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The Short Answer
What Percentage of Americans Own Guns?
The Short Answer

What Percentage of Americans Own Guns?

Editor's Note: This article was updated Nov. 13, 2020, with Â鶹´«Ã½AV's latest data on Americans' gun ownership.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Thirty-two percent of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun, while a larger percentage, 44%, report living in a gun household. Adults living in gun households include those with a gun in their home or anywhere on their property.

Â鶹´«Ã½AV has tracked both metrics of gun ownership annually since 2007, showing no clear increase or decrease in gun ownership over that time.

Line graph. The percentage of U.S. adults who own guns has remained stable for more than a decade. 44% say they live in a gun household, and 32% say they personally own a gun. In 2007, 44% said they lived in a gun household and 28% said they personally owned a gun.

See Â鶹´«Ã½AV's Guns "Topics A to Z" page for the full trend on gun ownership since 1959.

The latest results are from Â鶹´«Ã½AV's annual Crime poll, conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 15, 2020. As is typical, the rate of personal gun ownership varies most by political party and ideology, gender, race/ethnicity, region and urbanicity, with smaller differences seen by household income and marital status.

  • Republicans (50%), rural residents (48%), men (45%), self-identified conservatives (45%) and Southerners (40%) are the most likely subgroups to say they personally own a gun.
  • Liberals (15%), Democrats (18%), non-White Americans (18%), women (19%) and Eastern residents (21%) are the least likely to report personal gun ownership.
Gun Ownership in the U.S., 2020
  Personally own a gun Live in gun household Number of interviews
  % %  
U.S. adults 32 44 1,035
Gender  
Men 45 51 530
Women 19 35 505
Age  
18-29 22 38 129
30-49 35 45 244
50-64 32 45 291
65+ 36 48 357
Education  
Postgraduate 26 36 225
College graduate only 35 50 250
Some college 34 48 329
No college 31 41 219
Household income  
$100,000+ 38 55 296
$40,000 to <$100,000 34 51 371
<$40,000 25 31 270
Race/Ethnicity  
White (non-Hispanic) 38 51 768
Non-White 18 28 246
Region  
East 21 28 212
Midwest 34 50 214
South 40 53 368
West 26 38 241
Type of community  
Big/Small city 23 32 364
Suburb of big/small city 25 41 293
Town/Rural area 48 61 344
Marital status  
Married 38 52 541
Not married 25 36 465
Children  
Have child under 18 36 48 229
No child under 18 30 42 781
Party ID  
Republican 50 64 325
Independent 29 39 370
Democrat 18 31 314
Ideology  
Conservative 45 57 377
Moderate 29 41 364
Liberal 15 30 267
Questions: Do you have a gun in your home? (Asked of those who do not have a gun in their home:) Do you have a gun anywhere else on your property such as in your garage, barn, shed or in your car or truck? (Asked of those who have a gun in their home or on their property:) Do you personally own a gun, or do the gun or guns in your household belong to another household member?
Â鶹´«Ã½AV, Sept. 30-Oct. 15, 2020

Â鶹´«Ã½AV measures Americans' gun ownership each October as part of its Crime poll -- one of 12 surveys that make up the .

Â鶹´«Ã½AV's full trend on U.S. gun ownership is available on the Guns "Topics A to Z" page.

Explore Â鶹´«Ã½AV articles about guns and gun control on the Guns "Â鶹´«Ã½AV Topics" page.

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