Gun sales are dropping in these states. Where does Michigan rank?
Michigan and the U.S. saw fewer gun sales in 2024 than the previous year, a new report from SafeHome, a home security company, says.
The June 4 report shows declining gun sales nationwide over the past three years, following a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The data focuses on 2023 to 2024, when gun sales dropped 3.4% nationwide.
While sales trended down nationwide, a few states saw increasing gun sale rates, according to the report, mainly in states with strong hunting culture and more relaxed gun laws.
"America's storied relationship with firearms and the Second Amendment remains a defining part of its national identity. Each election cycle, politicians return to familiar platforms, either defending or contending the American citizen's right to bear arms," the report stated. "For many people, stringent gun control laws are imperative for ensuring their safety, while for others, expanding access to firearms enhances their personal sense of security."
Michigan had one of the sharpest declines in sales in 2024, down 13.3% from the previous year.
In 2023, the state expanded universal background checks to cover private sales and implemented strict safe storage laws, with felony penalties for violations involving minors. Additional legislation passed in late 2023 expanded gun-free zones to government buildings.
Massachusetts had the most significant year-over-year increase in gun sales, rising 22.5% between 2023 and 2024, the report noted. The spike followed the 2024 implementation of An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws, which expanded the legal definition of firearms to include covert guns, unfinished frames, bump stocks, assault-style weapons, and more. People may have preemptively purchased guns before the law took effect, per the report.
Washington state, meanwhile, saw a 45.7% decrease in gun sales between 2023 and 2024, more than triple the decline of any other state. The drop correlates with the passing of several major pieces of gun legislation in 2023, including a sweeping assault weapons ban, mandatory firearms safety training, and stricter requirements for licensed firearm dealers.
Here's what to know.
Michigan had a 13.3% decline in gun sales rates from 2023 to 2024, the report says. The Mitten state reported 481,870 guns sold in 2024. In the first four months of 2025, there were about 159,000 firearms sold in Michigan.
The report attributes Michigan's sharp gun sales decline to the recent passage of gun control laws.
In the wake of the Michigan State University mass shooting in 2023, Gov. Whitmer signed legislation to reduce gun violence. The laws expanded background checks and enacted regulations for safe firearms storage. Michigan also put into place "red flag" laws that can remove firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
The U.S. gun sale rate dropped 3.4% from 2023 to 2024, per the report.
In the first four months of 2025, American gun dealers and individuals sold approximately 5.2 million guns, putting the year on pace for a projected 4% drop in sales compared to 2024.
In addition to Michigan, these states had the steepest declines in gun sale rates:
Washington: 265,915 firearms, 45.7% drop
Connecticut: 103.805, 13.5% drop
Maryland: 186,085, 12.8% drop
New Mexico: 143,469, 12.3% drop
Declining gun sales can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the economy, gun control legislation, crime rates and public opinion, the report says.
These states saw gun sale rates increase, bucking the national trend:
Massachusetts: 167,103, 22.5% increase
Iowa: 89,144, 7.7% increase
South Carolina: 277,081, 6.9% increase
New Hampshire: 145,700, 6.7% increase
Arkansas: 213,165, 6.4% increase
The report also noted the states with the highest gun sale rates per 100 residents age 21 or older in 2024:
Wyoming: 16.1 (68,964 guns sold)
Montana: 15.9 (135,000 guns sold)
Alaska: 15.4 (79,000 guns sold)
New Hampshire: 13.3 (145,000 guns sold)
Oregon: 13.2 (429,000 guns sold)
Alabama: 12.3 (460,000 guns sold)
North Dakota: 11.7 (65,000 guns sold)
Idaho: 11.5 (162,000 guns sold)
West Virginia: 11.5 (155,000 guns sold)
Tennessee: 11.1 (583,000 guns sold)
Oklahoma: 11.1 322,000 guns sold)
In 2024, the states with the lowest gun sale rates compared to population size were Hawaii, Washington D.C., New York, New Jersey, and Nebraska.
The SafeHome rankings cited data from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System from 2010 to April 2025, the report stated.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan, other US states seem gun sales drops. What the data show
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