With Equifax losing its $7 million anti-fraud contract with the IRS after a major data breach at the credit bureau exposed the confidential information of more than 145 million American consumers, the free credit-monitoring website WalletHub released its in-depth analysis identifying 2017’s States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft & Fraud.

To determine where Americans are most susceptible to such crimes, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across eight key metrics. The data set ranges from identity-theft complaints per capita to average loss amount due to fraud.

In addition, WalletHub offers an Identity Theft Guide and free credit monitoring to help consumers handle or prevent the damaging effects of cybercrimes.

Most Vulnerable States Least Vulnerable States
1 California 42 Ohio
2 Rhode Island 43 Louisiana
3 District of Columbia 44 Kentucky
4 Florida 45 South Dakota
5 Georgia 46 Wisconsin
6 Michigan 47 Kansas
7 Nevada 48 Wyoming
8 Texas 49 Hawaii
9 New York 50 West Virginia
10 Connecticut 51 Iowa

Key Stats

  • Hawaii has the fewest identity-theft complaints (per 100,000 residents), 55.2, 3.6 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, registering the most at 198.5.
  • South Dakota has the lowest average loss amount due to online identity theft, $608.20, which is 44.4 times lower than in Vermont, registering the highest at $27,030.13.
  • North Dakota has the fewest fraud complaints (per 100,000 residents), 284.7, 5.2 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, registering the most at 1,474.5.
  • The District of Columbia has the lowest average loss amount due to fraud, $526, 4.4 times lower than in Texas, registering the highest at $2,305.