Idaho gets big bang for gun buck

State ranks fifth in nation for depending economically on arms industry

By PRESS STAFF

Guns aren’t just plentiful in Idaho; they’re good for Idaho.

And that’s not just the opinion of tater state gun toters, either.

According to a new study by WalletHub.com, a personal finance website, Idaho ranks fifth in the nation for depending heavily economically on the arms and ammunition industry.

The Gem State ranked first in firearms industry jobs per capita, the industry's output per capita and gun-control contributions to congressional members per capita.

Since Donald Trump won the presidential election in November, gun sales in the country have gone down, according to WalletHub.

"And while that's good news to some, it could be a bad sign for state economies relying heavily on the firearms industry," wrote WalletHub senior writer Richie Bernardo.

Bernardo wrote guns contributed more than $51 billion to the nation's coffers in 2016 and generated nearly $7.4 billion in federal and state taxes, according to one estimate.

WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 13 metrics. The data set ranges from firearms industry jobs per capita to gun sales per 1,000 residents to gun ownership rate.

Idaho ranked third in gun ownership, fourth in gun-rights contributions to congressional members per capita and eighth in total taxes paid by the firearms industry per capita.

New Hampsire was ranked No. 1 for its economic dependence on the firearms industry.

Read more from Wallethub: States most dependent on the gun industry