We may earn revenue from products featured on this page through affiliate links.
This headline sounds simple, but the data behind it is not. Most concealed carry permits are tracked by states, often broken down by county or issuing office, and many states now have permitless carry, which makes “permits per capita” a less clean proxy for “how many people carry.” On top of that, some states publish active permit holders, others publish permits issued in a given year, and many don’t publish city-level numbers at all.
So here’s what I’m going to do in this article: I’m going to give you a fully transparent, best-available list of 10 cities, using the issuing jurisdiction data we can actually verify publicly, and I’m going to be painfully clear about what each number does—and does not—mean. If you’re looking for a perfect nationwide scoreboard, it doesn’t exist in public records right now. If you’re looking for a smart, honest look at “where permits are densest” using real government and reputable local reporting, this will get you there.
Read this first: the restrictions and why this list is “best available,” not perfect
Before you scroll for the list, you need to understand the limitations or you’ll walk away with the wrong takeaway. First, many states do not publish “permits by city,” because permits are typically issued and tracked at the state level, sometimes reported by county or circuit court, not municipal borders. Second, in permitless-carry states, permit counts can drop or flatten even if carry is common, because many people simply don’t need a permit to carry in their home state. Florida is a good example: it became permitless for eligible adults, but permits still matter for reciprocity and some purchase rules, so lots of people still keep them. Third, even when we have numbers, they’re not always the same kind of number: Florida reporting we can cite here includes active license holders in a county (a stock number), while Texas publishes license applications issued during a specific period (a flow number). Those aren’t apples-to-apples, and I’m not going to pretend they are. Instead, I’m labeling each city’s figure clearly: Florida entries are based on active concealed weapon licenses in the county (then compared to county population), while Texas entries are based on new LTC licenses issued from Sept. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2025 in the county (then compared to county population). Finally, “permits per capita” does not mean “crime risk,” “gun ownership,” or “how safe a city is.” It’s a measurement about permitting patterns and nothing more.
The list: 10 cities, the best public per-capita permit indicators available right now
1) The Woodlands, Texas (Montgomery County) — Texas DPS shows 10,035 LTC license applications issued in Montgomery County (Sept. 1, 2024–Aug. 31, 2025). The Census QuickFacts population estimate for Montgomery County (July 1, 2024) is 749,613, which works out to roughly 1,338 new LTCs per 100,000 residents during that reporting period.
2) Plano, Texas (Collin County) — Texas DPS lists 12,955 issued in Collin County. Collin County’s 2024 population estimate is 1,254,658, or about 1,033 per 100,000.
3) Denton, Texas (Denton County) — Texas DPS lists 10,983 issued in Denton County. Denton County’s 2024 population estimate is 1,045,120, or about 1,051 per 100,000.
4) Fort Worth, Texas (Tarrant County) — Texas DPS lists 20,624 issued in Tarrant County. Tarrant County’s 2024 population estimate is 2,230,708, or about 925 per 100,000.
5) San Antonio, Texas (Bexar County) — Texas DPS lists 16,724 issued in Bexar County. Bexar County’s 2024 population estimate is 2,127,737, or about 786 per 100,000.
6) Houston, Texas (Harris County) — Texas DPS lists 36,553 issued in Harris County. Harris County’s 2024 population estimate is 5,009,302, or about 730 per 100,000.
7) Dallas, Texas (Dallas County) — Texas DPS lists 18,234 issued in Dallas County. Dallas County’s 2024 population estimate is 2,656,028, or about 686 per 100,000.
8) Austin, Texas (Travis County) — Texas DPS lists 7,906 issued in Travis County. Travis County’s 2024 population estimate is 1,363,767, or about 580 per 100,000.
9) Jacksonville, Florida (Duval County) — Jacksonville Today reported 102,071 residents of Duval County with active concealed weapons permits, and cited a county population of 1,051,278 at the time of publication, describing Duval’s permit rate as 9.71%. Census QuickFacts puts Duval County at 1,055,159 in July 2024, which lands in the same neighborhood for a per-capita view.
10) Miami, Florida (Miami-Dade County) — NBC Miami reported 186,435 license holders in Miami-Dade County, citing Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as the source. Census QuickFacts lists Miami-Dade’s July 2024 population at 2,838,461, which puts that active-license count at roughly 6,568 per 100,000 (about 6.6%) based on those two sources.
Why these places float to the top, even when “big cities carry less” is the stereotype
If you expected this to be all tiny rural towns, here’s why it isn’t: we’re using issuing-jurisdiction reporting that’s actually public and verifiable, and some of the cleanest datasets are county-based, which naturally highlights counties that include major cities. Texas also publishes a nice, clean county report for “license applications issued” each fiscal year, which makes per-capita comparisons possible if you pair it with Census population estimates. The other thing that jumps out is that suburban counties (Montgomery, Collin, Denton) post strong per-capita issuance relative to their populations, which fits what most people see anecdotally: plenty of carry interest, a lot of range and training culture, and a high number of residents who still want permits even in a permitless-carry state like Texas, because an LTC still has practical benefits in Texas (for example, carry in additional places compared to permitless carry, depending on the situation) and can smooth travel reciprocity. Florida is its own animal: permits still matter for reciprocity and certain purchase rules, and local reporting notes those ongoing incentives even after permitless carry.
What these numbers do not mean, and what most “top 10” lists get wrong
Two big warnings. First, Texas numbers here are new LTCs issued in a 12-month period, not total active permit holders. A county with a large pool of existing permit holders could show a “low” annual issuance rate simply because most people who want an LTC already have one. Second, Florida numbers here are active license holders, and Florida is permitless for eligible adults, meaning the permit population is shaped by travel reciprocity and personal preference, not strictly by “who carries.” Also, city boundaries don’t match county boundaries cleanly. “Plano” isn’t the same thing as “Collin County,” and “The Woodlands” isn’t the same thing as “Montgomery County.” This is a best-available public-data approach, not a perfect city-resident ledger. If a list online doesn’t explain these issues, it’s usually doing one of two things: guessing, or mixing incompatible datasets without telling you.
If you’re reading this because you carry (or plan to), here’s the practical takeaway
Whether your city made the list has nothing to do with whether you personally should carry. Carry is a responsibility problem, not a trend problem. If you’re going to carry, do the boring things: get a real holster, get a belt that supports it, and train enough that you can actually hit what you aim at under stress. If you travel, understand reciprocity and storage rules before you cross state lines. And if you live in a permitless state, don’t assume “permitless” means “no rules.” It usually means “no permit required,” while restrictions on prohibited places, signage, and lawful conduct still apply. Florida’s own resources outline that permitless carry doesn’t remove location restrictions, and it’s on the carrier to know them. If you want one simple piece of gear that makes “real life carry” safer without getting weird about it, a quality lockbox is hard to argue against for vehicle storage and travel days—something like the StopBox Pro (sold at Bass Pro) is built specifically for quick access while still preventing casual access when you need to secure the gun temporarily.
Like The Avid Outdoorsman’s content? Be sure to follow us.
Here’s more from us:
