2022's States Most Dependent on the Gun Industry

Wallet Hub, Jun 9, 2022

Gun sales are down in 2022, with a 12.6% year-over-year drop in May, though sales are still well above pre-pandemic levels. While some people might celebrate the decline in sales, it could put strain on state economies relying heavily on the firearms industry. By one estimate, guns contributed more than $70 billion to the U.S. economy and generated nearly $7.9 billion in federal and state taxes in 2021.

This year, gun crime has remained a high-profile political issue, and there have been over 230 mass shootings, including at an elementary school in Texas and grocery store in New York. In response, lawmakers have renewed calls for stricter gun laws, and New York has already passed new laws such as raising the minimum age to buy a semiautomatic rifle to 21, and has revised its existing red-flag laws.

In light of the recent developments in the firearms industry and debates on how, if at all, it should be restricted, WalletHub compared the economic impact of guns on each of the 50 states to determine which among them leans most heavily on the gun business, both directly for jobs and political contributions and indirectly through ownership.

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NOTES:

1st place New Hampshire has 18x more Total Firearms-Industry Jobs per Capita than 50th place Hawaii

1st place New Hampshire has 39x more Total Firearms-Industry Output per Capita than 50th place Hawaii

1st place Kentucky has 69x more NCIS background checks per capita than 50th place Hawaii