Identity Theft is On the Rise in these U.S. Cities and States [2026 Report]

Personal data is more vulnerable than ever in today’s digitized world, with personal details and information residing in countless online repositories. When that information is accessed by criminals through data breaches, digital leaks, or even old-school scams, the resulting identity theft can be difficult to recover from. While this kind of crime is unfortunately common across America, there are certain parts of the country where it is more widespread (and growing) than others.

To find where identity theft rose and fell the most last year, the All About Cookies research team analyzed FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data comparing 2025 and 2024 identity theft reports per 100,000 residents for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country.

Key findings

• Identity theft reports per capita rose in 45 states and most major cities in 2025.
• Mississippi recorded the largest increase of any state, with identity theft reports per 100K jumping 53% year-over-year.
• Identity theft reports in Massachusetts dropped by 17.8%, the most of any state. Nowhere else in the country did ID theft drop by even 7.5% year-over-year.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana, posted the largest increase of any city, with identity theft up 59.1% year over year.
• Miami, Florida, had the highest identity theft rate of any city in 2025, at 1,228 reports per 100K.

States with the biggest increase in identity theft

While consumer fraud reports declined across much of the country in 2025, identity theft moved sharply in the opposite direction for almost the entire country.

Mississippi's 53% surge in identity theft was the largest of any state, rising from 268 to 410 reports per 100,000 residents in a single year. No other state came close to that level of rate increase, as Florida saw the second-biggest jump at “just” 37.9%.

Illinois (+37.8%), Alabama (+37.2%), and Louisiana (+36.4%) round out the top five, and all saw increases well above the national average. The rest of the top 10 is made up of South Carolina (+35.1%), Alaska (+34%), Georgia (+33.7%), North Carolina (+33.6%), and Arkansas (+33.5%).

It is notable that eight of the top 10 states in terms of increased year-over-year identity theft reports are in the South, illustrating how big an issue this crime is becoming in that region. While the South in particular saw an influx of identity theft, per capita reports for the crime increased almost everywhere in America, rising in 45 different states. That kind of widespread growth illustrates how important identity theft protection is for users across the nation.

States with the biggest rise in identity theft in 2025

1. Mississippi

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 410
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +53.0%

2. Florida

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 728
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +37.9%

3. Illinois

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 467
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +37.8%

4. Alabama

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 369
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +37.2%

5. Louisiana

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 472
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +36.4%

States where identity theft declined

While identity theft reports rose in the vast majority of states, a handful of places saw declines last year.

Massachusetts stood out as the only state with a double-digit decline, dropping from 388 to 319 reports per 100,000 residents, a reduction of 17.8%. New Hampshire (-7.3%) and Rhode Island (-4.9%) also saw meaningful reductions. Maine (-2.4%), Montana (-2.3%), and Vermont (-2%) are the only other states where identity theft report rates fell.

Interestingly, New England accounted for five of the six states where identity theft fell, a regional trend that stands in opposition to the widespread and significant increases in the Southern region of the country.

States where identity theft fell most in 2025

1. Massachusetts

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 319
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -17.8%

2. New Hampshire

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 139
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -7.3%

3. Rhode Island

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 251
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -4.9%

4. Maine

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 124
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -2.4%

5. Montana

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 128
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -2.3%

Cities where identity theft rose the most

The surge in identity theft touched virtually every major U.S. metropolitan area in 2025, but some cities saw especially dramatic increases.

Many of the cities where identity theft increases were the most drastic were located in the American South, with the single largest surge coming in Jackson, Mississippi, where ID theft reports rose by more than 67% year-over-year. Tampa, Florida, was second with a 61% increase, with Baton Rouge, Louisiana (+59%), Columbia, South Carolina (+51%), and Memphis, Tennessee (+51%) rounding out a top five that is entirely composed of Southern locales.

Unfortunately, Southern representation at the top of the list doesn’t end there. 14 of the top 15 cities where identity theft reports increased the most last year are located in that part of the country, with Chicago, Illinois, in the 12th spot being the lone representative from elsewhere in the country.

Cities with the biggest rise in identity theft in 2025

1. Jackson, Mississippi

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 509
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +67.4%

2. Tampa, Florida

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 692
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +60.6%

3. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 840
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +59.1%

4. Columbia, South Carolina

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 496
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +51.2%

5. Memphis, Tennessee

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 620
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +51.2%

Cities where identity theft declined

Only a handful of major metros bucked the trend in 2025, and most were in New England, making that part of the country the opposite of the South when it comes to identity theft.

Worcester, Massachusetts, saw the biggest single drop in ID theft reports, declining by more than 20% from 2024 to 2025. Nearby Boston was second, falling by 17%, while Providence, Rhode Island, saw the third-largest decrease at nearly 14%.

Outside of New England, year-over-year identity theft report rates fell in only three other major metropolitan areas. Rates fell by 9% in Spokane, Washington, 4% in Ogden, Utah, and nearly 3% in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Cities where identity theft fell most in 2025

1. Worcester, Massachusetts

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 237
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -20.2%

2. Boston, Massachusetts

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 335
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -17.3%

3. Providence, Rhode Island

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 280
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -13.6%

4. Spokane, Washington

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 163
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -9.4%

5. Ogden, Utah

• Identity theft reports per 100,000 people: 133
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -4.3%

Why identity theft is rising

The broad national increase in identity theft reports reflects several converging trends:

• A surge in government benefits fraud, including fraudulent unemployment claims and tax refund theft
• Expansion of digital financial services that create new vectors for account takeover
• Large-scale data breaches in 2023 and 2024 that made more personal data available to criminals
• Increased use of AI-generated synthetic identities and deepfake-assisted fraud schemes
• An increased criminal focus on gaining access to existing sources of personal data

The divergence from consumer fraud trends is particularly striking: even as overall fraud reports fell, identity theft climbed almost everywhere. This may reflect a shift in criminal tactics — moving away from broad consumer scams toward more targeted, identity-based crimes that are harder to detect and more damaging to victims when they occur.

Identity theft reports by state

Below is the full ranking of states by year-over-year change in identity theft reports per 100,000 residents.

State	2025 Reports per 100K	2024 Reports per 100K	Year-Over-Year Change
Alabama	369	269	37.2%
Alaska	142	106	34.0%
Arizona	323	287	12.5%
Arkansas	279	209	33.5%
California	408	356	14.6%
Colorado	222	208	6.7%
Connecticut	276	236	16.9%
Delaware	454	392	15.8%
District of Columbia	622	480	29.6%
Florida	728	528	37.9%
Georgia	691	517	33.7%
Hawaii	143	138	3.6%
Idaho	135	125	8.0%
Illinois	467	339	37.8%
Indiana	218	198	10.1%
Iowa	127	123	3.3%
Kansas	168	154	9.1%
Kentucky	169	142	19.0%
Louisiana	472	346	36.4%
Maine	124	127	-2.4%
Maryland	402	324	24.1%
Massachusetts	319	388	-17.8%
Michigan	284	237	19.8%
Minnesota	158	127	24.4%
Mississippi	410	268	53.0%
Missouri	221	187	18.2%
Montana	128	131	-2.3%
Nebraska	143	130	10.0%
Nevada	543	466	16.5%
New Hampshire	139	150	-7.3%
New Jersey	373	313	19.2%
New Mexico	165	150	10.0%
New York	352	295	19.3%
North Carolina	346	259	33.6%
North Dakota	142	119	19.3%
Ohio	273	236	15.7%
Oklahoma	195	169	15.4%
Oregon	169	163	3.7%
Pennsylvania	332	290	14.5%
Rhode Island	251	264	-4.9%
South Carolina	393	291	35.1%
South Dakota	102	94	8.5%
Tennessee	275	212	29.7%
Texas	508	393	29.3%
Utah	165	157	5.1%
Vermont	99	101	-2.0%
Virginia	235	213	10.3%
Washington	193	169	14.2%
West Virginia	124	113	9.7%
Wisconsin	178	149	19.5%
Wyoming	121	120	0.8%

Identity theft reports in the 100 largest cities

Below is the full ranking of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas by year-over-year change in identity theft reports per 100,000 residents.

Metro Area	2025 Reports per 100K	2024 Reports per 100K	Year-Over-Year Change
Akron, OH	307	246	24.8%
Albany, NY	204	190	7.4%
Albuquerque, NM	175	170	2.9%
Allentown, PA-NJ	343	279	22.9%
Atlanta, GA	920	690	33.3%
Augusta, GA	389	342	13.7%
Austin, TX	416	317	31.2%
Bakersfield, CA	311	277	12.3%
Baltimore, MD	403	315	27.9%
Baton Rouge, LA	840	528	59.1%
Birmingham, AL	460	336	36.9%
Boise, ID	159	148	7.4%
Boston, MA	335	405	-17.3%
Bridgeport, CT	308	271	13.7%
Buffalo, NY	212	194	9.3%
Cape Coral, FL	518	344	50.6%
Charleston, SC	449	341	31.7%
Charlotte, NC	515	374	37.7%
Chattanooga, TN	222	199	11.6%
Chicago, IL	549	401	36.9%
Cincinnati, OH	257	199	29.1%
Cleveland, OH	376	328	14.6%
Colorado Springs, CO	236	222	6.3%
Columbia, SC	496	328	51.2%
Columbus, OH	369	316	16.8%
Dallas, TX	624	475	31.4%
Dayton, OH	265	244	8.6%
Deltona, FL	409	290	41.0%
Denver, CO	255	237	7.6%
Des Moines, IA	180	159	13.2%
Detroit, MI	433	359	20.6%
Durham, NC	293	227	29.1%
El Paso, TX	300	224	33.9%
Fresno, CA	344	276	24.6%
Grand Rapids, MI	172	151	13.9%
Greensboro, NC	315	241	30.7%
Greenville, SC	311	267	16.5%
Harrisburg, PA	241	207	16.4%
Hartford, CT	262	228	14.9%
Honolulu, HI	150	143	4.9%
Houston, TX	707	573	23.4%
Indianapolis, IN	304	312	-2.6%
Jackson, MS	509	304	67.4%
Jacksonville, FL	461	364	26.6%
Kansas City, MO	225	193	16.6%
Kiryas Joel, NY	319	279	14.3%
Knoxville, TN	176	153	15.0%
Lakeland, FL	690	473	45.9%
Las Vegas, NV	671	570	17.7%
Little Rock, AR	445	350	27.1%
Los Angeles, CA	632	550	14.9%
Louisville, KY	240	195	23.1%
Madison, WI	178	164	8.5%
McAllen, TX	276	212	30.2%
Memphis, TN	620	410	51.2%
Miami, FL	1,228	903	36.0%
Milwaukee, WI	326	248	31.5%
Minneapolis, MN	189	150	26.0%
Nashville, TN	277	219	26.5%
New Haven, CT	308	249	23.7%
New Orleans, LA	529	432	22.5%
New York, NY	418	343	21.9%
North Port, FL	337	320	5.3%
Ogden, UT	133	139	-4.3%
Oklahoma City, OK	241	205	17.6%
Omaha, NE	182	162	12.3%
Orlando, FL	747	555	34.6%
Oxnard, CA	279	219	27.4%
Palm Bay, FL	362	298	21.5%
Philadelphia, PA	514	456	12.7%
Phoenix, AZ	381	338	12.7%
Pittsburgh, PA	222	187	18.7%
Portland, OR	190	181	5.0%
Providence, RI	280	324	-13.6%
Provo, UT	161	150	7.3%
Raleigh, NC	398	286	39.2%
Richmond, VA	335	274	22.3%
Riverside, CA	398	343	16.0%
Rochester, NY	284	244	16.4%
Sacramento, CA	329	269	22.3%
Salt Lake City, UT	206	175	17.7%
San Antonio, TX	403	302	33.4%
San Diego, CA	353	313	12.8%
San Francisco, CA	270	250	8.0%
San Jose, CA	251	229	9.6%
Scranton, PA	388	290	33.8%
Seattle, WA	229	195	17.4%
Spokane, WA	163	180	-9.4%
St. Louis, MO	306	258	18.6%
Stockton, CA	332	260	27.7%
Syracuse, NY	160	158	1.3%
Tampa, FL	692	431	60.6%
Toledo, OH	225	193	16.6%
Tucson, AZ	245	204	20.1%
Tulsa, OK	221	189	16.9%
Virginia Beach, VA	297	263	12.9%
Washington, DC	364	314	15.9%
Wichita, KS	206	167	23.4%
Winston-Salem, NC	251	187	34.2%
Worcester, MA	237	297	-20.2%

How to protect yourself from identity theft

• Sign up for identity theft protection: The best identity theft protection services monitor your Social Security number, credit, and personal data across the dark web and financial systems — and help you recover if your identity is stolen.
• Consider a data removal service: Identity thieves often harvest personal information from data broker sites. The best data removal services reduce your digital footprint by removing your data from these databases.
• Use a password manager: Weak or reused passwords are a leading entry point for account takeover fraud. The best password managers generate and store strong, unique passwords for every account.

Methodology

To compile this report, the All About Cookies research team analyzed FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book figures for 2024 and 2025, comparing fraud reports per 100,000 residents for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country by population size. Metropolitan data is identified by the name of each metro’s primary city throughout this report. Year-over-year change reflects the percentage difference in per-capita identity theft reports between the two years.