What States Have The Most Gun Stores?

Above, Bass Tackle Master in Lake Havasu City. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Whenever I visit friends in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, I marvel at the number of gun stores in the city. They seem to be as plentiful there as nail salons in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. The city of Phoenix has the most in the state.

This raised a question: What states have the most gun stores?

24/7 Wall St. says that the state of Wyoming has the most. Arizona comes in at number 30.

They posted an article on this a year ago and it begins with:

The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates America’s guns and ammunition industry directly generated over $60.5 billion in economic activity in the last two years alone. Much of that was fueled by record-breaking gun sales following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as millions of Americans across the country – including many first-time gun buyers – flocked to firearm retailers. 

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, there are over 56,700 federally licensed gun stores in the United States. Adjusting for population, this comes out to about 17 for every 100,000 Americans. 

In certain parts of the country, however, the concentration of gun stores is far higher than average. This is particularly the case in states with deeply ingrained gun cultures — where gun rights are well protected and where residents are most likely to have a gun in their home. 

Using data from the ATF, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states with the most gun stores. We ranked all 50 states on the number of federally licensed firearm dealers, including pawn shops, for every 100,000 residents. ATF firearm retailer data is current as of October 2023 and was adjusted using population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey. 

 To read more, go here.