Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
If Hollywood made a movie about the average concealed carrier, they’d probably cast a retired rancher wearing camouflage, chewing beef jerky, and yelling at clouds.
According to new research from the Crime Prevention Research Center, reality looks a whole lot different.
In fact, some of the survey’s most surprising findings completely blow up many of the stereotypes surrounding who carries a gun.
The CPRC commissioned McLaughlin & Associates to survey 1,000 likely general-election voters in May 2026. The results showed that 29.8% of likely voters carry a concealed handgun at least occasionally, up from 24.3% in a similar survey conducted in December 2024.
That’s a pretty significant jump in less than two years.
The share carrying all or most of the time remained relatively stable at 13.2%, but the percentage carrying sometimes or rarely jumped from 11.2% to 16.6%. In other words, America isn’t necessarily creating more hardcore daily carriers: it’s creating a lot more people who carry when they think they might need to.
Table of contents
Constitutional Carry States Keep Pulling Ahead
No surprise here. People living in the nation’s 29 constitutional-carry states reported carrying more frequently than those living in traditional right-to-carry states.
According to the survey:
- Constitutional Carry States: 34.2% carry
- Right-to-Carry States: 26.0% carry
That’s a pretty sizable gap. The data also suggests constitutional carry laws increase actual carry rates beyond what permit numbers alone would predict.
The Urban Surprise
Now for the part that might make some gun-control activists spit out their oat milk latte. Urban residents are carrying at much higher rates than many people assume.
While urban voters make up about 31% of likely voters, they account for nearly 43% of those who carry all or most of the time. Apparently concealed carriers aren’t all living in hunting cabins three hours from civilization.
Black and Hispanic Americans Are Overrepresented
The survey also found Black and Hispanic voters carry at disproportionately high rates. Black voters account for 11% of likely voters but nearly 16% of those carrying all or most of the time.
Hispanic voters also represented a larger share of frequent carriers than their overall share of the electorate. That’s another finding that doesn’t exactly fit the caricatures often pushed by either side of the gun debate.
Women Are Closing the Gap
Men still carry more frequently than women. But not by nearly as much as many people might think.
Women make up 45.1% of those carrying all or most of the time nationally. In constitutional-carry states, that climbs to nearly 48%. At this point, the old “guns are just a guy thing” narrative is looking pretty dated.
The Political Curveball
Here’s where things get really interesting.
The survey found both very conservative and very liberal voters were overrepresented among frequent carriers.
Yes, you read that correctly. Not just conservatives.
Very liberal voters accounted for 24.6% of frequent carriers despite making up only 12.9% of likely voters. Very conservative voters were also overrepresented.
Translation: if you think everyone carrying a Glock is voting the same way, you might want to update your software.
The “What Are the Odds?” Question
The CPRC also tackled an interesting thought experiment.
If roughly 13% of likely voters carry all or most of the time, what are the odds someone in a crowd is armed?
Their calculations suggest those odds climb surprisingly fast as group sizes increase. In many ordinary public settings outside gun-free zones, the likelihood that at least one adult is legally carrying becomes much higher than many people realize.
That’s a reality that tends to make both criminals and gun-control advocates uncomfortable.
The bigger takeaway?
Concealed carry continues to grow, but perhaps more importantly, it’s becoming increasingly mainstream across demographics that many people never associated with gun ownership in the first place.
And if these trends continue, the image of the “typical gun owner” may become impossible to define.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
Experience:
– Licensed Bowhunter, Hunter, and Trapper – Experienced in ethical hunting and wildlife conservation.
– Concealed Carry Permit Holder (NYS & AZ) – Trained and licensed to carry in multiple states.
– 2A Journalist – Covering firearms legislation, Second Amendment issues, and gun rights for over a decade.
– Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) – Certified to provide emergency medical care in the field.
– Field-Tested Gear Reviewer – Hands-on experience with firearms, optics, and hunting tech.