How Many Americans Own Guns? The Numbers Keep Rising

New data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) shows the massive economic impact of the firearm and ammunition industry in the US. Those numbers increased to a whopping $80.73 billion in 2022, swelling more than $60 billion since 2008. Gun sales accelerated dramatically during the pandemic, skyrocketing from 2020 to 2020, and the number of just how many Americans own guns today continues to grow.

How Many Americans Own Guns?

So just how many Americans do own guns? Well, we actually don’t know for sure. Several estimates put the total amount of guns owned in America somewhere around 393 million. But we did come across another statement recently that estimated recent buying surges put total guns closer to 466 million. A University of Chicago study estimated those firearms split across 46-percent of American homes. Numbers also suggest somewhere around 80 million Americans own at least one blaster. Studies take time and are not exact. But it’s clear, a lot of folks own a lot of guns here in the USA.

The NSSF’s most recent data comes from the 2023 Firearm and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact Report. focused on the economics of firearms. That data shows a 322-percent increase in economic impact. Our industry provides nearly 400,000 full-time jobs to Americans.

Putting America to Work

The value of the firearm industry keeps growing year-over-year, generating business for companies that don’t even necessarily appear to operate in this segment. While administrations bloviate about creating jobs, the firearm industry actually delivers. From retail to metal cutters to gun builders, the firearm industry–and our purchase dollars as consumers–put America to work.

As such, our guns continue supporting our local communities as well. The firearm and ammunition industry paid more than $7.48 billion in business taxes in 2022. Another $1.15 billion went to federal excise taxes, which drives nearly all wildlife conservation in this country.

“Our industry’s economic input is undeniably contributing to every state and every community. This milestone achievement of over $80 billion in economic impact proves that the American firearm and ammunition industry is strong,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO. “Ours is an industry that is consistently growing and innovating to meet the American demand for the highest quality firearms and ammunition for lawful firearm ownership. Over 4.2 million Americans from all walks of life, for the first time, discovered and exercised their right to lawful firearm owners and safely participate in the recreational shooting sports last year. This growth equals more jobs that add to our local economies, averaging $65,000 in wages and benefits, up from $56,900 reported last year. Since 2008, federal tax payments increased by 266 percent, Pittman-Robertson excise taxes that support wildlife conservation by 226 percent and state business taxes by 46 percent.”

The COVID-19 Pandemic Effect

We’ve all watched the Obama effect or the Biden effect or the mass shooting effect play out on firearms sales. Political upheaval and frivolous bills introduced to the Senate floor certainly drove a metric ton of gun sales over the last decade. But arguably nothing moved the needle quite like the coronavirus pandemic.

March 2020 introduced a panic and fear we’ve not felt in this country in most of our lifetimes. It paired with the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing radical stifling of law enforcement across the country. Prisons emptied. The cops were handcuffed from taking action. And the people took to the streets to riot. Crime surged across the country.

So millions of Americans decided to arm themselves in order to ensure the protection of their families. Gun sales surged. It turned out that record numbers of first-time gun owners joined the flock. Women, minorities and people of all walks of life bought their first handgun or rifle. They hit the range and got some training. It changed the conversation on guns in so many way.

Diversity in Numbers

“It’s a totally different type of gun ownership now,” John Roman, a senior fellow in the Economics, Justice and Society Group at NORC, a research organization based at the University of Chicago, told Yahoo.com. “Five percent of Americans said they bought a gun for the first time during the pandemic, which is a huge number. Those buyers were younger, they were more likely to be renters, they were more likely to be women, they were more likely to be people of color.”

Between March 2020 and March 2022, 18-percent of all American households purchased a firearm, according to Yahoo.com. And the lion’s share were black guns or pistols aimed at defense. “It’s not a rifle stored away somewhere that you take out twice a year to go hunting. It’s a handgun, probably a semiautomatic handgun, that you keep in your bedside table or in your glove compartment, or that you maybe carry around with you,” Roman said, reported Yahoo.com.

There are powerful lessons in these numbers. When panic and hard times hit, while law enforcement proved it couldn’t or wouldn’t defend the people, the people turned to arming themselves.

Power to the People

The next time politicians or anti-gun groups rush to use tragedy as their stump to cry for more gun control, remember the data. Remember just how many Americans own guns today. Americans choose to own firearms. The 2nd Amendment guarantees that right to do so. Retaining those rights are the fight we must all pledge to eternally endure.