As Gun Sales Slow, Tennessee Still Has Higher Sales Per Capita Than Most States This Year

Image: Inside Dixie Gun Works in Union City, Tennessee

Image Credit: Joe / CC

By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square –

Americans have more guns than anywhere else in the world, and gun sales in the U.S. continue to eclipse those in any other country. This is true both in terms of gun ownership by person and absolute sales. America, without question, is the gun sales and gun ownership capital of the world.

The FBI has tracked gun background checks since the 1990s, and it reports the results in its Firearms Background Check Database. Background check figures, often used as a proxy for gun sales, have risen in most years — and they have risen much faster than the American population has.

Compared to the rest of the world, there are almost 400 million guns in the U.S — 1.2 per person — by far the most among all nations. By contrast, in Canada there are 0.34 guns per person. 

In Tennessee, an estimated 483,700 guns were sold from January through July 2022 based on FBI background check data. Adjusted for population, this is equal to about 71.4 firearm sales for every 1,000 people, the ninth highest gun sale rate among states.

Compared to the same seven-month period in 2021, gun sales have slowed in Tennessee. An estimated 590,500 guns were sold in the state from January through July last year, 18.1% more than there have been this year.

Rank	State	Est. gun sales per 1,000 people; Jan-July 2022	Firearm background checks; Jan-July 2022	Est. gun sales per 1,000 people; Jan-July 2021	Firearm background checks; Jan-July 2021
50	Hawaii	7.7	10,950	6.9	9,761
49	New Jersey	10.8	95,697	17.0	151,141
48	New York	13.3	259,322	14.3	278,258
47	Rhode Island	16.2	17,097	23.9	25,261
46	Massachusetts	19.3	132,526	23.8	163,387
45	California	20.7	812,650	22.5	886,292
44	Nebraska	22.4	43,158	29.0	55,731
43	Maryland	22.5	135,997	28.2	170,047
42	Nevada	30.6	92,840	39.1	118,543
41	Georgia	32.7	343,966	49.4	519,142
40	Ohio	33.1	386,047	45.4	530,395
39	Texas	34.6	991,759	41.8	1,197,967
38	North Carolina	34.8	361,510	47.9	497,299
37	Kansas	37.5	109,269	47.2	137,411
36	Virginia	38.0	322,937	46.7	397,518
35	Delaware	39.5	38,241	44.3	42,905
34	Connecticut	40.3	143,723	50.6	180,514
33	Vermont	40.9	25,530	50.2	31,340
32	Florida	41.0	868,987	49.9	1,059,122
31	Louisiana	41.6	194,208	51.8	241,517
30	Arkansas	43.1	129,709	57.8	173,978
29	Arizona	44.1	316,018	50.3	360,924
28	Iowa	44.7	140,667	55.4	174,518
27	Michigan	46.2	461,270	61.2	610,029
26	Maine	46.6	62,506	55.3	74,104
25	South Carolina	47.1	239,709	58.9	299,794
24	New Mexico	47.4	99,349	57.1	119,756
23	Missouri	49.1	300,841	63.4	387,999
22	Mississippi	51.4	153,309	63.1	188,058
21	Oklahoma	52.7	208,191	63.2	249,508
20	Colorado	54.1	307,624	67.9	386,038
19	North Dakota	54.4	41,349	62.9	47,856
18	South Dakota	54.6	48,008	72.5	63,717
17	Oregon	55.5	231,636	65.9	275,189
16	Pennsylvania	55.8	713,491	67.5	863,914
15	New Hampshire	56.4	76,431	69.9	94,727
14	West Virginia	58.8	106,284	74.3	134,231
13	Washington	60.7	455,979	58.3	438,343
12	Wisconsin	62.4	362,292	78.4	455,437
11	Alaska	62.9	46,391	74.8	55,113
10	Wyoming	69.5	40,392	87.6	50,907
9	Tennessee	71.4	483,652	87.2	590,497
8	Montana	76.4	81,120	89.8	95,347
7	Idaho	78.6	137,864	95.5	167,472
6	Alabama	87.6	428,403	118.8	581,290
5	Minnesota	93.7	524,882	101.6	568,852
4	Indiana	105.8	708,359	185.8	1,244,066
3	Utah	188.0	592,276	232.9	733,790
2	Illinois	188.1	2,391,483	527.5	6,707,482
1	Kentucky	542.3	2,419,871	444.7	1,984,388