What Gun Owners Want in a Vehicle Safe: New National Study of 1,856 Firearm Owners
Millions of Americans leave a firearm in their vehicle at some point, often because they can't legally carry it into work, school, a hospital or a bar. A team of public health researchers at UTHealth Houston, Johns Hopkins and Rutgers asked 1,856 firearm owners across the U.S. what they actually use to secure a gun in a vehicle, and what they want from a vehicle safe. The answers point to one device type more than any other: the center console safe.1
Vehicles are now a leading source of stolen guns
Gun theft has shifted from homes to cars. A 2025 Council on Criminal Justice analysis of police data found that vehicles were involved in about 31% of reported gun thefts in 2018 and about 40% by 2022. Over the same period, the rate of guns stolen from vehicles rose 31%, while the rate of guns stolen in burglaries fell 40%.7 Stolen guns are a major source of illegal gun markets.1
Keeping a gun in the car raises the risk. In a separate national survey, owners who stored a gun in their car had about 3.6 times the odds of having a gun stolen.8
Local data shows what that looks like. In San Antonio alone, police recorded 2,465 firearm thefts from vehicles in 2024, an average of about seven a day. Pickup trucks accounted for nearly 70% of them, and 91% of the stolen guns were handguns.5,6
How often guns are left in vehicles, and why
The same UTHealth Houston team found that about 27% of firearm owners have left a gun in an unattended vehicle. That works out to an estimated 21.8 million adults, about 4.8 million of whom do it regularly.2,3 The center console was the most common spot (nearly 25%), followed by the glove compartment (16.7%), under a seat or floor mat (12.9%) and the trunk (9.2%). Only 19.7% of people who leave a gun in a vehicle said they use a dedicated lockbox or console safe.3
The leading reason was legal: restrictions on carrying in places like workplaces, schools and bars.3 Earlier research by the team also found that people who bought a firearm after the March 2020 buying surge were more likely to store a gun in a vehicle, including unlocked.9
Weapons screening is adding to the pressure. In Columbus, Ohio, Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center now has metal detectors at every public entrance. In September 2025 alone, they flagged 42 firearms.10 When guns aren't allowed inside, they often stay in the car. We covered what that means for concealed carry holders in Metal Detectors Are Expanding Everywhere.
What happens when a gun is stolen from a vehicle
A national study by the team, published in Prevention Science in 2026, asked firearm owners about thefts from their vehicles. 2.7% said they had had a gun stolen from a vehicle. Most thefts were from pickup trucks, sedans and SUVs, often parked in driveways or on nearby streets, and frequently late at night. Thieves forced their way in, broke windows or simply opened unlocked doors.4
The stolen guns had usually been kept in easy-to-reach places like the glove compartment, center console or under a seat, and few owners had used a dedicated locking device. Most stolen guns were never recovered. Afterward, 72.9% of victims stopped leaving guns in unattended vehicles and 29% added security technology to their vehicle.4
The law is moving too. Several states now require that firearms left in unattended vehicles be stored in a locked, hard-sided container, including Colorado (HB24-1348) and Virginia (HB110, 2026).1,11,12
About the new study
The survey was run online by YouGov in February and March 2026 with 1,856 U.S. adults who own a working firearm, weighted to reflect the national population. Respondents saw photos of seven commercially available in-vehicle storage devices, chosen because they came up most often in Google searches. For each device, they said whether they already have one installed in the vehicle they usually drive and, if not, whether they would use one. They then rated how important nine features are when choosing a vehicle storage device.1
The researchers also looked separately at the 467 respondents who said they leave a firearm in an unattended vehicle at least occasionally.1
Finding 1: The center console safe is the most owned vehicle storage device
Among all firearm owners surveyed, 15.4% already have a center console safe installed in the vehicle they usually drive, more than any other device type. Cable lockboxes came second at 12.6%, and every other device was under 7%.1
| Device type | All owners | Leave guns in vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| Center console safe | 15.4% | 27.4% |
| Cable lockbox | 12.6% | 23.1% |
| Trunk safe | 6.3% | 14.2% |
| Biometric lock | 4.7% | 12.5% |
| Under-seat safe | 4.1% | 9.3% |
| Headrest safe | 3.1% | 7.5% |
| Booster seat safe | 2.5% | 6.7% |
Share who currently have each device installed. Source: Testa et al., Table 2 (weighted percentages).1
Among owners who leave a gun in their vehicle, ownership roughly doubled across the board, and more than 1 in 4 already uses a center console safe.1
Finding 2: It's also the device people are most willing to use
Respondents who didn't already own a given device were asked whether they would use it. The center console safe had the strongest response of the seven: 21.9% said they would definitely use one and 58.9% said they would consider it. Only 19.2% said they would never use one, the lowest rejection rate of any device. By comparison, 37.3% to 54.0% said they would never use a trunk safe, cable lockbox, under-seat safe, biometric lock or headrest safe, and 72.2% rejected the booster seat safe.1
The gap is wider among people who leave a gun in their vehicle: 30.5% of non-owners would definitely use a center console safe, and only 10.2% would never use one.1
Finding 3: What firearm owners want in a vehicle safe
When asked which features matter most, owners were clear. These are the shares rating each feature "absolutely essential":1
| Feature | All owners | Leave guns in vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| Resistant to theft | 76.4% | 65.7% |
| Quick access to the firearm | 63.6% | 70.2% |
| Easily hidden from plain view | 58.0% | 47.3% |
| Fits my vehicle's make and model | 54.7% | 51.4% |
| Easy to install | 41.7% | 39.5% |
| Affordable | 39.2% | 40.9% |
| Easy to uninstall or remove | 35.4% | 33.2% |
| Overall appearance in the vehicle | 21.1% | 18.8% |
| Works for both handguns and long guns | 11.8% | 12.5% |
Share rating each feature "absolutely essential." Source: Testa et al., Table 3 (weighted percentages).1
Four features stood out: theft resistance, quick access, concealment and a fit made for the specific vehicle. For people who regularly leave a gun in their vehicle, quick access edged out theft resistance as the top priority.1 Looks mattered least. Owners care far more about what a safe does than about how it looks. For a closer look at each feature, see The Top Vehicle Gun Safe Features You Should Look For.
How Console Vault lines up with what owners asked for
A Console Vault® is a center console safe: heavy-gauge steel with a secure lock that installs inside your vehicle's existing console. The study itself describes the device that way, and it cites the Console Vault safe sold through Ford as an example of the growing market for vehicle storage.1,13 Here's how that design maps to the four features owners ranked highest:
- Theft resistance: Steel construction and a locking mechanism built into the console, instead of a portable box a thief can carry off.
- Quick access: Your firearm stays where your hand already goes, in the center console between the front seats.
- Concealment: The safe sits inside the center console, so there's nothing on display through the window.
- Vehicle fit: Each Console Vault is made for specific makes, models and years. Find the one made for your vehicle.
What the research doesn't tell us
The researchers are careful about the limits of their work, and so are we. The new survey measured what owners own and what they say they'd use. It didn't test whether any device prevents theft; the authors list that as a question for future research. The sample came from an opt-in online panel, weighted to match the U.S. population, and people answered based on photos rather than handling the products. The seven devices shown also don't cover every product on the market.1 The vehicle theft study was based on 53 theft victims, and its authors call for larger studies.4
Even so, this is the first national look at what firearm owners want from vehicle storage. The message is consistent: owners want a safe that's hard to steal, fast to open, out of sight and made for their vehicle. The UTHealth Houston team has more research on the way, and we'll update this post as it's published.
Sources
- Testa A, Thompson J, Jackson DB, Semenza DC, Tsai J. "Firearm Owners' Use of and Preferences for Firearm Storage Devices in Vehicles." Manuscript under peer review, 2026. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. Funded by The Fund for a Safer Future; the authors declare no competing interests.
- Testa A, Thompson J, Carriker C, Jackson D, Semenza D, Tsai J. "Prevalence, correlates, and patterns of leaving firearms unattended in vehicles among US firearm owners." Injury Epidemiology. 2026;13:42. doi:10.1186/s40621-026-00688-z
- Dolan EW. "Millions of American gun owners leave firearms in cars, often in unlocked consoles." PsyPost. August 29, 2026. psypost.org
- Testa A, Thompson J, Jackson D, Tsai J. "Firearm Thefts from Vehicles in the United States: Results from a National Survey of Firearm Owners." Prevention Science. 2026. doi:10.1007/s11121-026-01975-3
- Testa A, Thompson J, Mijares L, Ramphul R, Jackson D, Tsai J. "Patterns and characteristics of firearm thefts from vehicles in San Antonio, Texas." Injury Epidemiology. 2025;12:72. doi:10.1186/s40621-025-00630-9
- UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. "San Antonio saw average of 7 guns per day stolen out of cars in 2024, UTHealth Houston research finds." December 2025. sph.uth.edu
- Azrael D, Parker ST. "Trends in Gun Theft: Leveraging Data to Inform Crime Policy." Council on Criminal Justice. June 2025. counciloncj.org
- Hemenway D, Miller M, Mason E, Fischer S, Azrael D. "Gun theft from private citizens in the US 2020–2024: victims and circumstances from a national survey." Injury Epidemiology. 2026;13:11. doi:10.1186/s40621-025-00653-2
- Testa A, Semenza DC, Anestis M. "Storage of firearms in vehicles: findings from a sample of firearm owners in nine U.S. states." Injury Epidemiology. 2024;11:50. doi:10.1186/s40621-024-00525-1
- Gano A. "Wexner Medical Center has new metal detectors, here's what it's detected." The Lantern. November 13, 2025. thelantern.com
- Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1348, Secure Firearm Storage in a Vehicle. 2024. leg.colorado.gov
- Virginia General Assembly. HB110, Handguns in unattended motor vehicle; definitions, penalty. 2026. lis.virginia.gov
- Ford Motor Company. "Console Vault Vehicle Safe for Full Floor Console." Ford.com. ford.com
Disclosure: Console Vault's team spoke with the UTHealth Houston researchers and helped with the project while the survey was being developed. Console Vault did not fund the research, and the study's authors report no competing interests. Always follow the firearm storage and transport laws in your state and in any state you travel through.