Guide Rankings Government & Politics Updated June 20, 2026

Gun Ownership Rate by State

Hunting rifles and shotguns displayed in a rural gun shop

Gun Ownership Rate by State

Ranking - Government & Politics

Gun ownership rates vary enormously by region, from more than 66% of adults in Wyoming to under 10% in Hawaii. Because most states do not register firearms, these figures are survey-based estimates rather than direct counts.

Quick Answer

Gun Ownership Rate by State

  1. 1

    Wyoming has the highest gun ownership rate at 66.3% of adults, the only state above 65%. Montana (65.7%) and Alaska (63.5%) follow. No other state exceeds 60%.

  2. 2

    Hawaii ranks last at 9.7%, the only state below 10%. New Jersey (12.0%), Massachusetts (12.6%), and Rhode Island (13.8%) are next lowest. Wyoming's rate is nearly 7 times Hawaii's.

  3. 3

    The five states with the highest ownership (Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, West Virginia, and Arkansas) all exceed 57% and are in the Mountain West, Pacific Northwest, or South. The five lowest states are all in the Northeast or Pacific.

Map

Gun Ownership Rate by State Map

Adult Gun Ownership Rate
No data
Wyoming (66.3%), Montana (65.7%), and Alaska (63.5%) appear in deep rust at the top of the scale. Hawaii (9.7%), New Jersey (12.0%), and Massachusetts (12.6%) appear in near-cream at the bottom.
Gun Ownership Rate by State Map
Rank State Adult Gun Ownership Rate
1 Wyoming 66.3
2 Montana 65.7
3 Alaska 63.5
4 West Virginia 58.5
5 Arkansas 57.2
6 Idaho 56.8
7 Alabama 55.5
8 Mississippi 55.2
9 South Dakota 54.9
10 North Dakota 52.1
11 Kentucky 51.8
12 Oklahoma 47
13 Louisiana 46.8
14 Missouri 46.5
15 Tennessee 46.3
16 Texas 44.9
17 Kansas 44.6
18 Utah 43.6
19 Nebraska 43.2
20 Iowa 43.1
21 South Carolina 42.3
22 Vermont 42
23 Wisconsin 41.8
24 North Carolina 40.9
25 Georgia 40.3
26 Maine 40
27 Arizona 39.5
28 Indiana 39
29 Michigan 38.2
30 Minnesota 38
31 Pennsylvania 37.3
32 Ohio 37.1
33 Virginia 35.9
34 Colorado 34.3
35 Oregon 34
36 New Hampshire 33.1
37 New Mexico 32.1
38 Nevada 31.4
39 Washington 31.2
40 Florida 30.8
41 Illinois 25.5
42 Delaware 25.3
43 California 20.7
44 Maryland 20
45 New York 18.2
46 Connecticut 17.2
47 Rhode Island 13.8
48 Massachusetts 12.6
49 New Jersey 12
50 Hawaii 9.7

Wyoming (66.3%), Montana (65.7%), and Alaska (63.5%) appear in deep rust at the top of the scale. Hawaii (9.7%), New Jersey (12.0%), and Massachusetts (12.6%) appear in near-cream at the bottom.

Gun Ownership Rate by State Table

Download this table as a PDF

Clean, print-ready version of Gun Ownership Rate by State.

Highest and Lowest Gun Ownership Rates by State

Highest

66.3
Wyoming flag
Wyoming #1

Lowest

9.7
Hawaii flag
Hawaii #50

Top 10 Highest — Adults Who Own Guns

#1 Wyoming flag Wyoming
66.3
#2 Montana flag Montana
65.7
#3 Alaska flag Alaska
63.5
#4 West Virginia flag West Virginia
58.5
#5 Arkansas flag Arkansas
57.2
#6 Idaho flag Idaho
56.8
#7 Alabama flag Alabama
55.5
#8 Mississippi flag Mississippi
55.2
#9 South Dakota flag South Dakota
54.9
#10 North Dakota flag North Dakota
52.1

Top 10 Lowest — Adults Who Own Guns

#50 Hawaii flag Hawaii
9.7
#49 New Jersey flag New Jersey
12.0
#48 Massachusetts flag Massachusetts
12.6
#47 Rhode Island flag Rhode Island
13.8
#46 Connecticut flag Connecticut
17.2
#45 New York flag New York
18.2
#44 Maryland flag Maryland
20.0
#43 California flag California
20.7
#42 Delaware flag Delaware
25.3
#41 Illinois flag Illinois
25.5

States with the Highest Gun Ownership

Hunter standing in an open field holding a rifle outdoors
The highest-ownership states are concentrated in the Mountain West, Alaska, and the rural South, where hunting culture, low population density, and long traditions of private firearm ownership are especially strong.

Wyoming leads the country at 66.3%, followed by Montana at 65.7%, a gap of just 0.6 points between the top two states. Alaska is third at 63.5%. Those three states are the only ones above 60%, and they stand apart from the rest of the table: the fourth-ranked state, West Virginia, is 5 points lower at 58.5%.

The top 11 states all fall between 51.8% and 66.3%, a span of 14.5 points. Ranks 12 through 20 cluster between 43.1% and 47.0%, forming a second distinct band of high-ownership Plains and Southern states. Kentucky (51.8%) and Oklahoma (47.0%) anchor the gap between those two groups.

States with the Lowest Gun Ownership

Shooting target with bullet holes at a range
At the low end of the table, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Massachusetts all sit close to the bottom, with ownership rates clustered near or below the mid-teens. Hawaii is the only state below 10%.

Hawaii ranks last at 9.7%, the only state below 10%. New Jersey (12.0%) and Massachusetts (12.6%) are second and third lowest. Rhode Island (13.8%) and Connecticut (17.2%) complete the five states below 18%. All five are in the Northeast or Pacific.

The drop-off between rank 40 and rank 41 is sharp: Florida (30.8%) is followed by Illinois (25.5%), a gap of 5.3 points with no state in between. Ranks 41 through 50 cover a 21.1-point range from 25.5% (Illinois) to 9.7% (Hawaii), while ranks 1 through 40 cover a 35.5-point range across nearly equal territory.

Gun Ownership in New England States

Two hunters walking through snowy woods carrying rifles
Vermont stands out from the rest of New England by combining a rural landscape and strong outdoor sporting culture with Northeastern geography. Its 42.0% ownership rate is far above neighboring Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Vermont (42.0%, rank 22) sits between South Carolina (42.3%, rank 21) and Wisconsin (41.8%, rank 23), higher than Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, and most of the Midwest. Vermont is the only New England state above 40%; its nearest New England neighbors, Maine (40.0%, rank 26) and New Hampshire (33.1%, rank 36), fall notably lower.

Connecticut (17.2%) and Rhode Island (13.8%) are the two New England states that fall into the bottom 10 nationally, showing a 24-point spread within the same six-state region.

Quick Answers

What state has the highest gun ownership rate?
Wyoming has the highest gun ownership rate at 66.3% of adults. Montana (65.7%) ranks second and Alaska (63.5%) third. These are the only three states above 60%.
What state has the lowest gun ownership rate?
Hawaii has the lowest gun ownership rate at 9.7%, the only state below 10%. New Jersey (12.0%) and Massachusetts (12.6%) are next. The bottom five states are all in the Northeast or Pacific.
What is the gun ownership rate in Texas?
Texas has a gun ownership rate of 44.9%, ranking 16th in the country. That places Texas above the midpoint of the table but well below the top Mountain West states.
What is the gun ownership rate in California?
California has a gun ownership rate of 20.7%, ranking 43rd out of 50 states. Despite having the largest population in the country, California falls in the lower quarter of the table alongside other large coastal states.
What is the gun ownership rate in Florida?
Florida has a gun ownership rate of 30.8%, ranking 40th. Florida sits just above the sharp drop-off point in the table. Illinois (25.5%) at rank 41 is the next state below, a 5.3-point gap.
How is gun ownership measured by state?
Most states have no gun registration requirement, so direct counts are unavailable. Ownership rates come from surveys, primarily the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and research by the RAND Corporation, which models ownership using validated proxy measures. All state-level figures carry a margin of error.
Which states have the most guns per capita?
Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska lead the table by ownership rate: 66.3%, 65.7%, and 63.5% respectively. West Virginia (58.5%) and Arkansas (57.2%) are next. These five states all exceed 57% adult gun ownership.

Methodology

Ownership rates represent the percentage of adults who personally own at least one firearm, based on survey data compiled and modeled by the RAND Corporation's Science of Gun Policy research program using CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. Because most states have no gun registration requirement, direct counts do not exist; all figures are survey-derived estimates and carry a margin of error.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
Found an error? Report it here.

Build A Comparison

Compare Gun Ownership Between Two States

Pick any two states to see a full side-by-side breakdown of firearm ownership rates and related civic data.

You Might Also Like