--- --- # Here's Where You're Most Likely to Own a Gun in the U.S. ## Video: Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola [Watch (HLS stream): Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/G194AmTC.m3u8) (2:32)  _Published 2014-08-13. Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jun 30, 2015 3:45 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jun 30, 2015 3:45 PM UTC Americans love their guns. U.S. citizens own more than 270 million of them, nearly 9 for every 10 Americans. No other country even comes close to matching that rate. Now, a new [study](http://ip.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041586) in the journal _Injury Prevention_ shows just how much gun culture varies within the U.S. In Alaska, the state with the highest rate of gun ownership, more than 60% of residents own a gun. In Delaware, the state with the lowest rate, 5% of residents own a gun. Overall, one-third of American adults own a gun. Public health researchers say this information could help inform how to reduce gun violence. “When you look at different states, you see a wide variation in these rates, and it mirrors the gun death rate,” said Bindu Balesan, an assistant professor at Columbia University’s public health school. Idaho, West Virginia, Wyoming and Montana round out the list of states with top gun ownership, following Alaska. Delaware, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire are the only states where fewer than 15% of residents own guns, according to the research. **Read More:** [Gun Fatality Rates Vary Wildly By State, Study Finds](http://time.com/3399144/firearms-deaths-states/) The study also found a strong correlation between gun ownership and living in a so-called social gun culture. In such gun cultures, friends and family tend to own firearms and community members may attend gun-themed social events. Nearly 8% of respondents even said that their social life with family members involves guns. The correlation may suggest a way to reduce gun deaths and injuries outside of federal government lawmaking, which has proven ineffective, Balesan says. Instead of focusing on big policy changes, public health advocates may want to focus on changing gun culture. ### Portraits of Schoolkids Learning Firearm Safety in Rural Indiana, 1956  Caption from LIFE. Wide-eyed fascination is displayed by boys as Rankin holds his revolver with the cylinder opened to show them there are no shells in it. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In safety class instructor Rod Rankin is bombarded by Hobart, Ind., boys with questions about gun display and cartridge case in his belt. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Drawing bolt on 12-gauge shotgun, Johnny Cherela, 7, grimaces as he follows Rankin's instructions to check the chamber to see if gun is loaded. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Cringing class holds breath and ears as Rankin aims 30-30 rifle at can of water in demonstration to impress kids with the destructive power of guns. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Careening can splashes water through air as bullet hits it from 18 feet away. Later one of the awed boys told his mother how 'strong' the gun was. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gun safety instruction, Indiana, 1956. Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images “We need to think about strategies for social change like we did with tobacco,” she said. Gun violence remains a leading cause of death and injury in the U.S. More than 30,000 people are killed in a firearm-related incident each year, according to the [CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm). And while a third of those deaths are the result of homicide, many more are a result of suicide and accidents. More than 200,000 people are injured each year. But treating gun violence as a public health issue is going to be an uphill battle, even without relying on the federal government for new laws. Research dollars, for instance, are nearly impossible to come by, Balesan said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a huge source of money for health research, [hasn’t given out funding](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2015/01/14/why-the-cdc-still-isnt-researching-gun-violence-despite-the-ban-being-lifted-two-years-ago/) for gun violence studies and others are similarly reluctant to touch such a controversial issue. 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