This Is How Many Gun Stores There Are in Colorado

By Sam Stebbins Published Jul 27, 12:00PM EDT

This Is How Many Gun Stores There Are in Colorado — © artas / iStock via Getty Images

There are over 393 million guns in circulation in the U.S., according to estimates from the Small Arms Survey, far outnumbering the national population of 327 million. In the United States – the only country in the world home to more civilian-owned guns than people – guns are big business.

While the appropriate balance between gun rights and public safety is a hot button political issue, the economics of the firearm industry are less controversial. According to The Firearm Industry Trade Association, guns and ammunition had a total economic impact of over $70.5 billion in 2021 – generating over a billion dollars in tax revenue and providing hundreds of thousands of jobs.

According to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, there were 1,634 federally licensed dealers or pawn brokers of firearms in Colorado as of January 2022, or 28.7 for every 100,000 people – the 19th most among states.

The concentration of gun stores reflects current demand for firearms in the state, as Colorado ranks in the top half for both measures, adjusting for population. FBI firearm background check data, which is a close proxy for firearm sales, shows that an estimated 266,553 guns were sold in Colorado in the first half of 2022, or 4,689 for every 100,000 people, the 20th most among states.

Rank	State	Gun stores per 100,000 people	Total store Count	Gun sales per 100,000 people, 1st half of 2022	Total gun sales, 1st half of 2022
1	Wyoming	97.4	566	6,050	35,169
2	Montana	87.0	924	6,645	70,552
3	Alaska	70.3	518	5,395	39,759
4	North Dakota	62.1	472	4,699	35,732
5	South Dakota	57.7	507	4,750	41,772
6	Idaho	47.7	837	6,811	119,491
7	West Virginia	47.7	862	5,120	92,541
8	Vermont	46.1	288	3,555	22,197
9	Iowa	39.4	1,241	4,059	127,848
10	Arkansas	38.5	1,159	3,762	113,314
11	Nebraska	35.7	686	1,991	38,309
12	Kansas	35.4	1,032	3,266	95,135
13	Maine	35.4	474	4,011	53,787
14	Missouri	33.4	2,044	4,268	261,399
15	Oklahoma	33.3	1,316	4,566	180,342
16	Kentucky	30.3	1,352	46,948	2,094,787
17	Oregon	30.1	1,258	4,813	201,022
18	Mississippi	29.7	887	4,515	134,642
19	Colorado	28.7	1,634	4,689	266,553
20	New Hampshire	28.0	380	4,871	66,013
21	New Mexico	25.9	544	4,116	86,322
22	Utah	24.6	776	16,069	506,367
23	Minnesota	24.2	1,356	8,188	458,568
24	Wisconsin	24.0	1,396	5,448	316,376
25	Louisiana	23.6	1,103	3,647	170,127
26	Alabama	22.5	1,101	7,645	374,096
27	North Carolina	21.3	2,216	3,052	316,997
28	Texas	21.0	6,013	2,989	855,905
29	Tennessee	20.7	1,404	6,205	420,199
30	Indiana	20.6	1,379	9,338	625,360
31	South Carolina	20.4	1,041	4,121	209,843
32	Arizona	20.4	1,463	3,814	273,584
33	Michigan	19.8	1,976	4,041	403,011
34	Pennsylvania	19.5	2,501	4,842	619,530
35	Ohio	18.9	2,206	2,886	336,981
36	Virginia	18.8	1,596	3,278	278,978
37	Georgia	17.5	1,836	2,874	302,270
38	Nevada	15.9	481	2,663	80,710
39	Washington	14.0	1,050	5,315	399,258
40	Delaware	13.6	132	3,576	34,602
41	Florida	13.4	2,847	3,529	748,659
42	Connecticut	12.0	430	3,536	126,268
43	Illinois	10.4	1,324	16,234	2,064,400
44	Maryland	9.2	556	1,894	114,372
45	New York	9.1	1,785	1,135	221,579
46	Rhode Island	7.0	74	1,433	15,157
47	Hawaii	6.7	95	642	9,116
48	California	4.8	1,903	1,758	691,718
49	Massachusetts	4.7	326	1,651	113,472
50	New Jersey	3.5	311	914	81,209

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About the Author Sam Stebbins →

Sam Stebbins is a writer at 247WallSt.com where his primary focus is on government policy, politics, companies, and broad social and economic trends. Sam has been writing in the money and news verticals for over 8 years and holds a bachelor's degree from Hobart College, which he earned in 2010. Sam resides in upstate New York and enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, and skiing in the Adirondack Mountains and across the Northeast.