In Georgia, 14,000 guns are stolen from private residents each year

U.S. firearm sales have surged in recent years, a trend that has coincided with a steep increase in gun violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a record number of Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021. While law-abiding citizens with no intention of engaging in criminal activity account for the vast majority of gun purchases, the influx of guns in American households increases the likelihood of firearms falling into the wrong hands, particularly through theft.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, more than 1 million firearms were reported stolen by private citizens in the five years from 2017 to 2021. Stolen guns are most commonly burgled from homes and vehicles, but some are also taken directly from a person. Though many stolen guns are ultimately linked to crimes, they are typically first sold on the black market.

Semi-automatic pistols are by far the most commonly stolen firearm type, accounting for over 70% of all reported firearm thefts in the U.S. in the last five years. And all of the top five stolen calibers – .45, .22, .380, .40, and 9mm – are widely available in semi-automatic handguns. (Here is a look at the gun calibers most likely to be used for crime in every state.)

ATF records show that an average of 14,288 firearms were reported stolen from private citizens in Georgia each year between 2017 and 2021. Adjusting for population, this comes out to about 132.3 stolen firearms annually for every 100,000 residents, the fifth most among states.

An estimated 26.2% of all the firearms reported stolen between 2017 and 2021 were ultimately recovered in-state.

All data in this story is from the ATF’s report National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA): Crime Guns – Volume Two. Firearms stolen from gun stores and gunmakers were not considered in this ranking.

Rank	State	Annual firearm theft rate (per 100,000 people)	Avg. num. of firearms stolen from private citizens annually	Stolen firearms recovered in state (%)
1	Mississippi	185.1	5,460	24.3
2	Alabama	165.7	8,353	28.4
3	Louisiana	155.1	7,170	30.5
4	South Carolina	150.8	7,825	27.3
5	Georgia	132.3	14,288	26.2
6	Arkansas	131.8	3,989	33.0
7	Alaska	130	953	36.2
8	Missouri	117.9	7,270	28.3
9	Tennessee	116.7	8,143	27.3
10	Oklahoma	111	4,426	27.0
11	New Mexico	106.8	2,260	23.8
12	Kentucky	103.9	4,684	36.5
13	North Carolina	103.9	10,961	28.9
14	West Virginia	97	1,730	19.7
15	Montana	88.7	980	30.3
16	Texas	85.6	25,270	24.6
17	Nevada	83.1	2,614	24.7
18	Indiana	77.3	5,260	26.3
19	Kansas	76	2,230	25.8
20	Arizona	70	5,090	27.9
21	Wyoming	64.7	374	29.5
22	Michigan	64.3	6,462	26.5
23	Florida	64	13,940	29.4
24	Virginia	60.4	5,224	26.5
25	Colorado	57.4	3,336	24.4
26	Oregon	57.1	2,423	26.8
27	Ohio	56.8	6,697	26.0
28	Idaho	53.6	1,018	28.0
29	South Dakota	53.2	476	31.1
30	Washington	52.6	4,074	29.1
31	North Dakota	45.8	355	26.8
32	Pennsylvania	45.3	5,870	26.9
33	Utah	42.1	1,406	33.5
34	Maine	40.8	559	13.8
35	Iowa	39.1	1,249	27.3
36	Vermont	39.1	253	19.3
37	Delaware	37.8	379	24.0
38	Nebraska	37.3	733	35.7
39	Illinois	33.7	4,265	30.0
40	Minnesota	27.3	1,559	29.2
41	New Hampshire	26.8	372	28.9
42	Connecticut	24	866	18.8
43	California	21.7	8,509	14.7
44	Wisconsin	21.3	1,255	0.1
45	Maryland	18.3	1,130	22.8
46	Hawaii	12.1	174	13.6
47	Rhode Island	10.7	117	21.4
48	New York	8.9	1,766	14.6
49	New Jersey	6.8	629	25.3
50	Massachusetts	5.4	378	22.0