The number of concealed-carry permit holders in the United States has decreased for the second consecutive year, now totaling 21.46 million. This represents a 1.8% decline from the previous year. The decrease is largely attributed to the rise in constitutional carry laws, with Louisiana being the latest state to adopt such legislation as of July 4, 2024. Currently, 29 states have constitutional carry laws, meaning that permits are no longer required for carrying firearms.
“Unlike gun ownership surveys that may be affected by people’s unwillingness to answer personal questions, concealed handgun permit data is the only really ‘hard data’ that we have,” according to the report’s authors John R. Lott Jr., Carlisle E. Moody, and Rujun Wang.
Despite this drop in permits, many individuals continue to obtain them for reciprocity reasons between states. However, in constitutional carry states, there has been a noted decline in permits even though more individuals are legally carrying firearms.
The report highlights that 8.2% of American adults hold permits, with Indiana having the highest rate at 23.1%. Florida leads with over 2 million permit holders among five states exceeding one million: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
A survey conducted with McLaughlin & Associates revealed that 15.6% of general election voters carry concealed handguns. In terms of demographics, women accounted for 29.1% of permit holders in states providing gender-specific data in 2024.
Significant increases were observed among minority groups obtaining permits over recent years. For instance, black females in Texas saw an increase eight times greater than white males from 2002 to 2023.
Concealed handgun permit holders are described as “extremely law-abiding,” with conviction rates for firearm-related violations significantly lower than those of police officers in Florida and Texas.
The full report can be accessed at papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5040077.
