Which states recognize both castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws as of 2025?
Executive summary
As of summer 2025, available reporting shows most U.S. states have some form of non‑retreat self‑defense protection — either a castle doctrine (no duty to retreat in the home) or a stand‑your‑ground statute (no duty to retreat wherever one is lawfully present) — and many states have both or hybrid rules. Different trackers count stand‑your‑ground statutes at roughly "around 35" states while others map mixes of castle doctrine, duty‑to‑retreat, and hybrid regimes; specific state-by-state distinctions matter because castle doctrine and stand‑your‑ground are legally different even when they coexist [1] [2] [3].
1. What the two doctrines mean and why overlap matters
Castle doctrine generally means there is no duty to retreat when threatened in your home (sometimes workplace or vehicle); stand‑your‑ground removes any duty to retreat in any place you are lawfully present. That difference means a state can have the castle doctrine without a stand‑your‑ground statute, but some states expand castle protections into public spaces and are effectively stand‑your‑ground jurisdictions [3] [4].
2. How many states have stand‑your‑ground laws — and why counts vary
Analysts diverge: at least one mid‑2025 review cites "around 35 states" with stand‑your‑ground statutes or laws that expand castle protections beyond the home [1]. Other aggregators and maps review all 50 states but stress definitions and judicial interpretations vary, so totals depend on whether you count statutory text only or also include states where courts have interpreted statutes to eliminate a retreat duty [4] [2].
3. Which states explicitly combine both doctrines (examples from reporting)
Several sources point to concrete examples where states combine or have been characterized as having both castle doctrine and stand‑your‑ground features. Florida is often cited as combining castle doctrine with a stand‑your‑ground framework that applies "anywhere you’re legally present" [5]. Iowa and Indiana are noted as having castle doctrine elements and also expansions into broader no‑retreat protections, with Indiana described as having expanded castle doctrine into a stand‑your‑ground law [6] [7]. Datapandas and similar compilations list states like California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington as governed by castle doctrine while also mapping which states have stand‑your‑ground — illustrating overlap, hybrids, and exceptions [8] [9].
4. States that still emphasize a duty to retreat (and why that matters)
Reporting flags a minority of states that retain stronger duty‑to‑retreat principles in public: Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Wisconsin are named by one compilation as holding onto duty‑to‑retreat rules — though Minnesota also has a castle‑type rule for the home per state reporting [9] [10]. Those distinctions matter because in duty‑to‑retreat jurisdictions a person may be required to attempt safe retreat in public before using deadly force even if they could rely on castle protections at home [4] [10].
5. Why you can’t rely on a single definitive list
Multiple sources warn maps and tallies are simplifications: statutory language differs, courts interpret laws differently, and legislatures change rules — so whether a state “recognizes both” depends on whether you mean by statute, by judicial interpretation, or by practical application. WorldPopulationReview, TacticalGear, FindLaw and others explicitly caution that categories should not be treated as immutable legal authority and that hybrid or case‑law outcomes can make a state “functionally” stand‑your‑ground even without an explicit statute [6] [4] [3] [2].
6. How to get a reliable state answer for 2025
If you need a precise roster of states that legally recognize both a statutory castle doctrine and an explicit stand‑your‑ground statute as of a specific date, current compilations recommend checking statute texts and recent appellate decisions for each state because aggregated lists disagree. Public trackers quoted here give a starting point (roughly 35 stand‑your‑ground states per one mid‑2025 review and multiple compilations of castle doctrine states), but they differ on which states are hybrids versus pure castle doctrine or duty‑to‑retreat [1] [9] [8].
Limitations: available sources provide overlapping, sometimes inconsistent state lists and warn legislative or judicial changes can alter status quickly; I have cited those compilations and cannot assert a single definitive list without reviewing each state's statutes and case law beyond these summaries [6] [1] [4].