This Map Shows America’s Most Armed Counties. #1 Might Surprise You.

WideOpenSpaces ^ | September 10, 2014 | Matt Alpert

[Straight Vermonter]

The most heavily armed county in the US is (drum roll, please) – Faribanks North Star Borough, Alaska. Second place goes to Tooele County, Utah and third is Nez Perce County, Arizona. City-Data.com compiled the list (We should note there’s no source posted for the city-data list) and Reddit user Ramsesses_Deux created the map.

Texas, one of the most gun friendly states in America, is surprisingly not one of the top 10 most armed counties. The Lone Star State’s first entry is Harris County at no. 73.

1. Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK, pop. 82,840: 59.1%
2. Tooele County, UT (Tooele, Grantsville, Erda), pop. 40,735: 59.1%
3. Nez Perce County, ID (Lewiston, Lapwai, Culdesac), pop. 37,410: 59.0%
4. Armstrong County, PA (Kittanning, Ford City, Leechburg), pop. 72,392: 57.6%
5. Rapides Parish, LA (Alexandria, Pineville, Ball), pop. 126,337: 52.8%
6. Teller County, CO (Woodland Park, Cripple Creek, Green Mountain Falls), pop. 20,555: 52.3%
7. Darlington County, SC (Hartsville, Darlington, North Hartsville), pop. 67,394: 52.1%
8. Franklin County, VT (St. Albans, Swanton, Fairfax), pop. 45,417: 51.7%
9. Randolph County, NC (Asheboro, Archdale, Trinity), pop. 130,454: 51.1%
10. Canyon County, ID (Nampa, Caldwell, Middleton), pop. 131,441: 50.9%
11. Anchorage Municipality, AK, pop. 260,283: 50.0%
12. Laramie County, WY (Cheyenne, Ranchettes, South Greeley), pop. 81,607: 49.6%
13. Davis County, UT (Layton, Bountiful, Clearfield), pop. 238,994: 48.8%
14. Yellowstone County, MT (Billings, Laurel, Lockwood), pop. 129,352: 48.7%
15. Franklin County, PA (Chambersburg, Waynesboro, Greencastle), pop. 129,313: 48.5%
16. Pennington County, SD (Rapid City, Rapid Valley, Box Elder), pop. 88,565: 48.5%
17. Terrebonne Parish, LA (Houma, Bayou Cane, Schriever), pop. 104,503: 47.9%
18. Ouachita Parish, LA (Monroe, West Monroe, Claiborne), pop. 147,250: 47.6%
19. Florence County, SC (Florence, Lake City, Timmonsville), pop. 125,761: 47.6%
20. Orange County, VT (Randolph, Williamstown, Bradford), pop. 28,226: 47.0%
21. Calcasieu Parish, LA (Lake Charles, Sulphur, Moss Bluff), pop. 183,577: 46.4%
22. Weber County, UT (Ogden, Roy, North Ogden), pop. 196,533: 46.3%
23. Kanawha County, WV (Charleston, South Charleston, St. Albans), pop. 200,073: 45.2%
24. Ada County, ID (Boise, Meridian, Eagle), pop. 300,904: 45.0%
25. Pulaski County, AR (Little Rock, North Little Rock, Jacksonville), pop. 361,474: 44.7%
26. Minnehaha County, SD (Sioux Falls, Brandon, Dell Rapids), pop. 148,281: 44.7%
27. Westmoreland County, PA (Greensburg, New Kensington, Lower Burrell), pop. 369,993: 44.0%
28. Pinal County, AZ (Apache Junction, Casa Grande, Florence), pop. 179,727: 43.6%
29. St. Tammany Parish, LA (Slidell, Mandeville, Covington), pop. 191,268: 42.5%
30. Caddo Parish, LA (Shreveport, Vivian, Greenwood), pop. 252,161: 42.2%
31. Sandoval County, NM (Rio Rancho, Corrales, Bernalillo), pop. 89,908: 42.1%
32. Hinds County, MS (Jackson, Clinton, Byram), pop. 250,800: 41.9%
33. Jefferson County, AL (Birmingham, Hoover, Bessemer), pop. 662,047: 41.0%
34. Anoka County, MN (Coon Rapids, Blaine, Fridley), pop. 298,084: 40.6%
35. East Baton Rouge Parish, LA (Baton Rouge, Shenandoah, Baker), pop. 412,852: 40.0%
36. Windsor County, VT (Hartford, Springfield, Windsor), pop. 57,418: 40.0%
37. Henderson County, NC (Hendersonville, Fletcher, East Flat Rock), pop. 89,173: 39.8%
38. Clark County, WA (Vancouver, Orchards, Salmon Creek), pop. 345,238: 39.5%
39. Cass County, ND (Fargo, West Fargo, Casselton), pop. 123,138: 39.2%
40. Buncombe County, NC (Asheville, Black Mountain, Royal Pines), pop. 206,330: 39.1%
41. Washoe County, NV (Reno, Sparks, Sun Valley), pop. 339,486: 38.7%
42. Salt Lake County, UT (Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Sandy), pop. 898,387: 38.3%
43. Forsyth County, NC (Winston-Salem, Kernersville, Clemmons), pop. 306,067: 38.1%
44. Grafton County, NH (Lebanon, Hanover, Plymouth), pop. 81,743: 36.9%
45. Lancaster County, PA (Lancaster, Ephrata, Elizabethtown), pop. 470,658: 36.8%
46. Sedgwick County, KS (Wichita, Derby, Haysville), pop. 452,869: 36.7%
47. Clackamas County, OR (Lake Oswego, Oregon City, West Linn), pop. 338,391: 35.9%
48. Shelby County, TN (Memphis, Bartlett, Germantown), pop. 897,472: 35.7%
49. Sarpy County, NE (Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista), pop. 122,595: 35.6%
50. Cleveland County, OK (Norman, Moore, Noble), pop. 208,016: 35.3%
51. Richland County, SC (Columbia, St. Andrews, Dentsville), pop. 320,677: 34.9%
52. Tulsa County, OK (Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Owasso), pop. 563,299: 34.3%
53. York County, ME (Biddeford, Sanford, Saco), pop. 186,742: 33.7%
54. Sussex County, DE (Milford, Seaford, Georgetown), pop. 156,638: 33.7%
55. Kent County, DE (Dover, Smyrna, Highland Acres), pop. 126,697: 33.7%
56. El Paso County, CO (Colorado Springs, Fountain, Cimarron Hills), pop. 516,929: 33.5%
57. Snohomish County, WA (Everett, Edmonds, Lynnwood), pop. 606,024: 33.4%
58. Frederick County, MD (Frederick, Ballenger Creek, Green Valley), pop. 195,277: 33.3%
59. Dakota County, MN (Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley), pop. 355,904: 33.2%
60. Duval County, FL (Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach), pop. 778,879: 32.8%
61. Merrimack County, NH (Concord, Hooksett, Franklin), pop. 136,225: 32.7%
62. Jefferson Parish, LA (Metairie, Kenner, Marrero), pop. 455,466: 32.3%
63. Jackson County, MO (Kansas City, Independence, Blue Springs), pop. 654,880: 32.2%
64. Guilford County, NC (Greensboro, High Point, Summerfield), pop. 421,048: 32.1%
65. Shawnee County, KS (Topeka, Silver Lake, Auburn), pop. 169,871: 32.0%
66. Yuma County, AZ (Yuma, Fortuna Foothills, San Luis), pop. 160,026: 31.8%
67. Lancaster County, NE (Lincoln, Waverly, Hickman), pop. 250,291: 31.8%
68. Washington County, OR (Beaverton, Hillsboro, Aloha), pop. 445,342: 31.6%
69. Jefferson County, CO (Lakewood, Arvada, Wheat Ridge), pop. 527,056: 31.5%
70. Polk County, IA (Des Moines, West Des Moines, Urbandale), pop. 374,601: 31.0%
71. Macomb County, MI (Warren, Sterling Heights, Clinton), pop. 788,149: 30.9%
72. Oklahoma County, OK (Oklahoma City, Edmond, Midwest City), pop. 660,448: 30.8%
73. Harris County, TX (Houston, Pasadena, Baytown), pop. 3,400,578: 30.4%
74. Bernalillo County, NM (Albuquerque, South Valley, North Valley), pop. 556,678: 30.2%
75. Johnson County, KS (Overland Park, Olathe, Shawnee), pop. 451,086: 30.0%
76. Pierce County, WA (Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup), pop. 700,820: 29.9%
77. Maricopa County, AZ (Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale), pop. 3,072,149: 29.7%
78. Adams County, CO (Aurora, Westminster, Thornton), pop. 363,857: 29.3%
79. Clark County, NV (Las Vegas, Paradise, Henderson), pop. 1,375,765: 29.2%
80. Douglas County, NE (Omaha, Ralston, Elkhorn), pop. 463,585: 28.1%
81. Oakland County, MI (Farmington Hills, Troy, Southfield), pop. 1,194,156: 27.9%
82. Dallas County, TX (Dallas, Garland, Irving), pop. 2,218,899: 27.7%
83. Chittenden County, VT (Burlington, Colchester, South Burlington), pop. 146,571: 27.7%
84. Windham County, CT (Windham, Willimantic, Plainfield), pop. 109,091: 27.6%
85. Lake County, IN (Gary, Hammond, East Chicago), pop. 484,564: 27.5%
86. Pima County, AZ (Tucson, Casas Adobes, Catalina Foothills), pop. 843,746: 27.2%
87. Davidson County, TN (Goodlettsville, Forest Hills, Oak Hill), pop. 569,891: 27.0%
88. Jefferson County, KY (Louisville, Jeffersontown, Valley Station), pop. 693,604: 26.5%
89. Cobb County, GA (Marietta, Smyrna, Mableton), pop. 607,751: 26.4%
90. Mahoning County, OH (Youngstown, Boardman, Austintown), pop. 257,555: 26.3%
91. Cumberland County, ME (Portland, South Portland, Brunswick), pop. 265,612: 26.0%
92. Chester County, PA (West Chester, Phoenixville, Coatesville), pop. 433,501: 25.1%
93. Anne Arundel County, MD (Glen Burnie, Annapolis, Severn), pop. 489,656: 25.1%
94. Arapahoe County, CO (Southglenn, Littleton, Englewood), pop. 487,967: 24.8%
95. Montgomery County, OH (Dayton, Kettering, Huber Heights), pop. 559,062: 24.7%
96. St. Louis County, MO (Florissant, Chesterfield, University City), pop. 1,016,315: 24.7%
97. Marion County, IN (Indianapolis, Lawrence, Beech Grove), pop. 860,454: 24.7%
98. Bucks County, PA (Levittown, Morrisville, Croydon), pop. 597,635: 24.6%
99. Hennepin County, MN (Minneapolis, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park), pop. 1,116,200: 24.5%
100. Rockingham County, NH (Derry, Salem, Londonderry), pop. 277,359: 24.4%
101. Ramsey County, MN (St. Paul, Maplewood, Roseville), pop. 511,035: 24.4%

[Straight Vermonter]

This popped up on Facebook and I thought FReepers would like it. The data appears to come from city-data.com but I have no idea how they got the info.

[rabidralph]

"...no idea how they got the info."

That is troubling.

[EternalVigilance]

I was pleasantly surprised to see the county I grew up in, Douglas County, NE, and Sarpy County, which adjoins it, in this list.

[Fightin Whitey]

Probably came from ffl sales records, no?

By the by the third place county, Nez Perce, is in Idaho, not Arizona. It’s where they make Gold Dot ammo, among other products.

Thanks for the chart!

[Zuben Elgenubi]

I wonder if there are any mosques in those counties.

[556x45]

Ya, same thing I wondered. Would be interesting also to see how many are predominately democrat. Im betting the majority are inhabited by liberals.

[Crazieman]

Awesome, Sedgwick county KS.

[OldNewYork]

Interesting.

[ClearCase_guy]

Louisiana seems well represented.

[oldenuff2no]

This is total BS. First, and we need go no further, gun owners today won't answer questions of this nature. They believe that when questions arise from the anti-gun buttheads in the cities that it is none of their damn business and nothing more than a cheap setup question.

I think it is much worse than that but this is a good lesson in how to create a lie and then push it as fact. If you missed that let me clarify it.

The people who put this together are bold faced liars with a political agenda of being against guns and for as much gun control as then can get.

[justa-hairyape]

Texas would be a lot higher if they just ranked it by number of guns and gun owners. Not percentage of owners.

[Beagle8U]

I doubt those numbers. There are areas in MI that everyone has guns, it is rare for someone not to have any.

Of those over 18, I doubt more than 25-30% are gunless.

[Fightin Whitey]

If there are they would tend (pretend) to hold your much-discussed peace-loving Mooslims. lol.

[G Larry]

Given many places have no registration requirements and the background checks are not supposed to be in any database, how accurate could this be?

[Lorianne]

This just counts legal gun owners.
If you count criminals with guns the map would look quite a bit different.

[Ken H]

Vermont has four counties on the list. Many don’t realize that VT has the best gun laws in the country.

[BigEdLB]

Beware all Polar Bears. #1 is Fairbanks

[cripplecreek]

Agreed. Long guns don’t require registration in most states and there is no way of knowing how many of those there are.

[Rushmore Rocks]

I’m wondering how they got their info. Our county is pretty high on the list. we have only one (concealed carry) registered. Lost count of how many we lost when our boat was swamped..........

[Straight Vermonter]

Vermont has four counties on the list. Many don’t realize that VT has the best gun laws in the country.

True, the best gun laws are no gun laws.