With gun sales in decline since President Donald Trump took office and with the recent Parkland school shooting prompting debates on guns and gun control, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2018’s States Most Dependent on the Gun Industry.
To determine the states that depend most heavily [or enjoy the most profits] on the arms and ammunition industry, both directly for jobs, and political contributions, and indirectly through firearm ownership, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 16 key metrics.
The data set ranges from firearms industry jobs per capita to gun sales per 1,000 residents to gun ownership rate.
States Most Dependent on Gun Industry
States Least Dependent on Gun Industry
1
Idaho
41
Illinois
2
Montana
42
California
3
Alaska
43
Massachusetts
4
South Dakota
44
Connecticut
5
Wyoming
45
Hawaii
6
Kentucky
46
New York
7
Arkansas
47
Delaware
8
Kansas
48
Rhode Island
9
Oklahoma
49
New Jersey
10
North Dakota
50
Maryland
Key Stats
Alaska has the highest gun ownership rate, 61.7 percent, 11.9 times higher than Delaware, which has the lowest at 5.2 percent.
Idaho has the most firearms-industry jobs per 10,000 residents, 40.05, 19.4 times more than New Jersey, which has the fewest at 2.06.
Connecticut has the highest average firearms-industry wages and benefits, $75,708, 2.2 times higher than in New Mexico, which has the lowest at $34,416.
New Hampshire has the highest total firearms-industry output per capita $732.54, 26.7 times higher than Hawaii, which has the lowest at $27.40.
Wyoming has the highest total taxes paid by the firearms industry per capita, $9.34, 14.8 times higher than New York, which has lowest at $0.63.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-dependent-on-the-gun-industry/18719/