States With the Most Guns in 2012

The shooting of Trayvon Martin has focused national attention on Florida’s so-called Stand Your Ground law, under which a person claiming self-defense can justify killing an alleged assailant.

Because Trayvon was killed by George Zimmerman’s 9mm semi-automatic handgun, we wondered how the gun-ownership rates have changed since our 2010 report, in which we crunched the numbers to find out which states (including Washington, D.C.) are the most armed.

For our updated ranking, we considered state data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System for the last 18 months. We divided the number of background checks by each state’s population to come up with our final ranking.

A point of caution: states are not consistent in reporting NICS data. Some use the system for background checks on purchases on the secondary market and others do not. Also, Kentucky implemented monthly NICS checks on concealed weapons, which inflates its numbers.

1. KentuckyNICS background checks per 100,000 residents (Sept. 2010 – Feb. 2012): 78,703Previous rank: 1^st

2. UtahNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 46,898 Previous rank: 2^nd

3. MontanaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 16,888Previous rank: 3^rd

4. West VirginiaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 15,718Previous rank: 6^th

5. AlaskaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 14,616Previous rank: 5^th

6. WyomingNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,986Previous rank: 4^th

7. North DakotaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,952Previous rank: 8^th

8. South DakotaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,624Previous rank: 7^th

9. OklahomaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,279Previous rank: 12^th

10. ArkansasNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,150Previous rank: 9^th

11. AlabamaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,070Previous rank: 10^th

12. TennesseeNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,889Previous rank: 11^th

13. New HampshireNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,557Previous rank: 16^th

14. IdahoNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,261Previous rank: 13^th

15. MissouriNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,228Previous rank: 15^th

16. ColoradoNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,208Previous rank: 14^th

17. MississippiNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,035Previous rank: 17^th

18. IllinoisNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,831Previous rank: 18^th

19. MinnesotaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,730Previous rank: 22^nd

20. LouisianaPopulation: 4,533,372Previous rank: 21^st

21. KansasNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,176Previous rank: 23^rd

22. WashingtonNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,785Previous rank: 24^th

23. PennsylvaniaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,781Previous rank: 25^th

24. IndianaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,691Previous rank: 27^th

25. WisconsinNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,676Previous rank: 38^th

26. MaineNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,629Previous rank: 29^th

27. New MexicoNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,589Previous rank: 20^th

28. IowaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,524Previous rank: 31^st

29. OregonNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,287Previous rank: 26^th

30. ConnecticutNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,906Previous rank: 19^th

31. South CarolinaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,765Previous rank: 28^th

32. TexasNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,060Previous rank: 33^rd

33. VermontNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,728 Previous rank: 35^th

34. NevadaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,583Previous rank: 32^nd

35. VirginiaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,387Previous rank: 30^th

36. OhioNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,274Previous rank: 39^th

37. North CarolinaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,178Previous rank: 34^th

38. GeorgiaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,934Previous rank: 36^th

39. ArizonaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,934Previous rank: 41^st

40. NebraskaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,758Previous rank: 40^th

41. MichiganNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,596Previous rank: 37^th

42. FloridaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,212Previous rank: 42^nd

43. DelawareNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,876Previous rank: 43^rd

44. CaliforniaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,611Previous rank: 44^th

45. MassachusettsNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,500Previous rank: 46^th

46. MarylandNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 2,738Previous rank: 45^th

47. Rhode IslandNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 2,496Previous rank: 47^th

48. New YorkNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 2,172Previous rank: 48^th

49. HawaiiNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 1,359Previous rank: 49^th

50. New JerseyNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 1,030Previous rank: 50^th

51. District of ColumbiaNICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 81Previous rank: 51^st