Other offenses · FBI arrest data · 2024
Weapons (carrying, possessing) Arrests
149,455 arrests for weapons (carrying, possessing) were reported across the U.S. in 2024 — 2.2% of all reported arrests.
Who was arrested for weapons (carrying, possessing)
By sex & age
Shares of all weapons (carrying, possessing) arrests.
By race & ethnicity
Agencies report race and ethnicity separately from the age/sex counts, so shares below are of the 146,203 race entries reported (123,582 ethnicity entries) — a different universe than the total above, which it can undershoot or occasionally exceed.
| White | 67,443 | 46.1% |
| Black or African American | 75,135 | 51.4% |
| American Indian / Alaska Native | 1,415 | 1.0% |
| Asian / Pacific Islander | 2,210 | 1.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 28,902 | 23.4% |
States with the most weapons (carrying, possessing) arrests
Reported arrests, 2024 — reporting coverage varies by state.
| State | Arrests | Share of state's arrests |
|---|---|---|
| California | 19,405 | 3.2% |
| Texas | 15,364 | 2.8% |
| New York | 13,274 | 3.9% |
| Illinois | 9,857 | 5.3% |
| Michigan | 6,924 | 4.0% |
| Pennsylvania | 6,345 | 2.5% |
| North Carolina | 5,405 | 2.5% |
| Virginia | 5,260 | 2.6% |
| Ohio | 4,405 | 2.6% |
| Arizona | 4,204 | 2.0% |
| New Jersey | 3,795 | 2.5% |
| Wisconsin | 3,549 | 1.9% |
| Maryland | 3,443 | 3.0% |
| Florida | 3,435 | 1.6% |
| Tennessee | 2,895 | 1.2% |
More other offenses arrests
About this data
- Counts are arrests, not people. One person arrested twice counts twice; an arrest with several charges counts once, under the most serious charge.
- Reported agencies only. Figures cover the ~14,500 agencies in the FBI's 2024 Uniform Crime Reporting arrest (ASR) file — about 94–95% of the FBI's official national total, which additionally counts agencies that report only through NIBRS. Nothing here is estimated for non-reporting agencies, so totals slightly undercount and are not strictly comparable across areas with different reporting coverage.
- Location is the arresting agency's headquarters, not where the arrest happened. Multi-jurisdiction agencies (state police, sheriffs, transit police) concentrate in one county — county figures are approximate, and about 3% of arrests come from agencies that can't be placed in any county.
- Race and ethnicity are reported separately from the age/sex counts, and not for every arrest — race is reported for ≈95% of arrests, ethnicity for ≈81%. Shares here use those reported subtotals as denominators.
- No per-capita rates. Because reporting coverage varies by area, population-adjusted rates would mislead; we show counts only. Arrests measure enforcement activity, not crime rates.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2024 Arrest (ASR) master file. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI. How our data works.
Weapons (carrying, possessing) arrests — FAQ
How many weapons (carrying, possessing) arrests were there in the U.S. in 2024?+
149,455 arrests for weapons (carrying, possessing) were reported to the FBI in 2024 — 2.2% of all reported arrests. The true number is somewhat higher because not every agency reports.
Which state had the most weapons (carrying, possessing) arrests?+
California reported the most (19,405), followed by Texas (15,364) and New York (13,274). Reporting coverage varies by state.
Who gets arrested for weapons (carrying, possessing)?+
In 2024, 9.7% of weapons (carrying, possessing) arrests were of women and 10.9% were of juveniles under 18 (of 149,455 total).