Gun sales in the United States rose 40% last year to 39,695,315. The figure represents the high water mark in gun sales since the current record-keeping system went into effect. Increases by state varied substantially. In at least one state, sales more than doubled.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation tracks gun sales and publishes a list of how many are handled as part of its National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Each month, the figures are reported by state. Nearly everyone put through this system qualifies as a buyer. People who are excluded usually have criminal records. Of the more than 300 million checks that have been done since 1998, there have only been 1.5 million denials. Therefore, the data is the best proxy for U.S. gun sales available.

Growing civil unrest may have prompted people to buy guns for personal and family protection, many social scientists have posited, although this remains a matter of debate. Another theory is that chaos brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is a major cause. A new U.C. Davis School of Medicine study about fear of violence reports: “The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated persistent structural, economic, and social inequities in the conditions that contribute to violence and its consequences.”

Who bought these guns? CBS News pointed out that over 5 million people were first-time gun buyers last year. CNN reported a sharp rise in sales to Black Americans and women. “Sales to women are also up 40% through September when compared with the same period last year,” the news network pointed out.

The rise in gun sales from 2019 to 2020 is not an anomaly. The number of gun sales has increased most years since 1999. Sales first topped 25 million in 2016, 20 million in 2013, 15 million in 2011 and 10 million in 2006. The first full year the FBI kept data was 1999, when total sales were 9,138,123.

Notably, the figures show that gun sales and population are not related. Illinois at 7,455,065 had almost 19% of American gun sales in 2020 but has only about 4% of the nation’s population. Kentucky’s gun sales at 3,330,462 were over 8% of the national total. Its population is just a little over 1% of the national figure.

Gun sales only fell in one state last year. The figure stands out, particularly because gun sales in three states rose by over 100% in 2020. In every other state, they were higher by at least 20%.

Gun sales in Kentucky fell 19.2%, for some unexplained reason, from 4,120,892. By some measures in the state, gun permits rose, but the FBI data show a large erosion.

Gun purchase behavior continues to be poorly understood but hotly debated, which means a definitive answer won’t be forthcoming. Suffice it to say, the extent of the rise in most states and falloff in Kentucky begs a whole series of larger questions about why Americans would buy almost 40 million guns in one year.

State	2019 Sales	2020 Sales	Change
United States	28,007,320	39,326,079	40.40%
Michigan	492,171	1,068,511	117.10%
Rhode Island	24,338	51,369	111.10%
Maryland	148,813	302,563	103.30%
New Jersey	91,257	177,901	94.90%
Arizona	372,912	665,458	78.40%
Nevada	128,312	219,349	70.90%
Wisconsin	435,685	731,618	67.90%
North Carolina	530,365	890,284	67.90%
Georgia	539,113	904,035	67.70%
Delaware	46,427	77,057	66.00%
South Carolina	328,221	530,930	61.80%
Vermont	35,843	57,965	61.70%
Virginia	512,766	823,513	60.60%
Florida	1,195,539	1,912,204	59.90%
Hawaii	12,666	20,102	58.70%
Alabama	690,084	1,085,475	57.30%
Texas	1,487,212	2,325,281	56.40%
New Hampshire	112,173	174,662	55.70%
Tennessee	635,313	984,760	55.00%
Mississippi	238,388	366,829	53.90%
Nebraska	68,236	104,511	53.20%
Ohio	638,495	976,751	53.00%
Louisiana	282,264	430,537	52.50%
Maine	90,626	137,149	51.30%
Illinois	4,949,570	7,455,065	50.60%
Kansas	167,010	249,589	49.40%
Montana	115,823	172,695	49.10%
Wyoming	61,291	91,384	49.10%
Iowa	182,802	270,614	48.00%
Utah	823,270	1,216,773	47.80%
Pennsylvania	987,886	1,452,921	47.10%
Arkansas	221,344	324,741	46.70%
Colorado	469,535	680,507	44.90%
Oregon	357,700	516,096	44.30%
New York	355,374	507,940	42.90%
Missouri	497,858	708,184	42.20%
North Dakota	60,389	85,465	41.50%
Minnesota	682,356	958,391	40.50%
South Dakota	85,426	115,448	35.10%
Idaho	209,275	281,284	34.40%
Indiana	1,450,565	1,935,587	33.40%
New Mexico	156,829	206,252	31.50%
Oklahoma	360,043	470,286	30.60%
California	1,240,632	1,601,054	29.10%
West Virginia	206,196	265,705	28.90%
Washington	607,170	781,471	28.70%
Alaska	76,923	98,952	28.60%
Connecticut	172,935	219,227	26.80%
Massachusetts	212,316	262,583	23.70%
Kentucky	4,120,892	3,330,462	−19.20%

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