Identity Theft Statistics: U.S. Cities and States With the Worst Identity Theft Problems

Identity theft claims millions of victims in the U.S. every year, impacting them financially and leaving them with a lengthy, hassle-ridden recovery process. While criminals certainly don’t discriminate when it comes to finding victims, are certain cities and states more vulnerable than others?

To find out, the All About Cookies team analyzed data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to discover where identity theft is most prevalent, where the crime is increasing in frequency, the most common kinds of identity theft across the country, and more.

Key Findings

• Identity theft reports increased by 9% across the country last year, the first time the number of identity theft reports rose year-over-year since 2021.
• Stolen credit card information is the most common form of identity theft, as 40% of all identity theft reports involve credit cards.
• Identity theft reports increased by 26% in Louisiana last year, the biggest increase of any state.

Identity theft across the nation rose 9% in 2024

In our increasingly digital world, identity theft has become something that people are more aware of than ever before. Identity theft protection has grown into a significant industry, with various companies offering programs that constantly track and review the personal data of users for unusual and unauthorized charges and changes.

While there’s increased cultural awareness and vigilance when it comes to identity theft, how has that impacted how often the crime occurs?

Overall, it appears to be helping, as the number of identity theft reports filed to the Federal Trade Commission fell by more than 300,000 from 2021 to 2022 before falling by a further 70,000 reports the following year.

That downward trend was reversed last year, however, as reported incidents of identity theft rose by nearly 100,000 between 2023 and 2024, which may indicate that identity thieves have discovered new tools to combat existing protections, such as how to use generative AI to craft more compelling lures.

The most common kinds of identity theft

Not all forms of identity theft are created equal, with some forms being employed more often by cyber criminals. We found out which kinds of identity theft were most common last year.

Credit card information theft was the most common form of identity theft in 2024, accounting for 40% of all reports last year.

Second was “other” forms of identity theft that do not neatly fall under any other category, with 32% of reports falling into that subset of identity theft. This includes more specific categories, like social media, insurance, medical services, and online shopping.

In third place was identity theft related to acquiring loans or leases, such as mortgages or rental agreements.

Which states have the most ID theft reports?

While identity thieves don’t necessarily discriminate when it comes to their victims, factors such as demographic makeup, income, and education, can influence the success of thieves in a given area. Consequently, certain states have proven to be more fertile and prized targets compared to others.

Florida is the state where identity theft was most common in 2024, with 528 identity theft reports for every 100,000 people living in the state. The only other state with a rate in excess of 500 reports per capita was neighboring Georgia, at 517 reports per 100K.

Comparatively, South Dakota had less than one-fifth the number of identity theft reports as Florida last year, just 94 per 100,000 people. No other state had fewer than 100 reports per capita, although Vermont was close, with 101 identity theft reports for every 100,000 residents.

States where ID theft is increasing the most

While per capita instances of identity theft tell part of the story, looking at how those numbers change from year-to-year can help identify states where criminals have increased their efforts, which may indicate that they have seen increased success in those areas recently.

All told, identity theft reports increased in 37 states between 2023 and 2024, fell in 12 states, and stayed consistent year-over-year in two states.

The state where identity theft instances increased the most last year was Louisiana, with the number of reports increasing by 26%. While Louisiana was number one, five other nearby states also landed in the top 10 in this metric, including the neighboring states of Arkansas and Mississippi.

Cities where ID theft is most common

Just like how the prevalence of identity theft varies from one state to another, the commonality of the crime can be drastically different between cities, even cities located in the same state.

The American South appears to be a genuine identity theft hotspot, with nine of the top 10 cities located in that region. Leading the way is Miami, with 903 reported instances of identity theft for every 100,000 people, more than 200 reports per capita higher than any other city. Atlanta is second at 690 reports per 100K, while Houston is third at 573 per 100,000.

The only non-southern city in the top 10 is Los Angeles, which has the fifth-highest rate of identity theft of any city in the country, coming in at 550 reports for every 100,000 residents.

Cities where ID theft is increasing the most

Changes in identity theft reports over time tell an even fuller picture of cities where identity theft is getting worse.

Both of the top two cities where identity theft reports rose the most last year are located in Louisiana, the state where identity theft reports rose the most. Leading the way overall is Baton Rouge, with a staggering 55% increase in identity theft reports between 2023 and 2024, significantly ahead of New Orleans’ 35% in second place.

On a statewide basis, Florida is the place where identity theft increased by the fourth-highest percentage in the country last year. It’s frankly surprising that the Sunshine State didn’t finish higher than that, given that the rate of identity theft increased by at least 20% in six different Florida cities, each of which ranked among the 10 largest such increases in the country.

Bottom line

As shown in the data above, identity theft affects hundreds of thousands of victims. There are still plenty of resources to stay safe and protected.

• Recognize the signs. Knowing what the early signs of identity theft look like will help you recognize what’s going on much sooner if your information is stolen, so you can recover much quicker.
• Keep sensitive accounts secure with a password manager. Your accounts will be harder to access if they’re protected by unique secure passwords. A password manager can help keep everything secure and organized.
• Double up on security measures. If a password manager still doesn’t feel secure enough, you can grab an identity theft protection service that will automatically scan all your personal information to make sure nothing fishy is happening.

Methodology

All About Cookies analyzed the Federal Trade Commission’s 2023 and 2024 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Books to compile data on identity theft in every state, as well as nationwide.

For the purposes of this analysis, only data relating to crimes falling under the “Identity Theft” category were included, while data relating to other types of fraud were excluded throughout.