Study: Idaho depends on guns
When it comes to guns, we’re No. 1.
Idaho is the state most dependent on the multibillion-dollar gun industry. We have the most firearms industry output per capita, the most gun-related jobs, the most immunity for the gun industry (i.e., legal liability), and the least gun control-related contributions to Congress (literally none). So finance research site WalletHub ranked Idaho first in its 2018 report “States Most Dependent on the Gun Industry.”
The western U.S. ranked high overall, with Idaho followed in descending order by Montana, Alaska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. Maryland ranks last; most of the 10 state economies least gun-dependent are eastern, with the exceptions of Illinois, Hawaii, and California.
While Idaho has the highest firearm jobs rate (40.05 per 10,000 residents, compared to New Jersey’s lowest at 2.06), we have the third-highest gun ownership rate (56.9 percent). Alaska has the highest at 61.7 percent.
Idaho’s firearm industry average annual wages (with benefits) rank relatively low in dollar amount at $43,825, although our relatively low cost of living must be considered for context. Connecticut has the highest average wages, $75,708 — 2.2 times higher than New Mexico’s lowest of $34,416. According to another report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (an industry trade association), the national average gun industry wage is $50,423.
WalletHub ranks Idaho eighth in amount of excise taxes paid by the industry per capita ($6.08); Wyoming has the highest at $9.34. That’s 14.8 times higher than in New York, which has the lowest industry taxes per capita at $0.63.
Sales in Idaho are also in WalletHub’s top 10, ranking ninth at 111.3 sales per 1,000 residents. However, U.S. gun sales are down since President Trump took office, speculatively due to public confidence in their availability.
Over the preceding three decades, U.S. gun production had tripled. Nine million firearms were produced in 2015, compared with 3 million in 1986, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to the NSSF’s 2017 “Firearms and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact Report,” the firearms industry added about 30,000 new jobs from 2014 through 2016 (NSSF also ranked Idaho No. 1 in industry jobs per capita). The NSSF report also concluded that guns contributed more than $51 billion to the U.S. economy and generated over $6.5 billion in taxes in 2016.
For more information see Nssf.org/government-relations/impact and Wallethub.com/edu/states-most-dependent-on-the-gun-industry/18719/.
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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.