Texas has quietly reached a milestone: More than a million residents now have handgun licenses, one of the biggest citizenries in the country authorized to carry concealed and unconcealed firearms. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is one of them, as is the state’s only living former Democratic governor, Mark W. White Jr. These license holders, just 3.7 percent of the state’s 27 million residents, are a symbol of the nation’s culture wars and a subject of scrutiny, state pride, controversy and curiosity.

1,017,618

People in Texas licensed to carry handguns

As of April 30, there were 1,017,618 active handgun license holders in Texas, according to the state agency that oversees the process, the Department of Public Safety. That means there are more people in Texas with permission to carry a gun than there are residents of the city of Fort Worth. Texas’ numbers far exceed those in several other states. Oklahoma has more than 251,000. South Carolina has 276,084. Washington State, 534,978. Tennessee, 555,865. But at least one state has more license holders: Florida, with 1,743,954.

However, Texas, with 5,672 permits issued per 100,000 adults 21 and over, is not the state with the most gun permits per capita. Florida (11,965 permits per 100,000 adults), Tennessee (11,851 per 100,000 adults) and Washington State (10,635 per 100,000 adults) are some of the leaders by that measure.

139,563

License holders in the state’s most populous county

The county with the most license holders — 139,563 — is Harris, which includes Houston and is the most populous county in Texas, with 4.5 million residents. More people are licensed to be armed in Harris County than in the entire state of Louisiana (94,638 license holders).