This Is the State Where People Bought the Most Guns This Year

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Apr 14, 10:00AM EDT

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This Is the State Where People Bought the Most Guns This Year — © Scott Olson / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Several theories explain the fast pace of gun sales over the past 24 months. Among them is the violence in American cities during protests, which occurred over a year ago. Another is that the pandemic has, perhaps irrationally, increased concerns about protecting one’s property. 2021 gun sales numbers show that some of these trends may have started to taper off.

Gun sales, using the FBI’s firearms background check as a proxy, reached 38,876,673 last year, down slightly from the record set in 2020 of 39,695,315. Inexplicably, gun sales collapsed in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2021. Still, sales were particularly large in Illinois, the state where people bought the most guns this year, at 1,167,252. It was followed by Kentucky, with 1,071,206 background checks so far this year.

As of March, the FBI had conducted 8,228,224 background checks, compared to last year’s 12,452,319 background checks. This means the 2022 number from January through March was only 70% of the number during the same period in 2021. The total remained high in some states.

Despite the recent sales decline, gun violence continues to be a regular part of the news headlines this year. Murders in American cities spiked last year, particularly in large cities. So far in 2022, the trend has continued. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a surge in gun violence in Seattle, which is considered a relatively safe city. There have been more shooting incidents in recent days, including Tuesday’s shooting at a Brooklyn subway that left at least 16 people injured. (These are the metros where murder rate is soaring.)

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there already have been 11,881 gun deaths in America as of April 12. Even with stricter gun ownership and purchasing laws, the difficult fact is that private citizens, the police, and the military currently own about 400 million guns. The chance that civilians who own guns will turn them into the government, no matter the incentive, is small. (This is the state with the worst gun laws.)

To determine the state where people have bought the most guns so far this year, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on background checks from Jan. 1, 2022, to March 31, 2022, from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System Firearm Checks. We used the background checks as a proxy for year-to-date gun sales as the vast majority of background checks are approved. Population data used to calculate gun sales per capita came from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Click here to see the state where people bought the most guns this year

50. Hawaii
> Total 2022 gun sales: 4,470
> Population: 1,420,074
> Gun sales per capita: 314.8 per 100,000 (the lowest)

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49. Rhode Island
> Total 2022 gun sales: 7,732
> Population: 1,057,798
> Gun sales per capita: 731.0 per 100,000 (4th lowest)

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48. Vermont
> Total 2022 gun sales: 11,778
> Population: 624,340
> Gun sales per capita: 1,886.5 per 100,000 (20th lowest)

47. Delaware
> Total 2022 gun sales: 15,512
> Population: 967,679
> Gun sales per capita: 1,603.0 per 100,000 (13th lowest)

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46. Wyoming
> Total 2022 gun sales: 17,564
> Population: 581,348
> Gun sales per capita: 3,021.3 per 100,000 (10th highest)

45. North Dakota
> Total 2022 gun sales: 18,425
> Population: 760,394
> Gun sales per capita: 2,423.1 per 100,000 (20th highest)

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44. Alaska
> Total 2022 gun sales: 18,688
> Population: 736,990
> Gun sales per capita: 2,535.7 per 100,000 (14th highest)

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43. Nebraska
> Total 2022 gun sales: 20,681
> Population: 1,923,826
> Gun sales per capita: 1,075.0 per 100,000 (8th lowest)

42. South Dakota
> Total 2022 gun sales: 22,761
> Population: 879,336
> Gun sales per capita: 2,588.4 per 100,000 (13th highest)

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41. Maine
> Total 2022 gun sales: 27,189
> Population: 1,340,825
> Gun sales per capita: 2,027.8 per 100,000 (22nd lowest)

40. New Hampshire
> Total 2022 gun sales: 33,164
> Population: 1,355,244
> Gun sales per capita: 2,447.1 per 100,000 (18th highest)

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39. Montana
> Total 2022 gun sales: 34,151
> Population: 1,061,705
> Gun sales per capita: 3,216.6 per 100,000 (9th highest)

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38. Nevada
> Total 2022 gun sales: 40,866
> Population: 3,030,281
> Gun sales per capita: 1,348.6 per 100,000 (9th lowest)

37. New Jersey
> Total 2022 gun sales: 42,926
> Population: 8,885,418
> Gun sales per capita: 483.1 per 100,000 (2nd lowest)

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36. New Mexico
> Total 2022 gun sales: 45,241
> Population: 2,097,021
> Gun sales per capita: 2,157.4 per 100,000 (25th lowest)

35. West Virginia
> Total 2022 gun sales: 49,719
> Population: 1,807,426
> Gun sales per capita: 2,750.8 per 100,000 (12th highest)

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34. Kansas
> Total 2022 gun sales: 51,059
> Population: 2,912,619
> Gun sales per capita: 1,753.0 per 100,000 (17th lowest)

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33. Maryland
> Total 2022 gun sales: 58,343
> Population: 6,037,624
> Gun sales per capita: 966.3 per 100,000 (7th lowest)

32. Massachusetts
> Total 2022 gun sales: 59,141
> Population: 6,873,003
> Gun sales per capita: 860.5 per 100,000 (5th lowest)

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31. Idaho
> Total 2022 gun sales: 60,369
> Population: 1,754,367
> Gun sales per capita: 3,441.1 per 100,000 (7th highest)

30. Arkansas
> Total 2022 gun sales: 60,901
> Population: 3,011,873
> Gun sales per capita: 2,022.0 per 100,000 (21st lowest)

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29. Connecticut
> Total 2022 gun sales: 66,315
> Population: 3,570,549
> Gun sales per capita: 1,857.3 per 100,000 (19th lowest)

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28. Mississippi
> Total 2022 gun sales: 75,215
> Population: 2,981,835
> Gun sales per capita: 2,522.4 per 100,000 (16th highest)

27. Iowa
> Total 2022 gun sales: 76,302
> Population: 3,150,011
> Gun sales per capita: 2,422.3 per 100,000 (21st highest)

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26. Oklahoma
> Total 2022 gun sales: 93,749
> Population: 3,949,342
> Gun sales per capita: 2,373.8 per 100,000 (23rd highest)

25. Louisiana
> Total 2022 gun sales: 94,927
> Population: 4,664,616
> Gun sales per capita: 2,035.0 per 100,000 (23rd lowest)

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24. Oregon
> Total 2022 gun sales: 101,746
> Population: 4,176,346
> Gun sales per capita: 2,436.2 per 100,000 (19th highest)

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23. New York
> Total 2022 gun sales: 104,917
> Population: 19,514,849
> Gun sales per capita: 537.6 per 100,000 (3rd lowest)

22. South Carolina
> Total 2022 gun sales: 110,460
> Population: 5,091,517
> Gun sales per capita: 2,169.5 per 100,000 (25th highest)

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21. Arizona
> Total 2022 gun sales: 122,478
> Population: 7,174,064
> Gun sales per capita: 1,707.2 per 100,000 (16th lowest)

20. Colorado
> Total 2022 gun sales: 136,575
> Population: 5,684,926
> Gun sales per capita: 2,402.4 per 100,000 (22nd highest)

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19. Missouri
> Total 2022 gun sales: 139,563
> Population: 6,124,160
> Gun sales per capita: 2,278.9 per 100,000 (24th highest)

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18. Virginia
> Total 2022 gun sales: 145,200
> Population: 8,509,358
> Gun sales per capita: 1,706.4 per 100,000 (15th lowest)

17. Georgia
> Total 2022 gun sales: 165,969
> Population: 10,516,579
> Gun sales per capita: 1,578.2 per 100,000 (12th lowest)

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16. Wisconsin
> Total 2022 gun sales: 171,006
> Population: 5,806,975
> Gun sales per capita: 2,944.8 per 100,000 (11th highest)

15. North Carolina
> Total 2022 gun sales: 174,330
> Population: 10,386,227
> Gun sales per capita: 1,678.5 per 100,000 (14th lowest)

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14. Ohio
> Total 2022 gun sales: 180,021
> Population: 11,675,275
> Gun sales per capita: 1,541.9 per 100,000 (11th lowest)

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13. Washington
> Total 2022 gun sales: 188,012
> Population: 7,512,465
> Gun sales per capita: 2,502.7 per 100,000 (17th highest)

12. Alabama
> Total 2022 gun sales: 208,356
> Population: 4,893,186
> Gun sales per capita: 4,258.1 per 100,000 (5th highest)

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11. Michigan
> Total 2022 gun sales: 208,988
> Population: 9,973,907
> Gun sales per capita: 2,095.3 per 100,000 (24th lowest)

10. Tennessee
> Total 2022 gun sales: 224,092
> Population: 6,772,268
> Gun sales per capita: 3,309.0 per 100,000 (8th highest)

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9. Minnesota
> Total 2022 gun sales: 231,172
> Population: 5,600,166
> Gun sales per capita: 4,127.9 per 100,000 (6th highest)

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8. Utah
> Total 2022 gun sales: 249,043
> Population: 3,151,239
> Gun sales per capita: 7,903.0 per 100,000 (3rd highest)

7. Pennsylvania
> Total 2022 gun sales: 322,811
> Population: 12,794,885
> Gun sales per capita: 2,523.0 per 100,000 (15th highest)

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6. California
> Total 2022 gun sales: 339,968
> Population: 39,346,023
> Gun sales per capita: 864.0 per 100,000 (6th lowest)

5. Indiana
> Total 2022 gun sales: 353,020
> Population: 6,696,893
> Gun sales per capita: 5,271.4 per 100,000 (4th highest)

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4. Florida
> Total 2022 gun sales: 375,447
> Population: 21,216,924
> Gun sales per capita: 1,769.6 per 100,000 (18th lowest)

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3. Texas
> Total 2022 gun sales: 438,049
> Population: 28,635,442
> Gun sales per capita: 1,529.7 per 100,000 (10th lowest)

2. Kentucky
> Total 2022 gun sales: 1,071,206
> Population: 4,461,952
> Gun sales per capita: 24,007.6 per 100,000 (the highest)

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1. Illinois
> Total 2022 gun sales: 1,167,252
> Population: 12,716,164
> Gun sales per capita: 9,179.3 per 100,000 (2nd highest)

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.