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This Is How Much Money Idaho’s Economy Makes From the Gun Industry

Published

October 21, 2022

LEWISTON – Gun ownership has been a staple of traditional American life since the inception of the country, and even long before then. Some Americans use guns only to go hunting, for sport, or for home protection, but there are many gun enthusiasts who embrace the Second Amendment and load up on as many firearms as they can. Whether it is one gun or 20, selling guns in the United States is a lucrative business.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that Americans bought roughly 18.5 million firearms in 2021, the second most ever in a year and down only slightly from the record-high 21 million in 2020.

With these back-to-back years of historic gun sales, someone is profiting big, including some states.

Both directly and indirectly, the firearms sector accounts for a total of 6,999 jobs in Idaho – 2,991 in firearm and ammunition manufacturing, sales, and distribution, and another 4,008 in supplier and ancillary industries – the 22nd most among the 50 states.

The gun industry in Idaho paid an average wage of $57,426 in 2021 and generated an estimated $100.4 million in federal business tax revenue that year.

When accounting for wages and taxes as well as indirect contributions, the firearms industry contributed to $1.7 billion in output in Idaho in 2021, the 17th highest amount among states.

All data in this story is from the Shooting Sports Foundation’s Firearm and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact report.

Rank	State	Total gun industry output, direct & indirect; 2021 ($B)	Total industry employment, direct & indirect; 2021	Average industry wage ($)	Industry fed. business tax generation; 2021 ($M)
1	Texas	5.59	31,632	51,652	330.7
2	California	5.22	29,082	66,095	380.7
3	Florida	3.46	22,332	49,847	259.7
4	Illinois	2.86	13,051	63,913	183.9
5	Massachusetts	2.85	10,151	74,899	192.6
6	Minnesota	2.78	11,680	69,400	211.0
7	New Hampshire	2.72	9,950	70,698	203.3
8	Pennsylvania	2.67	18,891	52,165	193.6
9	New York	2.54	10,150	85,432	155.8
10	Arkansas	2.53	10,426	49,263	127.1
11	North Carolina	2.51	13,017	54,571	160.3
12	Ohio	2.37	15,256	50,652	147.1
13	Arizona	2.33	11,933	61,243	180.2
14	Michigan	1.88	11,759	52,206	123.6
15	Oregon	1.78	8,952	59,541	134.5
16	Georgia	1.78	9,045	52,865	99.4
17	Idaho	1.69	6,999	57,426	100.4
18	Connecticut	1.44	5,264	81,440	108.0
19	Washington	1.39	8,166	57,773	111.7
20	Utah	1.33	8,893	46,616	92.4
21	Virginia	1.29	7,424	49,889	81.9
22	Missouri	1.25	7,899	50,351	80.0
23	Wisconsin	1.24	6,661	52,251	67.9
24	South Carolina	1.24	6,789	47,957	70.7
25	Tennessee	1.13	7,097	55,935	73.7
26	New Jersey	1.05	5,174	74,016	77.1
27	Colorado	1.02	6,712	53,436	77.5
28	Indiana	0.94	5,021	52,373	37.8
29	Mississippi	0.93	4,737	50,035	50.8
30	Maryland	0.89	4,286	66,649	62.4
31	Kentucky	0.85	5,101	49,287	47.3
32	Alabama	0.74	5,247	43,616	41.6
33	Wyoming	0.69	3,672	45,749	39.0
34	Nebraska	0.66	3,325	54,016	38.2
35	Louisiana	0.62	3,615	44,826	28.7
36	Kansas	0.58	2,133	71,945	12.8
37	Nevada	0.52	3,201	49,582	37.3
38	Iowa	0.48	2,779	49,903	22.3
39	Maine	0.42	3,523	42,660	29.5
40	Oklahoma	0.41	2,702	44,441	20.5
41	South Dakota	0.37	1,842	52,224	20.8
42	Montana	0.37	2,454	43,924	20.9
43	West Virginia	0.22	1,702	38,365	11.0
44	Rhode Island	0.18	826	62,397	9.0
45	New Mexico	0.16	1,442	37,847	8.7
46	Vermont	0.14	828	54,215	9.7
47	Alaska	0.12	1,029	47,151	6.1
48	North Dakota	0.08	652	45,653	4.5
49	Hawaii	0.07	578	49,461	5.0
50	Delaware	0.07	503	53,593	2.9

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