New Study: Florida’s Identity Theft Rate 70% Above National Average

A new study has revealed that Georgia has the highest rate of identity theft in the U.S., with over 500 reports per 100,000 residents.

The study, conducted by personal injury lawyers Whitley Law Firm, analyzed FBI crime data to determine which states had the highest and lowest rates of identity theft per 100,000 residents in 2024.

The statistics show that Georgia reported 55,955 identity theft cases in 2024 and the total rate per 100,000 residents stands at 500.45, showing a rate significantly higher than (1,843% above) the national average (25.75 cases per 100,000).

Florida ranks second with 495.63 reports per 100,000 residents, representing 115,840 total cases. In Nevada, the total number of identity theft reports was 14,631, while the rate per 100,000 residents came to 447.78, placing it third nationwide.

Massachusetts ranks fourth with 27,141 reports and a rate of 380.33 per 100,000 residents. The state was one of only two Democratic-voting states in the top five. Delaware completes the top five with 3,942 reports, equating to 374.74 per 100,000.

Texas ranks sixth with 372.26 reports per 100,000 residents, followed by California with 354.20 reports per 100,000 residents. These two states reported the highest total number of cases at 116,484 and 139,665 respectively.

The southern state of Louisiana ranked eighth with 347.80 reports per 100,000 residents. Illinois and Maryland rounded out the top ten with rates of 338.53 and 319.16 per 100,000 residents respectively.

The top 10 states with the highest identity theft rates

On the opposite end of the scale, the study found much lower rates of identity theft in less populated states. South Dakota has the lowest rate in the nation with just 91.38 reports per 100,000 residents, more than five times lower than Georgia.

Vermont ranks second-lowest with 100.39 reports per 100,000 residents and just 651 total reports. Alaska ranks third-lowest with 105.39 reports per 100,000 residents and 780 total cases.

West Virginia and North Dakota complete the bottom five with rates of 113.96 and 116.00 per 100,000 residents respectively. Both states reported fewer than 2,020 total cases despite their different geographic locations.

The 10 states with the lowest identity theft rates

A spokesperson from Whitley Law Firm commented on the findings, saying:

“People living in high-risk states should be especially vigilant about monitoring their financial accounts and credit reports regularly. Setting up fraud alerts, using credit freezes, and responding quickly to any suspicious activity can make a substantial difference in preventing identity theft.

“As summer approaches and people start planning holidays and spending more money online, it’s a peak time for scammers to strike. That’s especially true for those who book a trip through unfamiliar platforms or in a rush, as they may find it harder to spot the red flags that indicate a scam.”

Methodology: Using the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer (CDE), the rate of identity theft crimes reported by the population per 100,000 population was scraped for each US state. These rates were then aggregated by determining the median rate across each month from January 2019 to December 2023.

Additionally, the percentage change in crime rate between each two successive months was calculated, and the median of these was found – this allowed the states to be ranked by the median increase in identity theft crimes per month, over the past 5 years.

Source: News release