The trend in gun sales began to change in 2021 compared to most other years in the past decade. Gun sales, using the FBI’s firearms background checks as a proxy, reached 38,876,673 in 2021. This was down slightly from the record set in 2020 of 39,695,315.
There are several theories explaining the sharp rise in gun sales over the past two years. Among them is the violence in American cities during protests. Another is that the pandemic has, perhaps irrationally, increased concerns about protecting one’s property. The 2022 background checks figures show that some of these trends may have started to taper off.
Despite the drop, 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 this year, the trend has continued. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a surge in gun violence in Seattle, which is generally considered a relatively safe city. Here are cities where the record for most murders was broken in 2021.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have already been 8,939 gun deaths in America so far in 2022. Even with stricter gun ownership and purchasing laws, the difficult fact is that about 400 million guns are currently owned by private citizens, the police, and the military. The chance that civilians who own guns will turn them into the government, no matter what the incentive, is small. These are the states with the best and worst gun laws.
Inexplicably, gun sales collapsed in the first two months of this year, compared to the same period in 2021. So far, the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported 5,146,500 background checks, compared to 7,760,581 in January and February of 2021. That means the 2022 number was only 66% of the number for 2021.
Total gun sales remained high in some states. Background check figures were particularly large in Illinois, at 782,222 during January and February.Â
To determine how many guns were sold in each state so far this year, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on background checks data from Jan. 1, 2022, to Feb. 28, 2022, from the FBI’s NICS Firearm Checks. We used the background checks as a proxy for year-to-date gun sales. Population data used to calculate gun sales per capita came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Unit Estimates program and are for July 1, 2021.
Source: Kruck20 / Getty Images
Alabama
> Gun sales this year: 131,862
> Gun sales per capita: 26.2 per 1,000
> Total population: 5.0 million
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Source: Chilkoot / Getty Images
Alaska
> Gun sales this year: 10,902
> Gun sales per capita: 14.9 per 1,000
> Total population: 732,673
Source: Dreamframer / Getty Images
Arizona
> Gun sales this year: 73,004
> Gun sales per capita: 10.0 per 1,000
> Total population: 7.3 million
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
Arkansas
> Gun sales this year: 36,489
> Gun sales per capita: 12.1 per 1,000
> Total population: 3.0 million
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Source: choness / Getty Images
California
> Gun sales this year: 210,577
> Gun sales per capita: 5.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 39.2 million
Source: Planet Unicorn / Getty Images
Colorado
> Gun sales this year: 83,591
> Gun sales per capita: 14.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 5.8 million
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Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
Connecticut
> Gun sales this year: 39,127
> Gun sales per capita: 10.9 per 1,000
> Total population: 3.6 million
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Source: mdgmorris / Getty Images
Delaware
> Gun sales this year: 9,684
> Gun sales per capita: 9.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.0 million
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Florida
> Gun sales this year: 234,405
> Gun sales per capita: 10.8 per 1,000
> Total population: 21.8 million
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Georgia
> Gun sales this year: 102,272
> Gun sales per capita: 9.5 per 1,000
> Total population: 10.8 million
Source: Art Wager / Getty Images
Hawaii
> Gun sales this year: 2,690
> Gun sales per capita: 1.9 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.4 million
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Source: mattalberts / Getty Images
Idaho
> Gun sales this year: 35,993
> Gun sales per capita: 18.9 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.9 million
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Illinois
> Gun sales this year: 782,222
> Gun sales per capita: 61.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 12.7 million
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
Indiana
> Gun sales this year: 218,109
> Gun sales per capita: 32.0 per 1,000
> Total population: 6.8 million
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Source: KudicM / Getty Images
Iowa
> Gun sales this year: 45,842
> Gun sales per capita: 14.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 3.2 million
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
Kansas
> Gun sales this year: 31,367
> Gun sales per capita: 10.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 2.9 million
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
Kentucky
> Gun sales this year: 712,367
> Gun sales per capita: 158.0 per 1,000
> Total population: 4.5 million
Source: f11photo / Getty Images
Louisiana
> Gun sales this year: 58,604
> Gun sales per capita: 12.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 4.6 million
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
Maine
> Gun sales this year: 15,668
> Gun sales per capita: 11.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.4 million
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
Maryland
> Gun sales this year: 36,211
> Gun sales per capita: 5.9 per 1,000
> Total population: 6.2 million
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
Massachusetts
> Gun sales this year: 35,433
> Gun sales per capita: 5.1 per 1,000
> Total population: 7.0 million
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Source: pawel.gaul / Getty Images
Michigan
> Gun sales this year: 125,187
> Gun sales per capita: 12.5 per 1,000
> Total population: 10.1 million
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Source: RudyBalasko / Getty Images
Minnesota
> Gun sales this year: 135,238
> Gun sales per capita: 23.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 5.7 million
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
Mississippi
> Gun sales this year: 45,915
> Gun sales per capita: 15.6 per 1,000
> Total population: 2.9 million
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Source: f11photo / Getty Images
Missouri
> Gun sales this year: 82,865
> Gun sales per capita: 13.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 6.2 million
Source: peeterv / Getty Images
Montana
> Gun sales this year: 19,976
> Gun sales per capita: 18.1 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.1 million
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
Nebraska
> Gun sales this year: 12,601
> Gun sales per capita: 6.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 2.0 million
Source: 4kodiak / Getty Images
Nevada
> Gun sales this year: 25,001
> Gun sales per capita: 8.0 per 1,000
> Total population: 3.1 million
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
New Hampshire
> Gun sales this year: 19,682
> Gun sales per capita: 14.2 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.4 million
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Source: Creative-Family / Getty Images
New Jersey
> Gun sales this year: 25,758
> Gun sales per capita: 2.8 per 1,000
> Total population: 9.3 million
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
New Mexico
> Gun sales this year: 26,845
> Gun sales per capita: 12.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 2.1 million
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Source: FilippoBacci / Getty Images
New York
> Gun sales this year: 62,162
> Gun sales per capita: 3.1 per 1,000
> Total population: 19.8 million
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
North Carolina
> Gun sales this year: 107,866
> Gun sales per capita: 10.2 per 1,000
> Total population: 10.6 million
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
North Dakota
> Gun sales this year: 10,622
> Gun sales per capita: 13.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 774,948
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Ohio
> Gun sales this year: 105,585
> Gun sales per capita: 9.0 per 1,000
> Total population: 11.8 million
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
Oklahoma
> Gun sales this year: 56,928
> Gun sales per capita: 14.3 per 1,000
> Total population: 4.0 million
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Source: 4nadia / Getty Images
Oregon
> Gun sales this year: 62,150
> Gun sales per capita: 14.6 per 1,000
> Total population: 4.2 million
Source: f11photo / Getty Images
Pennsylvania
> Gun sales this year: 198,355
> Gun sales per capita: 15.3 per 1,000
> Total population: 13.0 million
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
Rhode Island
> Gun sales this year: 4,572
> Gun sales per capita: 4.2 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.1 million
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Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
South Carolina
> Gun sales this year: 67,657
> Gun sales per capita: 13.0 per 1,000
> Total population: 5.2 million
Source: EunikaSopotnicka / Getty Images
South Dakota
> Gun sales this year: 13,858
> Gun sales per capita: 15.5 per 1,000
> Total population: 895,376
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Tennessee
> Gun sales this year: 138,446
> Gun sales per capita: 19.8 per 1,000
> Total population: 7.0 million
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Texas
> Gun sales this year: 267,878
> Gun sales per capita: 9.1 per 1,000
> Total population: 29.5 million
Source: Adventure_Photo / Getty Images
Utah
> Gun sales this year: 158,066
> Gun sales per capita: 47.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 3.3 million
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Vermont
> Gun sales this year: 6,900
> Gun sales per capita: 10.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 645,570
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
Virginia
> Gun sales this year: 90,239
> Gun sales per capita: 10.4 per 1,000
> Total population: 8.6 million
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Source: roman_slavik / iStock via Getty Images
Washington
> Gun sales this year: 108,721
> Gun sales per capita: 14.0 per 1,000
> Total population: 7.7 million
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
West Virginia
> Gun sales this year: 29,768
> Gun sales per capita: 16.7 per 1,000
> Total population: 1.8 million
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
Wisconsin
> Gun sales this year: 106,469
> Gun sales per capita: 18.1 per 1,000
> Total population: 5.9 million
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Source: Dean_Fikar / Getty Images
Wyoming
> Gun sales this year: 10,592
> Gun sales per capita: 18.3 per 1,000
> Total population: 578,803
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