Report Highlights: In 2025, 29 states have permitless concealed carry freedoms. More than half of them have lower crime rates after enacting the legislation (excluding Vermont, which never required permits).
- Twenty states passed concealed carry before January, 2023. 60% have crime rates below the national average.
- The average violent crime rate in permitless carry states is 354 per 100k. The national average, 391 per 100k, is around 10% higher.
- The 20 states that passed permitless carry legislation before 2023 had a collective decrease in violent crime of 2.88 per 100,000.
- Five of the 8 states restricting open carry have violent crime rates above the national average.
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Methodology
Violent crime and homicide rates are sourced from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER Database. All data used in this article is from those sources and cross-referenced with local reports to ensure accuracy.
Although 29 states have permitless carry (also referred to as Constitutional carry), only 20 enacted legislation to that effect prior to 2023 – when violent crime and homicide data became accessible. This analysis covers those 20 states where crime vs. legislation trends can be analyzed.
Violent crime, as defined by the FBI, includes homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
States with Concealed Carry
Twenty-nine states have permitless concealed carry legislation in 2025. Vermont has never required a permit to carry 1. Twenty of the 29 states with permitless carry enacted laws to that effect during or after 2021. Sixteen enacted laws allowing permitless carry after 2015.
Alaska, Arizona, and Wyoming have allowed permitless carry for over a decade, while Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina’s laws took effect in mid-2024. 10
[Graphic Source: Concealed Carry and Reciprocity]
Does Concealed Carry Reduce Crime?
Between January, 2000 and January, 2023, the 20 states that had permitless carry saw a collective decrease in violent crime rates of 2.88 per 100k. The average violent crime rate in these states was 354 per 100k; around 10% lower than the national violent crime rate of 391 per 100k.
Although the data aren’t definitive – and multiple variables impact criminality, including incarceration rates, policing, and socioeconomic factors – no evidence suggests that permitless carry legislation increases violent crime rates.
5 Reasons Concealed Carry Is Argued to Be Bad
Critics argue that concealed carry laws increase gun violence, create complications for law enforcement, and pose unnecessary risks to unarmed civilians in sensitive areas. It is also argued that there is little evidence that freedom to carry reduces crime, and a lack of training requirements may increase the risk of firearm misuse.
Continue reading Concealed Carry Crime Stats 2025: The Impact of Open Carry on Crime in the U.S. on Ammo.com
