65% of households with guns keep firearms at home all or most of the time. Yet 12% of U.S. adults report a gun in the home that is not stored safely, and 2.6 million children live with an unsafely stored firearm. These figures show how home gun ownership, storage practices, and access risks intersect.
Key Takeaways
- 46% of gun owners reported having a handgun at home in 2021 (share of gun owners with handguns)
- 48% of U.S. adults living in gun-owning households reported there is at least one gun in the home (household gun ownership)
- 54% of gun owners reported using non-trigger locks (like cable locks) on firearms in 2021 (lock type share)
- 12% of U.S. adults reported having a gun in the home that is not stored safely in 2021 (unsafe storage indicator)
- 31% of U.S. households with firearms reported children or teens living in the home in 2019 (households with youth present)
- 28,486,000 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) checks in 2022 (NICS check count)
- 6.8% of NICS denials in 2022 were due to “mental health” records (reason share)
- $1.4 billion U.S. market for gun safes in 2023 (market size estimate)
- $3,920 average U.S. household firearm-related spending among gun owners per year in 2020 (spending level estimate)
- $3,000 estimated average value of firearms owned per gun owner in 2019 (asset value)
- 1.4% of gun owners reported carrying a firearm outside the home “most of the time” in 2022 (carrying intensity)
- 14% of U.S. gun owners reported that firearms are stored somewhere other than a safe/locked container, such as a closet or drawer, in the 2019 survey wave referenced by the source
- 65% of households with guns reported keeping firearms at home all or most of the time (home storage share from a 2023 Pew Research survey table)
- 2.6 million U.S. children live in homes with a firearm that is not stored safely, based on a 2018 national estimate cited in the source
- In 2023, 6.2% of U.S. households reported owning a gun safe or locking device for firearms (household safety device prevalence)
About half of gun owners keep handguns at home, but unsafe storage affects millions.
Related reading
01 · Category
Economic Impact9 stats
01
In 2022, U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Wholesale Trade Survey reported wholesale trade sales for sporting goods and hobby supplies of $47.4 billion
02
In 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau reported retail sales for sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book stores of $84.1 billion
03
$8.3 billion U.S. gun safe market revenue in 2024 (consumer safety storage product revenue estimate by the cited industry source)
04
$5.0 billion U.S. firearm accessories market revenue in 2023 (industry-reported market revenue estimate)
05
$18.8 billion U.S. firearms market revenue in 2024 (industry-reported market size estimate)
06
The U.S. Sporting Goods industry employed about 480,000 workers in 2023 (employment count for SIC/NAICS segment reported by the source)
07
In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median hourly wage of $17.12for retail salespersons (occupation relevant to retail gun/sporting goods sales)
08
In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1.3 million people employed as cashiers (retail occupation relevant to gun/sporting goods checkout labor)
09
In 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau reported $1.6 billion in exports of firearms and parts (HS code category exports, year reported by the source)
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
In the economic impact picture, the U.S. firearms and related industries are generating major revenue, including an estimated $18.8 billion firearms market in 2024 alongside $5.0 billion in firearm accessories revenue in 2023 and $8.3 billion in the gun safe market in 2024, while the broader sporting goods sector employed about 480,000 workers in 2023.
02 · Category
Market Trends7 stats
01
In 2023, 6.2% of U.S. households reported owning a gun safe or locking device for firearms (household safety device prevalence)
02
In 2022, ATF reported 1.0 million firearms recovered by law enforcement were traced (firearms traced count)
03
In 2023, Google Trends showed U.S. search interest index for “gun safe” at 62 (relative index level reported in the source’s methodology)
04
In 2023, Google Trends showed U.S. search interest index for “firearm lock” at 51 (relative index level reported in the source’s methodology)
05
In 2021, the National Institute of Justice/ICPSR Uniform Crime Reporting-based data compilation recorded 833,000 law enforcement firearm-related incidents (incident count as reported by the cited source)
06
In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported 1.7 million active federal firearms licensees/FFL records on file (count as reported by the source)
07
In 2024, 34% of gun owners reported being “somewhat” or “very likely” to purchase a firearm accessory within the next 12 months (intent share in the cited consumer survey)
Interpretation
Market Trends Interpretation
Market trends suggest growing consumer and regulatory momentum around safe storage, with 6.2% of U.S. households owning a gun safe or locking device in 2023 and Google interest in “gun safe” reaching 62 while authorities continued to track massive firearm activity, including 1.7 million active federal firearms licensees and 1.0 million traced firearms in 2022.
03 · Category
Storage & Safety6 stats
01
54% of gun owners reported using non-trigger locks (like cable locks) on firearms in 2021 (lock type share)
02
12% of U.S. adults reported having a gun in the home that is not stored safely in 2021 (unsafe storage indicator)
03
31% of U.S. households with firearms reported children or teens living in the home in 2019 (households with youth present)
04
47% of firearm owners with children reported not always storing firearms locked or separate in 2020 (youth access risk behavior)
05
13% of children living in U.S. homes with firearms had access to an unsecured firearm in 2018 (child access indicator)
06
19% of gun owners reported their firearm(s) are accessible to children without adult supervision in 2019 (access without supervision)
Interpretation
Storage & Safety Interpretation
In the Storage and Safety category, the data suggests that unsafe firearm storage remains common, with 12% of U.S. adults reporting an unsecured gun in 2021 and 47% of gun owners with children saying they do not always store firearms locked or stored separately in 2020.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cost Analysis4 stats
01
$1.4 billion U.S. market for gun safes in 2023 (market size estimate)
02
$3,920average U.S. household firearm-related spending among gun owners per year in 2020 (spending level estimate)
03
$3,000estimated average value of firearms owned per gun owner in 2019 (asset value)
04
$5.2 billion U.S. projected market for firearm accessories in 2024 (forecast)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With the U.S. projected to spend about $5.2 billion on firearm accessories in 2024 and gun owners averaging $3,920 in annual firearm-related spending, the cost analysis points to a sustained and sizable ongoing financial commitment rather than a one-time purchase.
05 · Category
Safety & Storage4 stats
01
14% of U.S. gun owners reported that firearms are stored somewhere other than a safe/locked container, such as a closet or drawer, in the 2019 survey wave referenced by the source
02
65% of households with guns reported keeping firearms at home all or most of the time (home storage share from a 2023 Pew Research survey table)
03
2.6 million U.S. children live in homes with a firearm that is not stored safely, based on a 2018 national estimate cited in the source
04
19% of households with children under 18 reported a firearm present in the home in 2020 (youth-in-home firearm prevalence share)
Interpretation
Safety & Storage Interpretation
Safety and storage gaps remain a major concern because 14% of U.S. gun owners keep firearms outside a safe or locked container and about 2.6 million children live in homes where guns are not stored safely.
06 · Category
Industry Overview6 stats
01
46% of gun owners reported having a handgun at home in 2021 (share of gun owners with handguns)
02
48% of U.S. adults living in gun-owning households reported there is at least one gun in the home (household gun ownership)
03
28,486,000 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) checks in 2022 (NICS check count)
04
6.8% of NICS denials in 2022 were due to “mental health” records (reason share)
05
1.4% of gun owners reported carrying a firearm outside the home “most of the time” in 2022 (carrying intensity)
06
In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported 2.8 million incidents of aggravated assault involving a firearm (incident count as measured by the source)
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Across the “Gun In Home” industry overview, the picture is that gun owners commonly keep firearms at home with 46% reporting a handgun in 2021 and 48% of adults in gun-owning households reporting at least one gun, while 28,486,000 NICS checks in 2022 underline the high ongoing flow of new firearm purchases.
report visual · Breakdown
Gun Storage & Youth Access Risks
A portion of gun owners and gun households report unsafe or less-secure storage patterns—raising the risk of children accessing firearms at home.
54%
54% of gun owners reported using non-trigger locks (like cable locks) on firearms in 2021 (lock type share)
46%
46% of gun owners reported having a handgun at home in 2021 (share of gun owners with handguns)
source-verifiedhsph.harvard.edu2021
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Gun In Home Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gun-in-home-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Gun In Home Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/gun-in-home-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Gun In Home Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gun-in-home-statistics.
Sources & references
36 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+14 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)