The number of permits to carry firearms issued in Minnesota each year continues to decline.

According to data from the BCA, county sheriffs across the state issued 57,248 permits to carry in 2024.

That’s the lowest total in four years.

Many more people were granted permits in 2020 (96,554) and 2021 (106,488), years marked by large spikes in violent crime and the economic downturn prompted by the COVID pandemic.

According to the BCA, sheriffs reported that people with permits committed 5,340 crimes in 2024. While that number is the highest number reported since the state law granting permits was passed in 2003, officials say the percent of permit holders who commit crimes — about one percent — is on par with recent years.

And they say the majority of those crimes involve DWIs or other traffic-related infractions.