People in These States Absolutely Love Buying Guns

24/7 Wall St. Insights

One state tops the list of per capita firearm background checks of 11.9 per 1,000 residents, which shows they have a high propensity towards gun purchasing.
You might be surprised to learn that Texas, which had the highest total background checks, fell well below the national average in per capita sales.
There’s no clear connection between gun-related deaths and firearm background checks.
Also: 2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever

32% of American citizens own a gun, and an estimated 40% of people live in a home where a gun is present. Men are more likely to own guns than women, though female gun owners are rising in the ranks. Gun ownership has skyrocketed over the past few decades. In fact, the United States has the largest population of civilian gun owners in the entire world. Why someone keeps a gun differs from household to household. Reasons include sport shooting, hunting, personal and familial protection, and just loving the aesthetic or having a gun collection. (Gun collectors often spend lots of money on new weapons. For example, someone actually bought this gun for $6,030,312.)

The FBI conducted more than 2.2 million firearm background checks in April 2024, showing the prevalence of gun ownership across the country. While background checks do not correspond one to one with gun sales, they remain the best proxy of gun sales, and if anything, can be indicative of trends. April’s checks seem to be more in line with 2019 figures, before the pandemic boom in gun sales. Looking at per capita sales, there were 4.7 adjusted background checks (checks minus rechecks) for every 1,000 residents. In some states, this figure was lower and in others much higher. So which states are purchasing many firearms, and which states are lower on the gun consumer list?

To determine the states where the most people purchased guns in April 2024, and what their propensity for gun-buying is more broadly, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. States were ranked based on the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS per capita, based on the number of people per 1,000 residents. Background rechecks for existing gun permits were excluded. Population data is from the Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Unit Estimates program, while data on the number of age-adjusted deaths due to firearms per 100,000 residents in 2022 is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WONDER database.

In all, a total of 29 states have a higher background check per capita figure than the national average, with checks in nine states reaching over 8 per 1,000 residents. When it comes to gun deaths per capita, Mississippi has the most deaths per 100,000 residents at 29.6, while Rhode Island has the fewest at 3.2.

Why This Matters

Currently, the United States does not have a national gun registry that tracks the sale of every gun. Because of this, firearm background checks offer the best estimates to understand gun sales and purchasing trends. Still, they have limitations. The issue of gun rights and gun control has always been a hot topic for Americans, with debates flaring up with each mass shooting. Keeping apprised of trends in gun sales can help provide some context. The Gun Show Loophole was closed earlier this year, which may also influence buying trends, state propensity towards gun sales, or gun ownership in general. (Here are the universal background check laws for each state.)