Alabama has fewer gun sellers than it used to. Licensed ones, at least.
According to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the number of federally licensed gun sellers in Alabama – including firearms dealers, gunsmiths, pawnshops and others – has declined in each of the last four years. That’s after the state experienced steady growth in licenses during the second half of the last decade.
Alabama was home to 1,077 such gun dealers as of June 2023, the last month for which data was available. That was a slight decline from the previous June, when there were 1,096 gun sellers in the state. The number has gone done each year since 2019.
Licensed gun sellers by state over time
The number of federally licensed gun sellers in each state from June 2019 to June 2023.
Back then there were 1,164 gun sellers in the state, meaning Alabama has seen a 7% decline in gun sellers. But the Yellowhammer state is hardly alone. In fact, the trend here nearly perfectly matches that of the nation as a whole, which has also seen a 7% decline in gun seller licenses since 2019.
Some states have seen even bigger declines – Illinois, for instance, has seen a decline in licenses of around 39%. That’s by far the fastest decline in the nation. Illinois is also one of the fastest shrinking states in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But its population decline doesn’t fully explain the rapid decline in gun sellers.
Only five states actually saw growth in the gun seller marketplace. They were South Carolina (1%), Florida (2%), Arizona (3%), Utah (4%) and Maryland (5%). Every other state saw a decline or no change.
When controlling for population, Alabama was firmly in the middle of the pack as of June. The state had 2.1 licensed gun sellers per 10,000 residents, which ranked 26th out of all states and the District of Columbia.
Licensed Gun sellers per 10,000 residents
The number of federally licensed gun sellers as of June 2023 per 10,000 residents in each state.
Wyoming and a handful of other low-population, gun-loving states in Big Sky Country led the way in that category. There were 9.5 gun sellers per 10,000 residents in Wyoming as of June, and 7.9 in neighboring Montana. Alaska also ranked high, and both Dakotas rounded out the top 5.
Gun sellers in this story were based on license categories 1, 2 and 9 from the ATF, which includes dealers in firearms other than destructive devices, including gunsmiths; pawnbrokers that sell firearms other than destructive devices; and dealers of destructive devices.
