Contents
- Household safe storage practices statistics: loaded firearm storage across states
- Household safe storage practices statistics: when loaded firearms are left unlocked
- Household safe storage practices statistics: storage in homes with children
- Household safe storage practices statistics: devices and access patterns
- Household safe storage practices statistics: reasons for locking and barriers
- Sources
Household safe storage practices statistics: loaded firearm storage across states
State estimates show that loaded firearm storage varies among adults who reported a firearm in or around their home. In the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) report, the weighted share reporting a loaded firearm ranged from 19.46% in Minnesota in 2022 to 43.82% in North Carolina in 2021 among the states highlighted here. The estimates describe respondents with a firearm at home; they are not percentages of all adults in each state.
| State and survey year | Reported a firearm stored loaded | Reported no firearm stored loaded |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska, 2021 | 29.70% | 66.47% |
| California, 2022 | 25.69% | 69.9% |
| Minnesota, 2022 | 19.46% | 77.51% |
| Nevada, 2022 | 39.24% | — |
| New Mexico, 2022 | 40.09% | — |
| North Carolina, 2021 | 43.82% | — |
| Ohio, 2022 | 37.06% | — |
| Oklahoma, 2021 | 41.20% | — |
The “not loaded” measure was reported separately in the source and is not necessarily the arithmetic complement of the loaded figure; the table therefore leaves unavailable values blank. These are also observations from different states and years, not a single national estimate or a trend over time. The CDC report’s table gives confidence intervals alongside the state estimates, reflecting sampling uncertainty. CDC BRFSS report, Table 2
Household safe storage practices statistics: when loaded firearms are left unlocked
A loaded firearm and an unlocked loaded firearm are different measures. Among adults who reported at least one loaded firearm in or around the home, the share who said at least one was unlocked ranged from 48.75% in Ohio in 2022 to 58.70% in Alaska in 2021 among the eight state estimates provided. The denominator is only respondents reporting a loaded firearm, not every firearm-owning household or every adult.
| State and survey year | At least one loaded firearm reported unlocked |
|---|---|
| Alaska, 2021 | 58.70% |
| California, 2022 | 50.11% |
| Minnesota, 2022 | 54.69% |
| Nevada, 2022 | 52.53% |
| New Mexico, 2022 | 51.5% |
| North Carolina, 2021 | 52.53% |
| Ohio, 2022 | 48.75% |
| Oklahoma, 2021 | 57.22% |
The similarity of these estimates across the listed states is descriptive. It does not establish that storage behavior is the same across the states, particularly because confidence intervals differ and some estimates are less precise. In subgroup results, among respondents aged 65 or older reporting a loaded firearm, the unlocked share was 58.53% in New Mexico in 2022 and 72.51% in Oklahoma in 2021. These two estimates should be read as separate state-and-year observations, not a direct age-based comparison across the country. CDC BRFSS report, Table 3
Household safe storage practices statistics: storage in homes with children
Two studies measure children’s exposure in distinct ways. The CDC’s state BRFSS analysis reports the unlocked share among respondents who had both a loaded firearm and a child or adolescent aged 17 or younger at home. That share was 25.24% in Ohio in 2022 and 41.42% in Alaska in 2021. These are endpoint estimates for two states and years; they should not be generalized to all U.S. households with children.
A separate national estimate uses the 2015 National Firearms Survey and population data. It estimated that approximately 7% of U.S. children—about 4.6 million—lived in homes with at least one firearm stored loaded and unlocked. This measures children living in homes meeting that condition, rather than the percentage of firearm-owning parents who reported a particular practice. The estimate is based on 2015 survey data, even though the study reporting it was published later. CDC BRFSS report, Table 3; Jones et al., 2015 National Firearms Survey analysis
The different denominators matter. A state estimate among respondents with loaded firearms cannot be directly compared with a national estimate of children living in homes where a firearm was loaded and unlocked. Together, they indicate that the issue is measured both as reported adult storage behavior and as children’s household exposure, but the figures do not describe an identical population or period.
Household safe storage practices statistics: devices and access patterns
A 2022 survey of 2,152 U.S. adult firearm owners asked about storage approaches. It found that 58.3% reported at least one firearm stored unlocked and hidden, while 17.9% reported at least one stored unlocked and not hidden. These categories concern whether an owner reported at least one firearm in each condition; they are not mutually exclusive descriptions of every firearm in a household. The study fielded its survey from July 28 to August 8, 2022.
The “unlocked and not hidden” finding differed by the types of firearms owned: 9.9% among owners with handguns only, compared with 22.1% among owners with both handguns and long guns. These are subgroup estimates from the same survey, and the figures describe respondents who reported at least one firearm in that storage condition.
Owners also reported several types of locking mechanisms. In the overall sample, 19.3% reported a keyed, PIN, or dial cable lock, and 1.7% reported a biometric cable lock. Device-use responses can overlap, as an owner may use more than one device or mechanism.
Among users of keyed, PIN, or dial mechanisms, 32.4% reported using a gun safe. Among users of biometric mechanisms, 15.6% reported using a gun safe. These percentages apply to the respective mechanism-user groups, not all firearm owners, and do not establish how often or for how many firearms a device was used. Anestis et al., 2022 survey, Tables 2–3
Household safe storage practices statistics: reasons for locking and barriers
The 2022 survey asked owners who used a storage or locking device for at least one firearm why they did so. Among the 1,473 device users, 66.0% cited preventing theft, 55.7% cited keeping a firearm in good condition, 53.3% cited preventing access by a child, and 42.0% cited preventing access by an adolescent or teenager. In that study, “child” refers to ages 0–12. Respondents could select multiple reasons, so the percentages do not add up to 100% and should be understood as overlapping motivations.
The same survey asked 1,440 owners who had at least one firearm stored without a device what circumstances could prompt device use. Preventing child access was selected by 48.5%, preventing adolescent or teenager access by 36.7%, and preventing theft by 36.9%. These answers describe stated circumstances that might prompt use; they do not show that respondents later adopted a device or changed their storage practices.
Reported barriers help explain why device use may not extend to every firearm. Among owners who did not use a locking device on all firearms, 49.3% said they did not need one, while 44.8% said a lock could take too long to access in an emergency. These are survey responses from a particular subgroup, not explanations that can be assumed for all owners who store a firearm unlocked. Anestis et al., 2022 survey, Table 2
Taken together, the figures describe several separate aspects of household storage: whether a firearm is loaded, whether any loaded firearm is unlocked, whether devices are used, and what owners say motivates or discourages their use. Because the underlying questions have different populations, reference periods, and response options, the percentages are most useful when read within each study and denominator.