See Where North Dakota Ranks For Highest Percentage Of Hunters

North Dakota has its fair share of hunters.

The deer gun opener almost used to seem like a holiday.  Just about everybody took that Friday off.  Even some schools made that a vacation day.  It literally looked like a sea of blaze orange if ventured into the country during deer season.

Things have changed somewhat over the last 20 years. 

Fewer and fewer people are hunting. Even in North Dakota.  According to an article I came across on Stacker, the main reasons include the rise in the urbanization of the United States, more hunting land being transformed into farmland, lack of free time among hunters, and less access to hunting land.

In North Dakota, gaining access to quality hunting land is becoming more of a challenge.

Mainly due to the rise of guides and outfitters in the state tying up large tracks of land.  Not to mention North Dakota is one of the most popular destinations in the country for out-of-state hunters.

With no restrictions on the number of out-of-state hunters who hunt waterfowl, for example, it can get pretty crowded at times in the country. The non-resident waterfowl season starts this weekend in North Dakota.  Competition for gaining access to fields and sloughs can be challenging.

The #1 reason why people no longer hunt in North Dakota?

From the people I've talked to over the years, by far the most common answer is not having a place to hunt.

Me, as a lifelong hunter I understand their frustration.  It's not the way it once was. There are still plenty of opportunities out there from generous landowners, but it may require some work these days.

So, where does North Dakota rank in the United States when it comes to the highest percentage of hunters?

According to an article on 24/7 Wall Street, states were ranked based on the number of paid hunting licenses issued per 1000 residents (this is data from 2022-newest data I could find).

Here are the Top 10 States with the highest percentage of hunters per 1000 people.

10.  Tennessee with 12.0% of people owning a hunting license.

9.  Nebraska with 12.3% of people owning a hunting license.

8.  Alaska with 12.8% of people owning a hunting license.  (I thought Alaska would be much higher)

7.  West Virginia with 14.9% of people owning a hunting license.

6.  Idaho with 15.0% of people owning a hunting license.

5.  Maine with 15.4% of people owning a hunting license.

4.  NORTH DAKOTA with 19% of people owning a hunting license.  (I thought this would be higher too.)

3.  Montana with 21.1% of people owning a hunting license.

2.  Wyoming with 22.7% of people owning a hunting license.

1.  SOUTH DAKOTA with 25.0% of people owning a hunting license.  1 in 4 people in South Dakota hunt!

Other notables:

Minnesota with 9.5% of people owning a hunting license good for #14 in the country.

Dead last?  California with 0.7% of people owning a hunting license.  Go figure right?

You can see the whole list of 50 states here.