According to a recent analysis, Ohio has made it to the list of top 10 states that have sold the highest number of guns in 2023.
According to data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, approximately 5.5 million firearms were sold across the United States in the first four months of 2024. This averages out to nearly 1.4 million firearms sold each month. SafeHomes.org, a website that reviews safety products, tracked gun sales and identified which states sold the highest number of firearms in 2023 using this data.
According to a recent study, Ohio ranks sixth in the country for the number of gun sales, with a total of 583,314. The study found that states with larger populations tended to have higher rates of gun sales. As the seventh most populous state in the country, Ohio’s ranking in the study is not surprising. These statistics are based on data collected by the U.S. Census.
In terms of total number of gun sales, the top three most populous states – Texas, Florida, and California – led the pack. Texas saw 1,347,589 gun sales, while Florida and California had 1,316,471 and 1,043,421 sales respectively. The remaining top 10 states for gun sales were Pennsylvania (841,523), Tennessee (633,015), Ohio (583,314), Virginia (581,698), Michigan (555,650), Missouri (520,488), and Illinois (405,452).
After adjusting the data to take into account the population size, SafeHomes found that Ohio did not make it to the top 10. In 2023, Ohio sold 668 guns for every 10,000 residents aged 21 and older, which placed it at the 32nd spot among 50 states. Montana ranked first, selling 1,586 guns per 10,000 residents, followed by Wyoming (1,523), Alaska (1,514), Oregon (1,372), and Alabama (1,302).
According to analysis, the Buckeye state witnessed a 4% reduction in overall firearm sales from 2022 to 2023, which is in line with a national trend. The pandemic caused a spike in gun sales in 2020, but there has been a decrease in the number of guns purchased across the country in recent years, in line with the decrease in safety concerns.
In 2023, the states with the lowest total gun sales were the District of Columbia, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Delaware, with sales figures of 4,351, 26,987, 28,555, 46,518, and 47,080, respectively. However, when taking into account the population sizes, it was found that the District of Columbia, Nebraska, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts sold the least number of guns per 10,000 residents at 84, 191, 226, 253, and 255, respectively.
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