A new YouGov survey on gun ownership asked Americans about their personal experiences with guns and their opinions on gun violence in the U.S. Americans who live in rural areas are especially likely to have personal experiences with guns, to be gun owners, and to believe that the average American can be trusted with guns.
54% of Americans have ever owned a gun or lived in a household with someone who owned a gun. White Americans (62%) are more likely than Hispanic Americans (41%) or Black Americans (37%) to have ever owned a gun or lived with someone who owned a gun. Republicans (63%) are more likely than Independents (56%) or Democrats (43%) to have ever owned a gun or lived with someone who owned one.
23% of Americans say they currently own a gun and 13% say they don’t own one themselves, but someone in their household does. White Americans (27%) are more likely than Black Americans and Hispanic Americans (both 12%) to own a gun. Republicans (31%) are more likely than Independents (21%) and Democrats (15%) to own one.
People who live in rural areas (35%) are more likely than people who live in towns (24%), suburbs (23%), or cities (14%) to own a gun.
37% of Americans think that all (3%) or most (34%) households in their community have guns. 32% think some of the households in their area have guns, 11% think only a few do, and 2% think none of them do.
About two-thirds of people who live in a rural area (68%) believe all (10%) or most (58%) households in the community where they live have guns. Fewer than half of Americans living in towns (35%), suburbs (28%), or cities (27%) estimate that all or most households in their community have guns.
What experiences have Americans had with guns? Most (62%) have been present when someone else fired a gun. Many Americans have been to a gun range (43%), shot a gun when they were children (33%), or taken a gun safety course (30%). Fewer have been hunting (26%), had a gun pointed at them (20%), attempted to shoot an animal (18%), or shot an animal (16%).
Americans who live in rural areas are more likely to have had many of these experiences. The largest gaps between rural and non-rural dwellers: 78% of people in rural areas have been present when someone else fired a gun; 58% of people who live in towns, suburbs, or cities have been. 39% of Americans in rural areas have been hunting, compared to 22% of people who live in other types of areas.
Many Americans have experienced or know someone who has experienced some form of gun violence. 17% say they personally know someone who has died by suicide using a gun. Among people who live in rural areas, 28% know someone who has died by suicide using a gun.
15% know — or are — someone who has been shot intentionally by someone else with a gun and 12% know someone who has been killed intentionally by another person with a gun. 10% know someone — or have personally experienced — being shot accidentally by someone else with a gun.
11% of Americans say there is one gun in their household, owned by them or another member of the household. 12% have two or three guns. 9% of households have four or more guns.
49% of people living in rural areas have at least one gun. 15% have one, 14% have two or three, 11% have four or five guns, and 9% have six or more.
The most common way people acquire guns is by purchasing them from a licensed gun dealer. 64% of people who have at least one gun in their household got one this way. Among people in a gun-owning household, 28% have inherited a gun, 21% have received one as a gift, 19% have purchased a gun from a private seller, and 12% have gotten one at a gun show.
The most common reason Americans give for owning a gun is personal protection: 77% of Americans with a gun in their household cite this as a reason for having one. 38% have a gun for recreational use, 32% have one for hunting, and 32% have a gun to prepare for a future crisis or disaster.
Gun owners who live in suburbs are more likely than gun owners in rural areas to say they have a gun for personal protection (81% vs. 71%).
Republicans with a gun in their household are more likely than Democrats with a gun in their household to say they have one for personal protection (83% vs. 64%), for hunting (38% vs. 23%), or to prepare for a future crisis or disaster (38% vs. 25%).
The most common type of gun to own is a handgun. Among people with a gun in their house, 63% have at least one handgun. 45% of people in gun-owning households have a rifle in the home, 40% have a shotgun, 28% have a semi-automatic handgun, and 17% have a semi-automatic rifle.
About half (51%) of people with a gun in their household say their guns are stored in a locked safe or cabinet. 31% say they are hidden but not locked away, and 6% say they are neither hidden nor locked. In households where there is at least one gun and children under 18, a slightly higher percentage (59%) say their guns are in a locked safe or cabinet.
About two-thirds of people who have a gun in their household believe it makes their home safer (69%). 5% say it makes the home more dangerous and 21% say it doesn’t make it safer or more dangerous. Republicans with a gun in the home are more likely than Democrats with a gun in the home to believe it makes their home safer (78% vs. 48%).
Can the average American be trusted with a gun? 41% of Americans say no, slightly more than the 36% who say yes. Most people who own a gun (56%) think the average American could be trusted with one.
People who live in rural areas and in towns are more likely to say the average American can be trusted with a gun than to say they can't be trusted. People who live in suburbs and cities are more likely to say the average person can't be trusted with a gun than to say they can.
Republicans (54%) are more likely than Independents (32%) and Democrats (21%) to say the average American can be trusted with a gun.
About two-thirds (65%) of Americans say owning a gun in the U.S. should be legal in all (10%) or most (55%) cases. 25% think it should be illegal in all (6%) or most (18%) cases.
Republicans (17%) are more likely than Independents (11%) or Democrats (2%) to say owning a gun should be legal in all cases.
53% of Americans — including 77% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans — think gun violence is a very serious problem in the U.S. 29% of Americans believe it is a somewhat serious problem, 12% think it is a minor problem, and only 3% say it is not a problem.
Who or what do Americans hold most responsible for gun violence in the U.S.? 72% say they blame gangs and organized crime a lot, an increase from 65% in April 2024 and 53% in May 2022.
58% place a lot of blame for U.S. gun violence on drugs, and 47% place a lot of blame on mental illness. Other factors that many Americans blame a lot are a decline in morality (47%), leniency in the criminal justice system (44%), bad parenting (44%), societal division (36%), and the gun lobby (36%).
Among the biggest differences between Democrats and Republicans: 68% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans blame the gun lobby a lot. 52% of Democrats and 11% of Republicans blame gun manufacturers a lot. 50% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans place a lot of blame on there being too many gun owners.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to place a lot of blame on a decline in morality (60% vs. 37%) and on drugs (72% vs. 51%).
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See the results for this YouGov survey
— Carl Bialik and Taylor Orth contributed to this article
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted February 27 - March 2, 2025 among 1,137 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (Ethan Miller / Staff)
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