Measuring US gun ownership isn’t as simple as counting registrations (many firearms aren’t registered, and state rules vary). Most “ownership” statistics come from large national surveys (self-reported) and modeling, while “how many guns” estimates come from research groups that combine multiple data sources.
US Gun Ownership Statistics (Top Highlights)
- 32% of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun (Pew Research Center; survey conducted June 2023; published July 2024).
- 42% say they live in a household with a gun (32% own one + 10% say someone else in the household owns one).
- By gender, 40% of men vs 25% of women report owning a gun.
- By community type, 47% of rural adults vs 30% suburban vs 20% urban report owning a gun.
- Among gun owners, 72% say protection is a major reason they own a gun.
- Estimated civilian-held firearms in the U.S. (2017): 393,347,000 (about 120.5 civilian firearms per 100 people).
- Estimated global civilian-held firearms (2017): 857,396,100 (implying the U.S. holds about 45.88% of the world’s civilian-owned guns by this estimate).
- FBI NICS “Grand Total” firearm background checks: 26,123,215 in 2025 (down from 39,695,315 in 2020).
- Gallup’s 2025 reading: 42% of Americans report having a gun in their home.
Personal vs Household Gun Ownership
Survey-based measures often separate personal ownership from living in a household with a gun. In Pew’s results, 32% personally own, 10% say someone else in the household owns, and 58% report no household gun.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Own a gun | 32% | |
| Someone else in household owns | 10% | |
| No gun in household | 58% |
Max = 58%. Widths: Own a gun 55.17%, Someone else in household owns 17.24%, No gun in household 100.00%.
Gun Ownership by Demographics
Gun ownership by gender
Men report higher ownership than women in Pew’s results.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 40% | |
| Women | 25% |
Max = 40%. Widths: Men 100.00%, Women 62.50%.
Gun ownership by community type
Pew’s results show a large rural-to-urban ownership gap.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Rural | 47% | |
| Suburban | 30% | |
| Urban | 20% |
Max = 47%. Widths: Rural 100.00%, Suburban 63.83%, Urban 42.55%.
Gun ownership by political leaning (example)
Pew’s results show large differences by party identification.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Republicans/GOP-leaning | 45% | |
| Democrats/Dem-leaning | 20% |
Max = 45%. Widths: Republicans/GOP-leaning 100.00%, Democrats/Dem-leaning 44.44%.
Why People Own Guns
When gun owners are asked about their reasons, protection is the most commonly cited major reason in Pew’s results.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Protection | 72% | |
| Hunting | 32% | |
| Sport shooting | 30% | |
| Gun collection | 15% |
Max = 72%. Widths: Protection 100.00%, Hunting 44.44%, Sport shooting 41.67%, Gun collection 20.83%.
How Many Guns Are in the US?
On the “how many firearms” question, one widely cited estimate (Small Arms Survey) puts the U.S. at 393,347,000 civilian-held firearms in 2017, equal to 120.5 civilian firearms per 100 people.
The same dataset estimates a global civilian total of 857,396,100 firearms in 2017, implying the U.S. share is about 45.88% (393,347,000 ÷ 857,396,100).
Civilian firearms per 100 people (selected comparisons)
Below are per-100 estimates from the same annex dataset.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 120.5 | |
| Yemen | 52.8 | |
| Canada | 34.7 | |
| Switzerland | 27.6 |
Max = 120.5. Widths: United States 100.00%, Yemen 43.82%, Canada 28.80%, Switzerland 22.90%.
Background Checks as a Proxy for Gun Buying Activity
The U.S. does not publish a single official “guns sold” count each year. Analysts commonly use FBI NICS background checks as a proxy for activity—while noting that one check can involve multiple firearms, and some checks are for permits or other purposes depending on state rules.
FBI NICS firearm background checks (Grand Total)
Below are FBI NICS annual “Grand Total” checks for 2020–2025 (unadjusted totals). The 2026 row in the FBI file is partial (January only) and is not included here.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 39,695,315 | |
| 2021 | 38,876,673 | |
| 2022 | 31,596,646 | |
| 2023 | 29,854,176 | |
| 2024 | 28,097,205 | |
| 2025 | 26,123,215 |
Max = 39,695,315. Widths: 2020 100.00%, 2021 97.94%, 2022 79.60%, 2023 75.21%, 2024 70.78%, 2025 65.81%.
For a retail-focused lens, NSSF publishes an “adjusted” NICS series intended to better approximate checks tied to retail firearm sales (not a direct count of guns sold). NSSF reported 15,239,011 adjusted checks for 2024, and media reports citing NSSF put the full-year 2025 adjusted total at 14,612,314.
Gun Ownership by State (Example Range)
Gun ownership varies substantially by state. One summary notes that 46% of U.S. households report owning at least one firearm, with an example range from about 64% of households in Montana to about 8% in New Jersey.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Montana (households) | 64% | |
| U.S. households | 46% | |
| New Jersey (households) | 8% |
Max = 64%. Widths: Montana (households) 100.00%, U.S. households 71.88%, New Jersey (households) 12.50%.
Sources
- Pew Research Center — Key facts about Americans and guns (published July 24, 2024).
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/ - Gallup — Guns (Historical Trends).
https://news.gallup.com/poll/1645/guns.aspx - FBI — NICS Firearm Background Checks: Month/Year (PDF).
https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year.pdf - Small Arms Survey — Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017 (annex PDF).
https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe.pdf - Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions — Gun violence in the United States (ownership and state range examples).
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-gun-violence-solutions/issues/gun-violence-in-the-united-states - NSSF — NSSF-Adjusted Background Checks Top 15.2 Million in 2024 (adjusted NICS).
https://www.nssf.org/articles/nssf-adjusted-background-checks-top-15-2-million-in-2024/ - Guns.com — NICS Update (reports full-year 2025 NSSF adjusted figure).
https://www.guns.com/news/2026/01/07/nics-update-almost-16-million-guns-sold-in-december-over-14-million-for-2025 - GunsAmerica — December 2025 firearm background checks dip (reports full-year 2025 NSSF adjusted figure).
https://gunsamerica.com/digest/december-2025-firearm-background-checks-dip/