Crime Prevention Research Center

The CPRC has just issued our newest annual report on the number of concealed handgun permits in the US.  A copy of the report is available for download here.  Some updated numbers are shown at the bottom of this post.  Past reports can be viewed here.  The executive summary is shown here:

Despite the expectations of many after the 2016 elections, the number of concealed handgun permits has again increased. In 2018, the number of concealed handgun permits soared to over 17.25 million – a 273% increase since 2007. 7.14% of American adults have permits. Unlike surveys that may be affected by people’s unwillingness to answer some personal questions, concealed handgun permit data is the only really “hard data” that we have on gun ownership across the United States. Still, an even larger number of people carry because in 14 states people don’t need a permit to carry in all or virtually all those states.

Among the findings of our report:

• Last year, despite the common perception that growth in the number of permit holders would stop after the 2016 election, the number of permits grew by about 890,000.
• Outside the restrictive states of California and New York, about 8.63% of the adult population has a permit.
• In fifteen states, more than 10% of adults have permits, up from just eleven last year.
• Alabama has the highest rate — 22.1%. Indiana is second with 17.9%, and South Dakota is a close third with 17.2%.
• Four states now have over 1 million permit holders: Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
• Another 14 states have adopted constitutional carry in all or almost all of their state, meaning that a permit is no longer required. However, because of these constitutional carry states, the nationwide growth in permits does not paint a full picture of the overall increase in concealed carry.
• Permits continued to grow much faster for women and minorities. Between 2012 and 2018, the percent of women with permits grew 111% faster for women and the percent of blacks with permits grew 20% faster than for whites. Permits for Asians grew 29% faster than for whites.
• Concealed handgun permit holders are extremely law-abiding. In Florida and Texas, permit holders are convicted of misdemeanors and felonies at one-sixth of the rate at which police officers are convicted.

The report is available to be downloaded here.

UPDATED material:

Arizona: had 333,172 on July 8, 2018 and by June 23, 2019 they had 345,455.

California: The number of permits in July 1, 2018 is 120,582 (data is available here) an increase from 108,000 in March 13, 2018.  The data for the state for 2017 is available here.

DC: As on August 2019, there were 3,387 approved permits in Washington, DC. On November 2018, there were 1,896 permits.

Florida: had 1,919,024 on May 31, 2018 and that increased to 2,010,869 by May 31, 2019. Revocation of permits in Florida is available here(07012018_06302019_cw_annual). Florida demographics available here.

Illinois: “now up the over 310,000 range,” September 14, 2018, we had 300,705 on June 18, 2018, so permits have increased by over 3% in three months.

Indiana: State totals available here. They had  855,022 on March 31, 2018, went to 890,730 by December 31, 2018.

Kentucky: January 15, 2019, now over 400,000, up from 374,132.

North Carolina: 647,553 this January 1st. up from 640,702 June 18, 2018.

Tennessee; there were 618,752 permits on June 1st, 2018 and there were 639,157 on June 3rd, 2019, an increase of almost 21,000.