many firearms. Half of Americans are worried about mass shootings, and more than three-quarters of Americans feel that gun violence is rising.

In 2023, there were mixed results among parents, where 61% stated their children were concerned about gun violence versus another survey stating that only 32% of children were concerned. Democrats and Independents are more likely to be concerned about gun violence than Republicans. ²⁰

Those who own no firearms often wonder why anyone would ever keep guns in their homes and on their persons. Fortunately, we have surveys to help answer those questions.

Nearly three-fourths of those who own guns do so for protection. More than a quarter of gun owners cite hunting as a reason and/or sport shooting. Few people state that they own firearms as collectibles, and only 7% of gun owners say they own guns due to their jobs.

Fact checks on illegal guns in the US; graphic by author.

Americans, Guns, and Facts

It’s true that Americans own more guns than any other country’s population. Firearms are deeply ingrained in American culture, from hunting to personal defense and sport shooting.

With nearly two firearms for every adult, Americans’ attitudes toward firearms vary greatly. Although many support stricter gun control restrictions, fewer support them today than twenty years ago.

Sources:

Firearms are deeply ingrained in American culture, from hunting to personal defense and sport shooting.

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