Statistics on women gun owners

By In the news
In: 2nd Amendment, Self Defense
Saturday August 9, 2014

handgun

by NW Spotlight

Two different polls done in the last few years provide some insight into the number of women gun owners. Gallup conducted a survey in October 2011 and the Pew Research Center conducted a survey in May 2013. The two polls had some differences in their findings.

Combining those surveys with information from the 2010 Census provides some additional information on women gun owners.

The 2011 Gallup poll found that:

  • 23% of women are gun owners
  • 34% of adults are gun owners

Applying the 2011 Gallup poll to the 2010 U.S. Census shows:

  • 35% of gun owners are women
  • There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S.
  • There are 28 million women gun owners in the U.S.

The 2013 Pew survey found that:

  • 14% of women are gun owners
  • 27% of adults are gun owners

Applying the 2013 Pew survey to the 2010 U.S. Census shows:

  • 27% of gun owners are women
  • There are 62 million gun owners in the U.S.
  • There are 17 million women gun owners in the U.S.

Both surveys articulate that the above numbers reflect women who personally own guns – not just women in a household where a household member owns a gun.

Click here for a PDF with these statistics – the PDF includes links to the source data. 

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