The share of American households that own guns and also keep at least one handgun climbed from 40.9 percent in 1973 to 80.4 percent in 2024, according to General Social Survey data from the National Opinion Research Center. That 2024 figure is the highest on record.

The increase followed a nearly straight line over the full half century, with a statistical fit of 0.91. A three-year rolling average of the same numbers reveals separate phases within the longer pattern.

Handguns have become the primary firearms in gun-owning homes rather than extras.