Self-Defense Statistics

Understanding the Facts

A self-defense situation can occur anywhere: Your home, in public, at the workplace, at a grocery store, at a party, etc. Knowing and understanding self defense statistics can help you better understand and identify potential threats as well as arm you with the knowledge and reliable data needed to effectively educate or debate others on the subject.

Key Self-Defense Statistics

• Credible studies demonstrate that Defensive Gun Uses (DGU) is prevalent in the United States with estimates ranging from 500,000 to 3 million each year as reported by the National Academies Press and acknowledged by the Centers for Disease Control.
• The 2021 National Firearms Survey by William English with Georgetown University found that 31.1% of gun owners claim to have used a firearm in a DGU scenario, and estimates that guns are used defensively by firearms owners in approximately 1.67 million incidents per year.
• Additionally, the 2021 National Firearms Survey found that handguns are the most common firearm employed for self-defense (65.99% of defensive incidents), and in most defensive incidents (81.99%) no shot was fired.
• The Crime Prevention Research Center reported in December 2024 that the number of concealed carry permit holders in the U.S. now stands at 21.46 million – a 1.8% drop since last year. A major cause of the continuous decline is that 29 states now have Constitutional Carry laws after Louisiana allowing permitless carry, effective July 4, 2024. In other words, 46.8% of Americans (157.6 million) now live in Constitutional Carry States, with 67.7% of the land in the country (2.57 million square miles).
• The 2021 National Firearms Survey further demonstrates that defensive incidents occur anywhere, even at home where people feel the safest. Approximately 25% of defensive incidents occur inside the gun owner’s home, and almost half (53.4%) occurred outside their home, but on their property. About one out of ten (9.2%) defensive gun uses occurred in public, and approximately one out of thirty (3.2%) occurred at work.
• The 2024 working paper by William English, titled A Response to Critics of the 2021 National Firearms Survey, addresses critiques of 2021 National Firearms Survey. English defends his methodology and findings, emphasizing its representativeness and alignment with other reputable surveys such as those by Pew Research and Gallup.
• A Pew Research Center survey in July 2024 finds nearly 40% of U.S. adults say they live in a house with a gun while 32% of respondents say they personally own a gun.
• Approximately 25% of Women today own a firearm based on the Pew study referenced above vs. just 13% nearly 20 years ago.
• An October 2024 Gallup poll found 48% of respondents claim to have a gun in the home, the highest percentage since 2000 when Gallup started keeping track, while 47% claim they do not and 5% said “no opinion.”
• Gallup further found that 88% of gun owners polled in 2021 said that they own a gun for protection against crime, up from 67% in 2005.
• The 2024 Pew Research Center poll found 72% of gun owners claim personal protection is the primary reason they own a firearm (Pew Research July 2024).
• The same Pew poll found that 52% of respondents say gun ownership does more to increase safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.
• According to the 2021 National Firearms Survey, 56.2% of gun owners carry a handgun for self-defense at least sometimes and about 35% carry a handgun frequently.
• Further the 2021 National Firearms Survey estimates that approximately 20.7 million gun owners (26.3%) carry a handgun in public under a ‘concealed carry’ regime, making concealed carry a common practice (note this does not include people who carry in permit-less states).
• In 2023, approximately 21.7 million Americans have a concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit which is a small decrease from a high of 21.8 million in 2022. Additionally, the same Report from Crime Research Center indicated that 8.4% of adults have a CCW permit.
• The Supreme Court’s “Bruen” decision, which struck down New York’s “may issue” permitting system, significantly expanded gun rights and forced the remaining restrictive states to ease restrictions. All 50 states now allow concealed carry in public via permit or permit-less carry.
• As of this writing (05/15/2025) and previously noted, 29 states are “Constitutional Carry,” meaning no permit is required to carry a concealed firearm so as long as the person carrying is not prohibited to possess a firearm (Handgunlaw.us). As a result, it is very difficult to know how many Americans carry a concealed handgun daily. Interestingly, Vermont does not have a specific law saying carrying a concealed firearm for self-defense is illegal.  Since the state was formed on March 4, 1791 any person 18 years of age or older who can legally possess a firearm under State and Federal Law can carry a concealed handgun in the State of Vermont without a permit.

NOTE: Using a firearm or other weapon to defend yourself, family, and others can expose you to risks ranging from criminal prosecution, civil suits, and post-traumatic psychological stress that you may not be aware of. We encourage you to check out our legal defense plans designed to protect your legal rights and mental health from trigger to trial. Check out our LEGAL DEFENSE PLANS.

READ MORE: When It’s Too Late to Buy CCW Insurance

Self-defense is a fundamental Constitutional Right for protecting your right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. These statistics highlight the relevance of self-defense and offer evidence to those seeking statistics in the gun debate.

Gun Use Statistics | Production, Sales and Ownership

If you don’t exercise your rights, then you are more likely to lose them. Fortunately, tens of millions of Americans have decided to avail themselves of their Second Amendment rights for preserving life and liberty. Recent statistics demonstrate the growing popularity of firearm ownership in the United States.

READ MORE: More Women and Minorities are Buying Guns

• In January 2025, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), released their Firearm Production In the United States report highlighting 2022 U.S. firearm production. In that year, 10,11,200 firearms were manufactured, a 20% decrease from the 12.5 million manufactured in 2021.
• The same report referenced above found when imports were included, 16,045,911 firearms were made available for sale in 2022. This was broken down as follows:
  • 9,873,136 handguns
  • 4,195,192 rifles
  • 1,977,583 shotguns
• The NSSF also estimated the total number of firearms in civilian possession from 1990-2022 is 491.3 million.
• The NSSF further estimates there are 30.7 million Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) in circulation since 1990, demonstrating AR-15 pattern semiautomatic rifles are commonly owned in America.
• From A Response to Critics of the 2021 National Firearms Survey, William English provided the following gun ownership demographics
  • 57.8% are male
  • 42.2% are female
  • 25.4% are Black
  • 28.3% are Hispanic
  • 19.4% are Asian
  • 34.3% are White
• According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), 26.2 million people became “first time” gun owners since 2020.
• 2020 remains the watershed year for gun sales. Based on NICS background check data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), approximately 22.7 million firearms were sold in 2020 (65% more than 2019) fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, fears from days of persistent civil unrest in many cities stemming from the death of George Floyd and fears of the 2020 Presidential election outcome (safehome.org). Approximately 40% of these sales were to first time gun owners.
• Below are yearly NICS background checks per the FBI
  • 2019: 28,369,750
  • 2020: 39,695,315
  • 2021: 38,876,673
  • 2022: 31,596,646
  • 2023: 29,854,176
  • 2024: 28,097,205
  • 2025 (through April): 9,583,786
  • Note that NICS background checks are often higher than the estimate of new gun sales because there may be multiple checks for a single purchase, some states require background checks for private transfer of an existing firearm and some states require NICS checks to issue permits, pawn shop redemptions and other investigations involving firearms.