And the rest of the country too.

This Is How Much Money Texas’ Economy Makes From the Gun Industry

Gun ownership has been a staple of traditional American life since the inception of the country, and even long before then. Some Americans use guns only to go hunting, for sport, or home protection, but there are many gun enthusiasts who embrace the Second Amendment and load up on as many firearms as they can. Whether it is one gun or 20, selling guns in the United States is a lucrative business.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that Americans bought roughly 18.5 million firearms in 2021, the second most ever in a year and down only slightly from the record-high 21 million in 2020.With these back-to-back years of historic gun sales, someone is profiting big, including some states.

Both directly and indirectly, the firearms sector accounts for a total of 31,632 jobs in Texas – 14,470 in firearm and ammunition manufacturing, sales, and distribution, and another 17,162 in supplier and ancillary industries – the most among the 50 states.

The gun industry in Texas paid an average wage of $51,652 in 2021 and generated an estimated $330.7 million in federal business tax revenue that year.

When accounting for wages and taxes as well as indirect contributions, the firearms industry contributed to $5.6 billion in output in Texas in 2021, the highest amount among states.

All data in this story is from the Shooting Sports Foundation’s Firearm and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact report.

(Chart after the break because itsa biggie

Rank State Total gun industry output, direct & indirect; 2021 ($B) Total industry employment, direct & indirect; 2021 Average industry wage ($) Industry fed. business tax generation; 2021 ($M)
1 Texas 5.59 31,632 51,652 330.7
2 California 5.22 29,082 66,095 380.7
3 Florida 3.46 22,332 49,847 259.7
4 Illinois 2.86 13,051 63,913 183.9
5 Massachusetts 2.85 10,151 74,899 192.6
6 Minnesota 2.78 11,680 69,400 211.0
7 New Hampshire 2.72 9,950 70,698 203.3
8 Pennsylvania 2.67 18,891 52,165 193.6
9 New York 2.54 10,150 85,432 155.8
10 Arkansas 2.53 10,426 49,263 127.1
11 North Carolina 2.51 13,017 54,571 160.3
12 Ohio 2.37 15,256 50,652 147.1
13 Arizona 2.33 11,933 61,243 180.2
14 Michigan 1.88 11,759 52,206 123.6
15 Oregon 1.78 8,952 59,541 134.5
16 Georgia 1.78 9,045 52,865 99.4
17 Idaho 1.69 6,999 57,426 100.4
18 Connecticut 1.44 5,264 81,440 108.0
19 Washington 1.39 8,166 57,773 111.7
20 Utah 1.33 8,893 46,616 92.4
21 Virginia 1.29 7,424 49,889 81.9
22 Missouri 1.25 7,899 50,351 80.0
23 Wisconsin 1.24 6,661 52,251 67.9
24 South Carolina 1.24 6,789 47,957 70.7
25 Tennessee 1.13 7,097 55,935 73.7
26 New Jersey 1.05 5,174 74,016 77.1
27 Colorado 1.02 6,712 53,436 77.5
28 Indiana 0.94 5,021 52,373 37.8
29 Mississippi 0.93 4,737 50,035 50.8
30 Maryland 0.89 4,286 66,649 62.4
31 Kentucky 0.85 5,101 49,287 47.3
32 Alabama 0.74 5,247 43,616 41.6
33 Wyoming 0.69 3,672 45,749 39.0
34 Nebraska 0.66 3,325 54,016 38.2
35 Louisiana 0.62 3,615 44,826 28.7
36 Kansas 0.58 2,133 71,945 12.8
37 Nevada 0.52 3,201 49,582 37.3
38 Iowa 0.48 2,779 49,903 22.3
39 Maine 0.42 3,523 42,660 29.5
40 Oklahoma 0.41 2,702 44,441 20.5
41 South Dakota 0.37 1,842 52,224 20.8
42 Montana 0.37 2,454 43,924 20.9
43 West Virginia 0.22 1,702 38,365 11.0
44 Rhode Island 0.18 826 62,397 9.0
45 New Mexico 0.16 1,442 37,847 8.7
46 Vermont 0.14 828 54,215 9.7
47 Alaska 0.12 1,029 47,151 6.1
48 North Dakota 0.08 652 45,653 4.5
49 Hawaii 0.07 578 49,461 5.0
50 Delaware 0.07 503 53,593 2.9