What are the gun ownership rates in rural areas versus urban areas in the 2020 US census?
Executive summary
The 2020 U.S. Census did not collect data on individual or household gun ownership; instead, national surveys and research syntheses around 2020 consistently show that adults in rural communities report gun ownership at roughly double the rate of those in urban areas — about 46–48% in rural areas versus about 19–20% in urban areas [1] [2] [3]. These figures come from repeated national polls and research reports rather than from the decennial census itself, a key limitation in precision and comparability [1].
1. Where the commonly quoted numbers come from — surveys, not the census
The decennial census is silent on firearm possession; contemporary ownership rates are estimated by organizations that run national surveys such as Pew Research Center and Gallup, which in 2017–2024 reporting and polls show rural adults report ownership near the mid‑40s percent range while urban adults report ownership around one‑fifth of adults (Pew: 46% rural vs. 19% urban; Pew short‑read: 47% rural, 20% urban; Gallup: rural residents 48%) [1] [2] [3].
2. The headline contrast: roughly ~46–48% rural vs ~19–20% urban
Multiple independent sources converge on a similar gap: Pew’s demographic analyses and shorter fact briefs list rural ownership around 46–47% and urban ownership around 19–20% [1] [2]. Gallup’s 2020 phone poll also identified rural residents as the most likely group to say they personally own a gun (48%) [3]. Other compilations and research summaries echo the same pattern, reporting roughly half of rural adults own firearms versus under one in four in suburbs and roughly one in five in cities [4] [5].
3. Why different sources still show the same directional story
Different studies use varying definitions — personal ownership versus household ownership, varied question wording, and survey modes (phone vs. online) — yet the rural > suburban > urban ordering is robust across methods; Pew explicitly notes the gap and provides 2017–2024 estimates showing 46% rural, 30% suburban, 19–20% urban [1] [2]. Academic reviews and public‑policy outlets likewise point to higher per‑capita gun prevalence in less densely populated places [6] [7].
4. Important caveats and measurement traps
Survey estimates vary by year and method, and some polls ask “Does anyone in your household own a gun?” while others ask “Do you personally own a gun?” — that difference can change reported rates but not the overall rural/urban gap [1] [3]. Additionally, many secondary sources compile or extrapolate state and county data; they may report household‑level or per‑capita gun counts rather than individual ownership, producing slightly different percentages [5] [4]. Crucially, the census itself does not provide a benchmark to validate survey estimates [1].
5. Consequences and alternative interpretations in the reporting
Analysts link higher rural ownership to cultural factors like hunting, legacy ownership, and political identity, and to policy outcomes such as higher rural firearm suicide and overall rural gun‑death rates in some analyses [8] [9] [10]. Critics note that higher ownership does not mechanically predict all forms of gun violence — homicide patterns differ by place and are influenced by urban poverty and criminal markets — but ownership prevalence correlates with certain outcomes [10] [11].
6. Final assessment and what cannot be said from the available sources
Definitive “2020 Census” gun ownership rates do not exist because the census did not ask about guns; the best available, repeatedly cited figures from national surveys place rural ownership near the mid‑40s percent and urban ownership near the low‑20s to high‑teens percent, a durable and large gap across multiple reputable sources [1] [2] [3]. No source provided here can translate those survey percentages into a precise census‑based count of owners or households containing firearms, and that limitation must be acknowledged [1].