woman gun owner demographic 2020
The Well Armed Woman Blog

Women and Guns 2020 Data: The Woman Gun Owner

The demographic data from the 2020 TWAW survey is in. Let’s look at who the woman gun owner is! The Well Armed Woman Survey was an anonymous survey that was open to women all over the United States. We were able to collect answers from 5,500 women! Below, we look at the demographic information such as age, marital status, salary, and information about their experience with guns.

*Click on the graphs to increase the size while reading through.

The Woman Gun Owner

Once again the majority of women are mature, ranging from age 46-65.  The graphics below tell an important story, one I have been telling the industry for years. You can see how all of the age groups play out in the graph below.

The Current Gun Narrative and Its Impact

The lower numbers for younger-aged women are not surprising. Sadly, the negative message on guns and the gun-owning community are being pushed aggressively to the younger generations. The more mature age group was raised in a time when guns were more accepted by society in most cases. In addition, I also believe that the more mature women have more discretionary funds and more time and are less influenced by swaying public opinion. This is where education and proper training can help educate and introduce guns to the younger generations. Not to necessarily put a gun in every woman’s hand – but to help them to understand that there is much more to gun ownership than what the media is describing.

Woman Gun Owner Age Distribution 2020

We also see most women gun owners are either married or in a domestic relationship with a joint income of over 100,000.

These women may have more discretionary income that they can devote to gun ownership and training. Although, across all income levels, the majority of women who spent money in the gun industry spent between $1-$500. We all know 2020 was a very different year and a lot of women noted they had other areas that had to be prioritized.

Woman Gun Owner income distribution 2020
Woman Gun Owner Marital Satus 2020

Interestingly, the years of gun ownership among women are pretty even across the board.  This indicates that women are finding support and encouragement upon their initial introduction to guns and are committed to their self-protection.  We are seeing a steady growth in the 10+ years group so it looks like we have women coming into the industry and staying! Check out the current data on women gun owners who are concealed carrying in the article Top Holster and Carry locations of 2020.

Woman Gun Owner Gun Ownership length 2020

The Number of Handguns Purchased

Let’s get into the gun data. What percentage of women purchased a handgun (or multiple handguns) in 2020? Very interestingly 38% of the women did not buy a handgun that year. I have no doubt that COVID-19 and the financial strain it has placed on so many Americans is the main cause. With a mere percentage point difference, 37% of respondents purchased at least 1 handgun. With the increased threat of sweeping gun control legislation gun sales skyrocketed in 2020.

Do you want to know what guns women purchased? Read my article Most Popular Guns Women Purchased in 2020

Handguns vs. Long Guns

We also compared what women gun owners spent on handguns and long guns. What we found was interesting.

Overall, the number of women who purchased handguns increased by 3% compared to 2019 but the number of women who purchased long guns remained the same as 2019 at 22%.

  • Percentage of women who purchased handguns – 62% in 2020 vs 59% in 2019
  • Percentage of women who purchased long guns 22% in 2020 vs 22% in 2019

Of these women who purchased handguns or long guns, you can see below that no matter the salary range the majority of women spent $1-$500 on gun purchases.

The Average Number of Guns Women Own

As far as the total number of guns women own, most have 1-2 guns coming in a combined 46%. Then as you may expect, the larger the number of guns, the more it tapers off. Interestingly, however, we do have a spike at 10+ guns (5%)!

Final Thoughts

The woman gun owner is not just one type of woman, we are so diverse! I love that about this space, women of all walks of life can come together around this common interest and bring us all together.

There are trends that make me excited for the future for women in the gun industry and some trends we need to work on as a group. As always I will do my best to educate and enlighten all people about the truth of gun ownership. Responsibility and confidence to live our lives are a big part of it. Trying to make people who don’t understand or are swayed by the media is an important role we gun owners must take on.

Securing gun ownership for future generations is at a very pivotal point right now and what we do now can change the outcome.

12 thoughts on “Women and Guns 2020 Data: The Woman Gun Owner

  1. Susan Voss-Crossette says:

    Thank You. Enjoy your website and look forward to your annual Surveys.

    Will Top 10 Most Popular Guns Women Purchased in 2021
    &
    Top 10 Guns Women Carried in 2021

    Be available?

    1. Carrie Lightfoot says:

      Hi Susan, I am so glad to hear you enjoy our data as much as I do! These articles will be released over the next few weeks – each will be announced via our email.

  2. Ginger Watkin says:

    I took the survey and I have to say that as a California gun owner, I am envious of those women who live in other states that can freely purchase a new handgun. I read several gun magazines, but in my case, when a new firearm comes out that I would love, I just put it on a wish list for the future when I either leave California or when California wakes up from it’s crazy gun fears and once again allows law abiding citizens to purchase a firearm that is safer and more easily operated by a woman of my age.

  3. Gail Tierney says:

    Thank you for your survey. I got into shooting skeet for fun about ten years ago and loved it when I was in my sixties. Five years ago I took handgun lessons and now, at over 70 years old, I own 2 handguns, one for home defense and one for concealed carry. Ergo, I get a lot out of reading your results. My challenge for the next year is to get my 39 year old daughter interested. She’s one of those academics who don’t see the need for gun ownership. Any tips?

    Keep up the good work!

    1. Carrie Lightfoot says:

      Hi Gail,
      This article may help with some ideas – Introducing Friends and Family To Guns.

  4. Theresa says:

    Great article and interesting statistics! I wasn’t around guns at all as a kid and, though I have some military training I never expected I would get involve with guns on my own as an adult. This last year really opened my eyes and now I’m at the range whenever possible and am considering competition shooting.

  5. Cherie Pulen says:

    Thank you for your information and website. Too often these days the media is about divide and conquer … in this instance it means no guns or equity when it comes to self-defense. Thank you so much for your support for women and self defense, gun education, etc etc. I am 72 yrs and now have the skills to protect myself (of course with continued instruction and practice).

  6. sandra tremblay says:

    This was really well done, and very easy to read. I found this to be very interesting.

  7. That is a great article!! Thank you so much for sharing.

  8. Kirsten says:

    I wonder if some of the age difference might also be explained by the ability to defend oneself. I know as I age, I feel safer with a gun than I would trying to defend myself with my hands or otherwise.

  9. Donna L. says:

    I took the survey and it is interesting to see where I fell among the other respondents.

  10. Patricia Perry says:

    I have my gun for protection , I recently moved to Central Oregon. I am an African American woman and with no hesitation use it as such.

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