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The Drop in Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers in America

The Drop in Gun Dealers

As a result of the new licensing requirements and ATF's increased scrutiny of licensees, the number of Type 1 FFLs in the United States has dropped 74 percent—from 245,628 in 1994 to 63,881 in 2002. California leads the nation with a 16,905 reduction in dealers, declining from 20,148 to 3,243—a decrease of 84 percent.8

As the number of dealers in the United States has dropped, the percentage of kitchen-table dealers has also fallen. In 1998, 56 percent of Type 1 FFLs operated out of residential premises, down from 74 percent in 1992. The number of inactive FFLs has dropped as well. In 1998, 31 percent of licensees had not sold a gun in the previous year, down from 46 percent in 1992.9

State Total of Type 1 Federal Firearms License (FFL) Holders, January 1994 Total of Type 1 Federal Firearms License (FFL) Holders, February 2001 Total of Type 1 Federal Firearms License (FFL) Holders, April 2002 Number Decrease From 1994 to 2002 Percent Decrease From 1994 to 2002
Alabama 3,235 973 879 2,356 73%
Alaska 3,137 1,047 977 2,160 69%
Arizona 4,178 1,224 1,160 3,018 72%
Arkansas 3,096 811 793 2,303 74%
California 20,148 3,495 3,243 16,905 84%
Colorado 4,248 1,245 1,210 3,038 72%
Connecticut 3,334 628 590 2,744 82%
Delaware 507 124 119 388 77%
Florida 9,970 2,161 1,911 8,059 81%
Georgia 5,589 1,472 1,384 4,205 75%
Hawaii 820 138 115 705 86%
Idaho 2,295 806 768 1,527 67%
Illinois 8,959 2,315 2,241 6,718 75%
Indiana 5,872 1,857 1,767 4,105 70%
Iowa 3,877 1,340 1,301 2,576 66%
Kansas 3,653 1,095 1,049 2,604 71%
Kentucky 4,679 1,266 1,259 3,420 73%
Louisiana 4,864 1,170 1,204 3,660 75%
Maine 2,189 567 566 1,623 74%
Maryland 3,232 724 666 2,566 79%
Massachusetts 3,851 791 727 3,124 81%
Michigan 12,076 3,147 3,016 9,060 75%
Minnesota 5,741 1,885 1,799 3,942 69%
Mississippi 3,080 986 983 2,097 68%
Missouri 7,624 2,238 2,267 5,357 70%
Montana 3,058 1,159 1,110 1,948 64%
Nebraska 2,688 795 749 1,939 72%
Nevada 1,952 502 472 1,480 76%
New Hampshire 1,565 517 535 1,030 66%
New Jersey 1,645 456 418 1,227 75%
New Mexico 1,909 654 640 1,269 66%
New York 9,726 2,510 2,419 7,307 75%
North Carolina 6,466 1,710 1,680 4,786 74%
North Dakota 1,619 531 503 1,116 69%
Ohio 9,464 2,821 2,776 6,688 71%
Oklahoma 4,024 1,132 1,090 2,934 73%
Oregon 4,995 1,782 1,675 3,320 66%
Pennsylvania 11,799 3,384 3,197 8,602 73%
Rhode Island 567 123 119 448 79%
South Carolina 2,332 668 645 1,687 72%
South Dakota 1,537 505 474 1,063 69%
Tennessee 4,736 1,378 1,379 3,357 71%
Texas 18,041 4,865 4,842 13,199 73%
Utah 2,113 605 578 1,535 73%
Vermont 1,556 447 409 1,147 74%
Virginia 6,942 1,793 1,735 5,207 75%
Washington 5,724 1,237 1,135 4,589 80%
West Virginia 3,234 984 918 2,316 72%
Wisconsin 5,953 1,850 1,805 4,148 70%
Wyoming 1,729 607 584 1,145 66%
Total 245,628 66,520 63,881 181,747 74%

 


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The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.