Does your state support your 2nd Amendment rights or make it exceedingly difficult to keep and bear arms? We’ve ranked the worst states to be a gun owner below. How? By analyzing each state’s current laws, upcoming laws, concealed carry guidelines, self-defense statutes, and 2A-centric taxes in order to identify the worst states for gun owners in 2024.
Jump to a state: AL | AK | AZ | AR | CA | CO | CT | DE | FL | GA | HI | ID | IL | IN | IA | KS | KY | LA | ME | MD | MA | MI | MN | MS | MO | MT | NE | NV | NH | NJ | NM | NY | NC | ND | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VT | VA | WA | WV | WI | WY
Report Highlights:
- California is the worst state for gun owners due to strict purchasing and carry laws, as well as high crime rates.
- New York is the second worst state for gun owners due to its permit-to-purchase and reciprocity laws.
- Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticut take the #3, #4, and #5 spot in our list of worst states for gun ownership due to strict purchasing and carrying requirements.
- North Carolina, South Carolina, and OH fall into spots #23, #24, and #25 due to new restrictive legislation with some relaxed carry laws.
- Some states rank lower than others due to excessive infringements, additional taxes, and the current Governor’s 2A statements.
- State and local laws defining Stand Your Grand vs. Duty to Retreat vary and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Our ranking factors and how we weighed each of those factors are detailed here: “Ranking Factors: What Did We Measure?“. Our sources are listed here. If you’d like to see a larger version of our “Worst States to be a Gun Owner Map”, it’s here. Without further ado, please scroll down to see how we ranked America’s worst states for gun owners in 2024.
