Identity Theft Statistics
Identity Theft by the Numbers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reported that, "1 in 6 Americans will be a victim of identity theft this year alone. In the last twelve months, 9.93 million people have had some type of identity theft crime committed against them. Victims spend an average of $1,200 in out-of-pocket expenses and an average of 175 hours in… efforts to resolve the many problems caused by identity thieves." That got us wondering—what other statistics are available on identity theft? Here's an overview of what we found.
Identity Theft Statistics by State
Which states have the most identity theft victims? How about the least? We found this great list of state-by-state numbers for 2015 from Federal Trade Commission, released in February 2016. Totals are listed by state, first with total numbers, followed by victims per 100,000 and total number of victims. Go ahead and take a look; where does your state sit?
| Rank | State | Complaints per 100,000 population | Number of complaints |
| 1 | Missouri | 364.3 | 22,164 |
| 2 | Connecticut | 225 | 8,078 |
| 3 | Florida | 217.4 | 44,063 |
| 4 | Maryland | 183.2 | 11,006 |
| 5 | Illinois | 158.7 | 20,414 |
| 6 | Michigan | 158.1 | 15,684 |
| 7 | Georgia | 149.1 | 15,230 |
| 8 | Texas | 144.3 | 39,630 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 142 | 1,890 |
| 10 | California | 141.3 | 55,305 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | 141.2 | 1,491 |
| 12 | Ohio | 134.4 | 15,611 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 134.4 | 7,756 |
| 14 | Arizona | 133.8 | 9,136 |
| 15 | Washington | 126.1 | 9,043 |
| 15 | Oregon | 126.1 | 5,081 |
| 17 | New Jersey | 125.8 | 11,266 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | 125.5 | 8,530 |
| 19 | Nevada | 125 | 3,613 |
| 20 | Delaware | 124.9 | 1,181 |
| 21 | Colorado | 123.2 | 6,724 |
| 21 | Virginia | 123.2 | 10,329 |
| 23 | New York | 122 | 24,157 |
| 24 | Oklahoma | 120 | 4,695 |
| 25 | Pennsylvania | 116.2 | 14,877 |
| 26 | Maine | 113.9 | 1,514 |
| 27 | Kansas | 112.7 | 3,282 |
| 28 | Tennessee | 107.9 | 7,121 |
| 29 | North Carolina | 106 | 10,646 |
| 30 | Alabama | 102.3 | 4,973 |
| 30 | South Carolina | 102.3 | 5,010 |
| 32 | Idaho | 101.3 | 1,676 |
| 33 | New Mexico | 101.1 | 2,109 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 100.5 | 1,905 |
| 35 | Mississippi | 98.8 | 2,955 |
| 36 | Minnesota | 97.8 | 5,368 |
| 37 | Arkansas | 97.7 | 2,911 |
| 38 | Wyoming | 96.6 | 566 |
| 39 | Louisiana | 94.4 | 4,410 |
| 40 | Alaska | 94.3 | 696 |
| 41 | Indiana | 93.9 | 6,217 |
| 42 | Iowa | 89.7 | 2,803 |
| 43 | Montana | 87.2 | 901 |
| 44 | Utah | 85.7 | 2,567 |
| 45 | Vermont | 83.9 | 525 |
| 46 | Kentucky | 80.9 | 3,581 |
| 47 | West Virginia | 79.9 | 1,474 |
| 48 | North Dakota | 76 | 575 |
| 49 | South Dakota | 63.1 | 542 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 62.6 | 896 |
If you're curious, the site also includes yearly tables going back to 2003, so you can see how patterns have evolved over the years.
Some interesting identity theft facts
- Here are just a few of the eye-opening facts about identity theft:
There have been over 9 million identity theft victims a year for two years in a row.
(Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy & Research, January 2005) - There have been over 30 million identity theft victims in the past five years.
(Federal Trade Commission, 2003 and Better Business Bureau, 2005) - Identity theft has been the top consumer complaint to FTC five years in a row.
(Federal Trade Commission, National and State Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft, February 1, 2005)
There's no shortage of statistics on this fast-growing crime (although very current numbers seem a bit hard to track down). To find more, just type "identity theft statistics" into you favorite web browser's search window, and you'll be on your way.