As the popularity of concealed carry and responsible gun ownership rises across the country, you may be wondering which states issue the most concealed carry permits. It should come as no surprise that Florida — a.k.a. “the Gunshine State” — leads the pack. Read on to see the rest of the top ten states with the most concealed carry permits.
The states that issue the most concealed carry permits are as follows:
- Florida >1.8 million (resident permits only)
- Texas >1.4 million
- Pennsylvania >1.3 million
- Georgia >1 million
- Alabama ~1 million
- Indiana >900,000
- Ohio >687,000
- North Carolina >668,000
- Michigan >660,000
- Tennessee >641,000
Are the Number of Concealed Carry Permits in the U.S. Rising?
Yes, most definitely. According to the Crime Prevention Resource Center’s 2019 report, the number of concealed carry permits rose by greater than 8 percent in the last year. There are now more than 18.66 million permits nationwide.
That number doesn’t take into account the people who are not required to obtain a permit to carry in the 16 states that have adopted permitless carry, also known as “constitutional carry.” This means that 7.3 percent of American adults have a permit to carry. Thirteen states have issued permits to more than 10 percent of the adult population, and four states have each issued more than one million permits.
