Advertisement Half of all U.S. guns are owned by just 3 percent of adults New Harvard/Northeastern research previewed by The Guardian and The Trace Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Of the 256 million guns in America, more than half are concentrated in the hands of just 3 percent of adults, according to a new survey.That startling statistic comes from an unpublished survey by Harvard and Northeastern Universities. The results of the research were previewed Monday by The Guardian and The Trace.While the percentage of Americans who own guns has decreased from 25 percent to 22 percent since 1994, the number of firearms in the nation increased by 70 million. Among the top 3 percent of Americans, the average arsenal now consists of 17 guns each, according to the reports.More than half of all gun owners possess just one or two, the survey found.While those statistics may seem surprising, The Guardian interviewed a criminologist and marketing experts who said the rates were not unexpected.According to The Guardian, the most devoted consumers often account for the vast majority of a product's sales.Overall, the survey reports that gun owners were more likely to be self-described conservatives than liberals and more likely to be white males than part of any other demographic. Americans who owned a mix of handguns and long guns were also found to be less diverse than Americans who own only handguns.The research was based on answers provided by a nationally representative panel of 4,000 people who were paid to take surveys on various issues by a market research company. Get the WCVB News App