15 States Where Gun Sales Continue To Fall

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Nov 11, 1:00PM EST

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15 States Where Gun Sales Continue To Fall — © ROB KERR / AFP via Getty Images

Gun sales, using firearm background checks as a proxy, have fallen nationally over the past year. In some states, the drop has been much more dramatic than in others. While there was a decline in background checks in 40 states in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period last year, far fewer states also reported a decline in background checks between September and October.

America is, without question, the gun capital of the world. In a typical month gun background checks top 2 million nationwide. By one estimate, the total number of guns in circulation nationwide has reached 400 million, which is over one for every person in the nation. America also has among the world’s worst gun violence. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 38,062 Americans have been killed by guns in 2022. (These are 28 guns used the most to commit crimes in America.)

The first full year the FBI had gun background checks was 1999, when the figure was 9,138,123. The figure topped 10 million in 2006, and 20 million in 2013. It has risen most years since then.

In 2020, gun background checks surged to 39,695,315. The increase started in March, during the first surge in COVID-19 infections, and remained high through the end of the year. There is no definitive cause. One theory is that as the COVID-19 pandemic began, people were worried about their safety. Another is that the social unrest toward the end of that year created similar anxiety among many Americans.

In 2021, background checks dropped very slightly to 38,876,673. This year, they continued to drop and will be nearly 30 million. But the drop has not been consistent in all states. (These are the 33 senators with perfect scores from the American gun lobby.)

To determine the states where gun sales continue to fall, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. We listed all 15 states where firearm background checks declined in the first 10 months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, and where background checks declined between September and October of this year. States are ranked in order of the percentage decline in background checks between September and October. Population figures are one-year estimates from the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.

Click here to see 15 states where gun sales continue to fall.

15. Connecticut
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -0.1% (-20)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 16,635 (19th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 16,655 (19th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -9.3% — 19th largest decrease (-20,203)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 195,943 (22nd fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 216,146 (23rd fewest)
> 2021 population: 3,605,597 (22nd smallest)

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14. Vermont
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -0.3% (-13)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 3,819 (4th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 3,832 (4th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -6.2% — 10th smallest decrease (-2,401)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 36,582 (3rd fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 38,983 (3rd fewest)
> 2021 population: 645,570 (2nd smallest)

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Village Tactical Gun Store in ... by Wesley Fryer

Village Tactical Gun Store in ... (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

13. Oklahoma
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -0.6% (-153)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 27,251 (25th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 27,404 (25th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -4.4% — 4th smallest decrease (-13,457)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 292,441 (25th most)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 305,898 (25th most)
> 2021 population: 3,986,639 (23rd smallest)

12. Louisiana
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -1.1% (-297)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 26,767 (24th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 27,064 (24th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -6.4% — 13th smallest decrease (-18,791)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 275,482 (25th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 294,273 (25th fewest)
> 2021 population: 4,624,047 (25th largest)

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11. Mississippi
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -1.8% (-379)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 21,233 (23rd fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 21,612 (23rd fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -5.4% — 7th smallest decrease (-12,514)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 221,228 (23rd fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 233,742 (24th fewest)
> 2021 population: 2,949,965 (17th smallest)

10. Colorado
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -2.3% (-966)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 40,891 (20th most)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 41,857 (19th most)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -9.0% — 20th largest decrease (-42,829)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 435,502 (20th most)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 478,331 (19th most)
> 2021 population: 5,812,069 (21st largest)

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9. Utah
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -2.5% (-2,121)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 81,921 (7th most)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 84,042 (7th most)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -7.8% — 19th smallest decrease (-71,841)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 844,201 (8th most)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 916,042 (8th most)
> 2021 population: 3,337,975 (21st smallest)

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8. Texas
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -2.5% (-3,480)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 134,003 (3rd most)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 137,483 (3rd most)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -6.3% — 12th smallest decrease (-94,925)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 1,402,074 (3rd most)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 1,496,999 (3rd most)
> 2021 population: 29,527,941 (2nd largest)

7. Alabama
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -3.4% (-1,866)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 53,721 (13th most)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 55,587 (12th most)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -16.4% — 8th largest decrease (-117,163)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 596,260 (13th most)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 713,423 (12th most)
> 2021 population: 5,039,877 (24th largest)

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IMG_4397 (CC BY 2.0) by Geoffrey Fairchild

6. Iowa
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -3.9% (-555)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 13,761 (15th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 14,316 (17th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -12.1% — 13th largest decrease (-25,396)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 183,785 (18th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 209,181 (21st fewest)
> 2021 population: 3,193,079 (20th smallest)

5. New Mexico
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -4.5% (-619)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 13,284 (14th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 13,903 (15th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -4.7% — 6th smallest decrease (-6,999)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 141,541 (15th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 148,540 (14th fewest)
> 2021 population: 2,115,877 (15th smallest)

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4. South Carolina
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -6.3% (-2,183)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 32,379 (25th most)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 34,562 (24th most)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -8.4% — 21st largest decrease (-31,137)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 339,477 (23rd most)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 370,614 (22nd most)
> 2021 population: 5,190,705 (23rd largest)

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Rene with his AR-15 (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Mitch Barrie

3. Nevada
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -6.9% (-755)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 10,128 (10th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 10,883 (12th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -14.0% — 9th largest decrease (-20,556)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 126,072 (13th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 146,628 (13th fewest)
> 2021 population: 3,143,991 (19th smallest)

2. Indiana
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -9.2% (-7,197)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 71,455 (9th most)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 78,652 (8th most)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -36.0% — 2nd largest decrease (-528,293)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 939,899 (7th most)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 1,468,192 (4th most)
> 2021 population: 6,805,985 (17th largest)

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1. Wyoming
> Change in background checks Sep 2022-Oct 2022: -10.8% (-639)
> Firearm background checks, Oct 2022: 5,271 (5th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Sep 2022: 5,910 (6th fewest)
> Change in background checks Jan-Oct 2021 to Jan-Oct 2022: -9.4% — 18th largest decrease (-5,923)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2022: 56,991 (5th fewest)
> Firearm background checks, Jan-Oct 2021: 62,914 (6th fewest)
> 2021 population: 578,803 (the smallest)

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.