By Owen Miller
Suppressors have never been more popular in the United States. After the federal transfer tax on suppressors dropped from $200 to $0 on January 1, 2026 — a change enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and driven by a years-long ASA effort — consumer demand reached record levels, and the national registry has now surpassed 6.5 million registered suppressors. But that national number hides an important question: where are all these suppressors?
For the first time, ASA can answer that with some precision. Through a Freedom of Information Act request fulfilled by the ATF in May 2026, ASA obtained a state-by-state and caliber-by-caliber breakdown of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The dataset covers 5,767,293 state-attributable suppressors(about 94% of what is listed in the NFRTR) and reveals a market that is far from evenly distributed. It is concentrated in the South and Mountain West, shaped by state law, and split along regional lines in what buyers actually purchase.
Where the suppressors are
In raw numbers, the suppressor market is a Sun Belt story. Texas alone accounts for 944,959 registered suppressors — roughly one in every six in the country, and more than twice the total of second-place Florida (401,064). Georgia (265,010), Utah (198,839), and North Carolina (196,705) round out the top five. The top ten states together hold more than half of the national registry.
These totals track a combination of forces: state population, the strength of local hunting and shooting culture, the regulatory climate, and, to a lesser extent, how much dealer and manufacturer inventory happens to be registered in-state. Large, gun-friendly states naturally rise to the top. But raw counts are also supported by the biggest states (excluding those that ban civilian ownership) simply because they have the most people. Suppressor ownership runs deepest in those states with a combination of strong hunting and shooting traditions and fewer state-level firearm regulations. Several states with lower populations overall, have high per-capita suppressor ownership rates, including Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming.
Raw counts by state
| State | Suppressors | State | Suppressors | State | Suppressors | ||
| TX | 944,959 | AL | 135,529 | NV | 78,017 | CT | 37,151 |
| FL | 401,064 | MI | 128,554 | MS | 76,136 | AK | 31,354 |
| GA | 265,010 | MO | 127,014 | KS | 74,550 | CA | 26,100 |
| UT | 198,839 | LA | 124,858 | MT | 74,434 | ME | 22,332 |
| NC | 196,705 | OK | 119,948 | NH | 72,626 | NJ | 13,806 |
| PA | 189,610 | OR | 119,213 | IA | 68,238 | NY | 11,777 |
| VA | 189,007 | SC | 117,360 | MD | 66,788 | VT | 9,324 |
| AZ | 181,522 | SD | 117,209 | NE | 57,779 | IL | 5,019 |
| WA | 169,096 | WI | 115,208 | ND | 46,622 | DE | 1,286 |
| CO | 160,370 | KY | 100,702 | NM | 42,864 | RI | 671 |
| OH | 159,744 | ID | 97,856 | WY | 40,536 | HI | 516 |
| TN | 157,924 | MN | 94,850 | WV | 38,787 | ||
| IN | 137,525 | AR | 83,494 | MA | 37,410 | ||
| 50-State Total | 5,767,293 |
The eight prohibition states
At the opposite extreme sit the eight states that prohibit or heavily restrict civilian suppressor ownership: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Their registry totals are strikingly low — Hawaii shows just 516, Rhode Island 671, Delaware 1,286, Illinois 5,019. What little exists is almost entirely law enforcement, government, and some dealer inventory rather than private ownership. California, the nation’s most populous state, registers just 26,100 suppressors, fewer than North Dakota.
These states also represent the industry’s largest untapped opportunity. Together they are home to more than 90 million Americans who currently have no legal path to suppressor ownership. ASA is leading legal challenges to these bans, and the ground is shifting. On June 18, 2026, the Fifth Circuit ruled in United States v. Comeaux that suppressors are “bearable arms” protected by the Second Amendment, creating a circuit split that positions the question for the Supreme Court. Should these bans fall and suppressor ownership is legalized through litigation the industry will be positioned to meet nearly a century of pent-up demand.
What buyers choose and where
The FOIA data also broke down the registry by caliber, and nationally four segments dominate. The 7.62mm family (.30, .300, .308, and 7.62 variants) is the single largest category at 34.4%, followed by .22 rimfire (21.9%), the 5.56mm/.223 family (17.8%), and 9mm (12.2%). Together these account for more than 85% of all registered suppressors.
The starkest contrast is California and Hawaii, where the caliber mix is unlike anywhere else: 66.4% is 5.56mm — nearly four times the national baseline. That is a direct reflection of prohibition. With civilian ownership off the table, the registry there is dominated by law enforcement agencies whose acquisitions favor 5.56mm patrol and tactical rifles rather than the diverse, hunting-driven mix seen in free states.
What it means for the industry
- Ideal product mix varies by geography. A dealer in Texas or Montana should stock deep in 7.62mm hunting cans; one in the Pacific Northwest should favor rimfire. The “average” national caliber mix describes almost no individual market.
- First-time buyers favor versatility. A newly expanded, less experienced customer base favors one multi-caliber can for their whole collection rather than a dedicated suppressor for each firearm. As they gain experience, they will expand their collection and specialize.
- One of the biggest areas for growth is still locked up. The prohibition states hold a fraction of the suppressors their populations would otherwise support. Favorable litigation, spearheaded by ASA and our partners would not just open eight new markets; it would open the eight markets with the most catching up to do.
Owen Miller is Vice President of the American Suppressor Association.