Oklahoma leads the nation in the category of Second Amendment rights’ contributions to congressional members (per capita), according the WalletHub’s “2019’s States Most Dependent on the Gun Industry.”
To determine the states that depend most heavily on the arms and ammunitions industry both directly for jobs and political contributions and indirectly through firearm ownership, WalletHub compared the states across 17 keys ranging from firearms industry jobs per capita to gun sales per 1,000 residents to gun ownership rate.
Here’s how Oklahoma ranked:
(1=Most Dependent; 25=Avg.)
- 29th – Gun Ownership Rate
- 25th – Firearms-Industry Jobs per Capita
- 18th – Total Taxes Paid by Firearms Industry per Capita
- 18th – NICS Background Checks per Capita
- 1st – Gun-Control Contributions to Congressional Members per Capita
- 9th – Gun-Rights Contributions to Congressional Members per Capita
Gun sales have been down since Donald Trump won the White House, with a 6.1 percent decline in 2018 alone. And while that’s good news to some, it could be a bad sign for state economies relying heavily on the firearms industry. By one estimate, guns contributed more than $52 billion to the U.S. economy and generated over $6.8 billion in federal and state taxes in 2018.
The rankings of state dependency on the gun industry are:
- Idaho,
- Alaska
- South Dakota
- Wyoming
- Arkansas
- North Dakota
- Kentucky
- Oklahoma
- Montana, Tennessee
New Hampshire, Idaho and Montana are tied atop the category of “most firearms-industry jobs per capita.” New Jersey has the lowest.
Connecticut is No. 1 in “highest average wages and benefits in the firearms industry” and New Mexico has the lowest average.
New Hampshire and Idaho have the highest total firearms-industry output per capita and Hawaii is last.
The rating for the highest gun ownership is:
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Idaho
- West Virginia
- Wyoming.
The lowest gun ownership ratings are:
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Delaware.
In the category of background checks per capita, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia and Idaho are tied at the top. Hawaii has the lowest.