Gun sales estimated by background checks rose to 39,695,315 in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. They have declined every year since then, to 38,876,673 in 2021 and 31,596,646 in 2022. Yet these numbers remain higher than before the pandemic.
The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System publishes a monthly list of how many firearms background checks are conducted on potential gun buyers. Almost everyone who has gone through this system qualifies. Of the more than 400 million checks carried out since November 1998, there have only been 2.1 million denials. More than half of those who are turned down have criminal records.
On a population-adjusted basis, there were 94.8 background checks per 1,000 people nationwide in 2022. Background check data per capita varies significantly by state.
Montana conducted 141,803 background checks in 2022 based on FBI data. Adjusted for population, this equates to approximately 126.3 firearms background checks per 1,000 residents, the seventh highest rate among states.
Estimated per capita gun sales in the state in 2021, approximated by background checks, were 160,640, or about 143.1 per person, compared to the national rate of 116.6 per 1,000 people.
The population data used to calculate per capita background checks is from the US Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Estimation program and is as of July 2022. It’s important to note that in some states, certain firearm license re-examinations require FBI background checks, which can have implications on the total number of background checks used to create this ranking.
| rank | Condition | FBI background checks on firearms per 1,000 people, 2022 | Total number of FBI firearms background checks, 2022 | FBI Firearms Background Checks per 1,000 people, 2021 | Total Number of FBI Firearms Background Checks, 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | 890.1 | 4,016,510 | 852.8 | 3,848,061 |
| 2 | Illinois | 355.7 | 4,476,055 | 673.5 | 8,474,505 |
| 3 | Utah | 300.0 | 1,014,277 | 349.5 | 1,181,564 |
| 4 | Indiana | 161.7 | 1.105.040 | 265.7 | 1,815,531 |
| 5 | Minnesota | 155.9 | 891,044 | 165.3 | 945,299 |
| 6 | Alabama | 145.7 | 739.113 | 186.5 | 946,271 |
| 7 | Montana | 126.3 | 141,803 | 143.1 | 160,640 |
| 8th | Idaho | 121.4 | 235,465 | 141.2 | 273,762 |
| 9 | Wyoming | 120.9 | 70,276 | 145.6 | 84,624 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 118.7 | 836,953 | 136.8 | 964,512 |
| 11 | Oregon | 116.9 | 495,842 | 107.1 | 454.133 |
| 12 | Alaska | 115.6 | 84,802 | 124.3 | 91.207 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 108.6 | 192,868 | 126.3 | 224,240 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 107.9 | 635,528 | 133.4 | 785,856 |
| fifteen | Mississippi | 96.9 | 284,864 | 110 | 323,319 |
| 16 | South Dakota | 96.3 | 87,589 | 117.5 | 106,881 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | 95.7 | 133,507 | 108.8 | 151,853 |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | 94.8 | 1,229,129 | 108.6 | 1.408.165 |
| 19 | North Dakota | 93.0 | 72,458 | 103.4 | 80,546 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 92.1 | 370,275 | 103.6 | 416,514 |
| 21 | Washington | 90.7 | 706,260 | 94.6 | 736,846 |
| 22 | Colorado | 90.5 | 528,335 | 107.7 | 628,811 |
| 23 | Missouri | 85.9 | 530,932 | 102.7 | 634.191 |
| 24 | Maine | 82.4 | 114,090 | 93.3 | 129,193 |
| 25 | New Mexico | 82.2 | 173,793 | 92.3 | 194,989 |
| 26 | South Carolina | 80.1 | 423,098 | 91.9 | 485,487 |
| 27 | Michigan | 78.6 | 789,160 | 96.8 | 970,990 |
| 28 | Arkansas | 78.6 | 239,350 | 94.8 | 288,706 |
| 29 | Louisiana | 75.1 | 344,808 | 87.4 | 401,345 |
| 30 | Arizona | 72.5 | 533,699 | 76.6 | 563,763 |
| 31 | Vermont | 69.1 | 44,722 | 79.7 | 51,549 |
| 32 | Iowa | 68.3 | 218,703 | 83.3 | 266,678 |
| 33 | Florida | 66.3 | 1,474,730 | 76.9 | 1,711,685 |
| 34 | Virginia | 65.4 | 567,504 | 75.5 | 655,339 |
| 35 | Kansas | 65.3 | 191,895 | 78.4 | 230.168 |
| 36 | Connecticut | 63.6 | 230,702 | 76.5 | 277,250 |
| 37 | Texas | 57.7 | 1,732,651 | 66 | 1,980,753 |
| 38 | Delaware | 57.3 | 58,323 | 67.8 | 69,068 |
| 39 | North Carolina | 57.3 | 612,695 | 73.1 | 781,733 |
| 40 | Ohio | 55.9 | 656,936 | 72.5 | 851,887 |
| 41 | Georgia | 55.1 | 601,407 | 73.9 | 806,912 |
| 42 | Maryland | 52.9 | 326.114 | 43.4 | 267,753 |
| 43 | Nevada | 47.9 | 152,261 | 58.7 | 186,578 |
| 44 | Nebraska | 38.2 | 75,084 | 46.1 | 90,676 |
| 45 | California | 36.7 | 1,431,993 | 37.8 | 1,476,073 |
| 46 | Massachusetts | 32.6 | 227,928 | 37.1 | 259,248 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | 25.5 | 27,900 | 34.7 | 37,936 |
| 48 | new York | 22.7 | 447,567 | 23.6 | 464,575 |
| 49 | New Jersey | 18.1 | 167,740 | 24.1 | 223,437 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 13.1 | 18,842 | 12.3 | 17,707 |
