The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary have forced the nation, once again, to engage in a political and cultural debate regarding the prevalence of guns.
The Daily Beast has considered state-by-state data on gun ownership for more than two years. As with previous rankings, the numbers come with serious qualifications. There is a general scarcity of reliable data on gun ownership across the nation and by state. The best, if limited, source of information comes from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is updated monthly based on the number of background checks performed.
For this ranking, we compared the total number of NICS background checks for firearms in the last 12 months to the most recent state population estimates released by the U.S. Census. States were ranked based on the number of background checks per capita.
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States aren’t consistent in how they report NICS data. Some states use the system on the secondary market, others do not. As well, it’s important to note that Kentucky requires monthly NICS checks on concealed weapons that causes inflated numbers relative to the other states.
1. KentuckyTotal background checks: 2,542,796Population: 4,369,356Background checks per 100,000 residents: 58,196
2. MontanaTotal background checks: 127,631Population: 998,199Background checks per 100,000 residents: 12,786
3. North DakotaTotal background checks: 81,398Population: 683,932Background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,901
4. West VirginiaTotal background checks: 216,517Population: 1,855,364Background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,670
5. AlaskaTotal background checks: 79,992Population: 722,718Background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,068
6. WyomingTotal background checks: 59,756Population: 568,158Background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,517
7. South DakotaTotal background checks: 82,218Population: 824,082Background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,977
8. OklahomaTotal background checks: 344,781Population: 3,791,508Background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,094
9. New HampshireTotal background checks: 118,259Population: 1,318,194Background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,971
10. WisconsinTotal background checks: 481,829Population: 5,711,767Background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,436
11. AlabamaTotal background checks: 402,832Population: 4,802,740Background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,388
12. IdahoTotal background checks: 129,265Population: 1,584,985Background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,156
13. MissouriTotal background checks: 480,953Population: 6,010,688Background checks per 100,000 residents: 8,002
14. ArkansasTotal background checks: 234,086Population: 2,937,979Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,968
15. IllinoisTotal background checks: 1,021,440Population: 12,869,257Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,937
16. MinnesotaTotal background checks: 419,261Population: 5,344,861Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,844
17. ColoradoTotal background checks: 400,919Population: 5,116,796Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,835
18. UtahTotal background checks: 220,503Population: 2,817,222Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,827
19. TennesseeTotal background checks: 489,078Population: 6,403,353Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,638
20. PennsylvaniaTotal background checks: 919,749Population: 12,742,886Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,218
21. WashingtonTotal background checks: 488,808Population: 6,830,038Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,157
22. MississippiTotal background checks: 210,934Population: 2,978,512Background checks per 100,000 residents: 7,082
23. IndianaTotal background checks: 447,513Population: 6,516,922Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,867
24. KansasTotal background checks: 197,083Population: 2,871,238Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,864
25. LouisianaTotal background checks: 307,022Population: 4,574,836Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,711
26. MaineTotal background checks: 88,115Population: 1,328,188Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,634
27. New MexicoTotal background checks: 135,148Population: 2,082,224Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,491
28. OregonTotal background checks: 247,719Population: 3,871,859Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,398
29. ConnecticutTotal background checks: 226,842Population: 3,580,709Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,335
30. South CarolinaTotal background checks: 295,814Population: 4,679,230Background checks per 100,000 residents: 6,322
31. TexasTotal background checks: 1,350,658Population: 25,674,681Background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,261
32. VermontTotal background checks: 32,746Population: 626,431Background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,227
33. VirginiaTotal background checks: 414,466Population: 8,096,604Background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,119
34. OhioTotal background checks: 589,065Population: 11,544,951Background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,102
35. NevadaTotal background checks: 137,440Population: 2,723,322Background checks per 100,000 residents: 5,047
36. ArizonaTotal background checks: 320,495Population: 6,482,505Background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,944
37. North CarolinaTotal background checks: 464,607Population: 9,656,401Background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,811
38. IowaTotal background checks: 143,345Population: 3,062,309Background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,681
39. GeorgiaTotal background checks: 436,490Population: 9,815,210Background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,447
40. NebraskaTotal background checks: 80,099Population: 1,842,641Background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,347
41. MichiganTotal background checks: 407,373Population: 9,876,187Background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,125
42. FloridaTotal background checks: 777,729Population: 19,057,542Background checks per 100,000 residents: 4,081
43. DelawareTotal background checks: 28,365Population: 907,135Background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,127
44. MassachusettsTotal background checks: 199,774Population: 6,587,536Background checks per 100,000 residents: 3,033
45. CaliforniaTotal background checks: 1,071,390Population: 37,691,912Background checks per 100,000 residents: 2,842
46. MarylandTotal background checks: 130,030Population: 5,828,289Background checks per 100,000 residents: 2,231
47. Rhode IslandTotal background checks: 22,141Population: 1,051,302Background checks per 100,000 residents: 2,106
48. New YorkTotal background checks: 321,511Population: 19,465,197Background checks per 100,000 residents: 1,652
49. HawaiiTotal background checks: 16,601Population: 1,374,810Background checks per 100,000 residents: 1,208
50. New JerseyTotal background checks: 82,745Population: 8,821,155Background checks per 100,000 residents: 938
51. District of ColumbiaTotal background checks: 421Population: 617,996Background checks per 100,000 residents: 68
