FBI data on background checks is the best available proxy of U.S. gun sales, even though private sales of firearms, including those at gun shows, are exempted from background checks in some states. According to this data, the state with the most gun sales is Illinois.
A 2015 survey conducted by the Joyce Foundation and the Fund for a Safer Future found that 50% of the respondents who had bought guns privately in the previous two years had not undergone checks. (These are the states with the most gun violence.)
The FBI publishes a monthly list of how many federal background checks are conducted on potential gun buyers as part of its National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Nearly everyone put through this system qualifies. Of the more than 400 million checks that have been done since November 1998, there have only been 4 million denials. Those who are excluded usually have criminal records.
Since 1999, the first full year for which the FBI collected data, gun sales have risen annually. In 1999, 9,183,123 sales were recorded. Last year, the figure reached 39,695,315, up from 28,369,750 in 2019. Gun sales through the first 10 months of 2021 totaled 33,060,676, compared to 32,132,349 in the same period last year.
While people who already own guns have been buying more, there is a new group of buyers. According to the New York Times, data on 2020 gun sales from Northeastern University and the Harvard Injury Control Research Center shows that about a fifth of all Americans who bought guns last year were first-time gun owners. The study also revealed that half of those new gun owners were women, a fifth were Black, and a fifth were Hispanic.
Recent 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 pandemic was a major cause. (These are large cities where homicide is soaring.)
NPR, in April, commented on another trend: “Most often, the first-timers are purchasing a semiautomatic handgun, outpacing the second-most-purchased firearm, shotguns, by 2 to 1, according to NSSF [National Shooting Sports Foundation].”
According to the FBI data, the state with the most gun sales through the first 10 months of this year was Illinois at more than 7.7 million. The state has only 4% of the U.S. population but accounted for 24% of gun sales for the period. In second place, Kentucky had about 3.1 million sales over the same period. That’s more than 8% of the guns sold nationwide, even though the state has only 1.3% of the population.
Using the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, 24/7 Wall St. listed gun sales for every state through the first 10 months of this year.
Click here to see the state that sells the most guns
Source: Art Wager / Getty Images
50. Hawaii
> Total guns sales/10 months: 14,677
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49. Rhode Island
> Total guns sales/10 months: 32,438
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48. Vermont
> Total guns sales/10 months: 43,283
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
47. Delaware
> Total guns sales/10 months: 57,573
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46. North Dakota
> Total guns sales/10 months: 67,723
Source: Dean_Fikar / Getty Images
45. Wyoming
> Total guns sales/10 months: 68,941
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44. Nebraska
> Total guns sales/10 months: 75,148
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43. Alaska
> Total guns sales/10 months: 76,225
Source: EunikaSopotnicka / Getty Images
42. South Dakota
> Total guns sales/10 months: 89,130
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41. Maine
> Total guns sales/10 months: 106,690
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
40. New Hampshire
> Total guns sales/10 months: 127,895
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39. Montana
> Total guns sales/10 months: 133,128
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38. Nevada
> Total guns sales/10 months: 159,771
Source: ferrantraite / Getty Images
37. New Mexico
> Total guns sales/10 months: 162,595
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
36. West Virginia
> Total guns sales/10 months: 180,696
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35. Kansas
> Total guns sales/10 months: 188,005
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34. New Jersey
> Total guns sales/10 months: 195,386
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
33. Massachusetts
> Total guns sales/10 months: 222,220
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32. Maryland
> Total guns sales/10 months: 225,899
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31. Idaho
> Total guns sales/10 months: 226,232
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30. Iowa
> Total guns sales/10 months: 227,300
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29. Arkansas
> Total guns sales/10 months: 235,715
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
28. Connecticut
> Total guns sales/10 months: 236,613
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
27. Mississippi
> Total guns sales/10 months: 257,229
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26. Louisiana
> Total guns sales/10 months: 326,066
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25. Oklahoma
> Total guns sales/10 months: 336,257
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24. Oregon
> Total guns sales/10 months: 378,704
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23. New York
> Total guns sales/10 months: 389,307
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
22. South Carolina
> Total guns sales/10 months: 406,492
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21. Arizona
> Total guns sales/10 months: 476,845
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20. Missouri
> Total guns sales/10 months: 520,910
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19. Colorado
> Total guns sales/10 months: 525,295
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
18. Virginia
> Total guns sales/10 months: 537,675
Source: Ben Babusis, www.BenBabusis.com / iStock via Getty Images
17. Washington
> Total guns sales/10 months: 611,387
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16. Wisconsin
> Total guns sales/10 months: 652,974
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15. North Carolina
> Total guns sales/10 months: 657,667
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
14. Georgia
> Total guns sales/10 months: 681,330
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13. Ohio
> Total guns sales/10 months: 706,321
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
12. Alabama
> Total guns sales/10 months: 779,922
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11. Tennessee
> Total guns sales/10 months: 793,338
Source: RudyBalasko / Getty Images
10. Minnesota
> Total guns sales/10 months: 803,169
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9. Michigan
> Total guns sales/10 months: 819,879
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8. Utah
> Total guns sales/10 months: 1,004,197
Source: f11photo / Getty Images
7. Pennsylvania
> Total guns sales/10 months: 1,178,589
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6. California
> Total guns sales/10 months: 1,238,099
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
5. Florida
> Total guns sales/10 months: 1,431,049
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
4. Indiana
> Total guns sales/10 months: 1,580,420
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
3. Texas
> Total guns sales/10 months: 1,643,592
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2. Kentucky
> Total guns sales/10 months: 3,100,798
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
1. Illinois
> Total guns sales/10 months: 7,733,188
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