More Americans than ever are concerned about digital fraud. And there is a widespread perception that the problem is getting worse.
Whether it’s a fake e-commerce shop that steals payment information, a crypto scam that sets you back six months’ worth of wages, or a ransomware attack that hijacks a company’s operations, cyber heists are draining our energy and our wallets.
In which states are the effects of cybercrime felt most acutely?
To find out, we combined data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on frequent but typically low-stakes crimes like retail scams and phishing with statistics from the FBI Internet Crime Losses database on more lucrative crimes like ransomware attacks, crypto scams, investment fraud, and business email compromises. By calculating the sum of losses per capita for every state, a picture emerges of where people are most likely to feel the financial impacts of cybercrime.
Key Takeaways
- Nevada’s cybercrime losses per capita are double the national average – Residents lose $96.29 each, nearly twice the U.S. average of $47.69.
- $3.54 billion lost—California tops the nation in cybercrime losses. The three next most populous states follow: Texas ($1.66B), Florida ($1.51B), and New York ($1.15B).
- Arizona residents have to work the hardest to earn back money lost to small-scale cyber scams. With over 50k FTC-reported scams averaging $700 per victim, a typical Arizonan worker would need to work 23 hours to recoup the losses.
- Kansas victims of FBI-tracked cybercrime suffer the biggest losses relative to their income. The average loss per case is $32K, wiping out 57% of the state’s median annual income in a single incident.
Nevada Leads in Cybercrime Losses Per Capita — $96.29 Per Resident
Unsurprisingly, the country’s most populous states are also the ones with the highest annual losses to cybercrime. California, Texas, Florida, and New York were all scammed out of more than $1B in 2023, with California losing as much as $3.54B total.
But a more complex picture arises when the losses are filtered by population. In 2023, Nevada’s $314M in losses to cybercrime were the most expensive on a per person basis — the equivalent of the state’s 3.2 million residents each getting scammed out of $96.29.
With its relatively small population, Nevada’s cybercrime losses add up quickly. $314M in total losses may look minuscule compared to its neighbor and #2 California, which loses $3.54B annually from combined FTC and FBI-reported cybercrimes. But California’s much larger population loses less per capita — the equivalent of every California resident falling victim to $89.79 in scams.
Like Nevada, several other states with smaller populations are paying some of the country’s highest losses to scammers on a per capita basis. Coming in at #3, Washington D.C.’s population of 702k was scammed out of the equivalent of $84.66 per person in 2023. #6 Alaska lost $70.57 per resident, and #8 Hawaii lost $66.07.
But sparsely populated states aren't the only ones vulnerable to expensive per capita cyber criminality. Two of the country’s most populous states also make the top 10 list for the highest per-person losses to cybercrime. In addition to #2 California ($89.74), coming in at #9 is Florida, where cybercrime losses in 2023 amounted to $64.47 per resident.
Why are Some States More Vulnerable?
Possible reasons for higher losses in these states vary.
First, large states with high population density and a more advanced digital economy mean more transactions, which bring added risks. States like California, where a trillion-dollar tech industry fuels 30% of the state’s economy, have a naturally larger digital footprint for scammers to exploit.
Second, retirement enclaves like Florida and Arizona might see more individual scams targeting older Americans. According to the FBI, elders are more likely to be targeted for scams than younger groups, and losses average almost $34,000 per victim.
Finally, in high-cost areas like California and New York, real estate and crypto scams may be more common. With competitive housing markets combined with legitimate real estate agencies embracing digital transactions, scammers have ample opportunity to get in on the action. According to one study of real estate fraud cited by California’s public interest news organization, California’s 1,583 cases topped all other states by far.
Arizona Workers Lose 23 Hours of Pay to Small-Scale Cyber Scams (FTC-Reported)
Because the FTC is primarily tasked with enforcing fines and shutdowns instead of criminal prosecution, they keep more extensive records of smaller-scale scams that target American consumers rather than corporations. We measured the number of incidents reported in 2023 along with the median loss per incident. By calculating these figures against the hourly mean wage in each state, we get an idea of where cybercrime is causing the greatest financial hardship to individuals.
From government impersonation to romance and job opportunity scams, individual Americans fall victim to targeted scams every day. The state where the frequency and average cost of each of these incidents is greatest compared to the average income is Arizona.
With over 50,000 incidents reported in 2023 costing an average of $700 per incident,, it would take an typical Arizonan 23.1 hours to make back the money they were scammed out of.
Kansas Victims Lose Over 57% of Their Annual Income to Cybercrime (FBI-Reported)
When an email phishing scam successfully drains a string of Americans’ bank or cryptocurrency accounts, the scam may be associated with organized crime. Then it becomes a matter for the FBI.
These criminal cyber-scams are typically bigger than civil offense scams, and their losses are bigger, too. We measured the impact of these scams in terms of the volume of FBI complaints, total loss per complaint, and the mean annual income of every state.
When it comes to FBI-tracked cyber-crime, victims of criminal scams in Kansas lose more of their annual paychecks to these digital deceptions than any other state: on average, each incident results in the loss of over $32k in a state where the average annual income is $56k.
Though the overall number of complaints is relatively low in the Sunflower State, the average loss consumes the largest chunk of the average victim’s annual income — as much as 57%. These unfortunate victims would need to work from January 1 until July 29 to recover financially from the scam.
State-Level Risks are Changing in 2025
As more cybercriminals leverage AI to create deepfakes and automated voices, impersonation scams, and automated phishing attacks are on the rise. Crypto scams hit record highs, skyrocketing 40% in 2024, driven by AI advancements that make it cheap to build convincing calls and emails, then scale them to millions of potential victims. States like California, New Jersey, and Arizona are especially vulnerable.
California is a tech hub with high digital financial activity, making residents prime targets for crypto scams and business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
Arizona is growing fast, especially as a retirement destination for older Americans which may leave it even more vulnerable to investment fraud, Medicare scams, and phishing.
New Jersey’s proximity to the financial centers of New York City make it ground zero for credit card fraud, ransomware attacks, and investment scams.
As AI becomes easier to use and harder to detect in 2025, residents of at-risk states need to heighten their vigilance to meet the scale of attacks.
Methodology
We analyzed state-level financial losses from cybercrime using FTC fraud loss data and FBI IC3 internet crime losses, focusing on the per capita impact of losses as well as how these types of fraud impacts residents.
The FTC and FBI cybercrime data capture two distinct levels of financial fraud so analyzing both provides a fuller picture of how cybercrime impacts individuals and businesses across states.
FTC Fraud Losses cover everyday consumer scams, such as identity theft, phishing, romance scams, and retail fraud.
These scams typically involve smaller financial losses per victim but occur more frequently, so we measured their impacts against hourly wages to show how many hours a worker must work to recover from an average scam. Residents in states with lower wages feel the impact of these frauds more severely, as even a few hundred dollars lost can be significant.
FBI Internet Crime Losses cover large-scale, criminal digital scams.
The FBI tracks cybercrimes with much larger financial consequences, including ransomware, investment fraud, business email compromise (BEC), and crypto scams orchestrated by organized crime.
These crimes typically result in higher individual losses per victim and often target businesses, high-net-worth individuals, and financial institutions. We measured these losses against annual wages to show how a single cybercrime incident can wipe out months or even a full year of income, making a potential incident financially devastating.
By comparing both, we can see which states are more vulnerable to small-scale vs. large-scale cybercrime and where residents face the greatest overall financial risk.
