Is New York’s Data Breach Crisis Worse Than You Think?

New York ranks ninth in the US for personal data breaches per capita, averaging 17.87 incidents per 100,000 residents annually from 2021 to 2025. Despite reporting the fourth-highest total breach volume nationally — 4,022 incidents in 2025 alone, up 29% from 2021 — eight states with smaller populations carry higher per-capita exposure. Nevada leads at 36.95 per 100K, nearly double New York’s rate.

New York: The cyber criminals have you in their sights. A comprehensive five-year study has revealed that New York is facing a growing digital security crisis, ranking 9th in the nation for personal data breaches per capita.

Between 2021 and 2025, the state averaged 17.87 reported breaches annually for every 100,000 residents. This rate is significantly higher than many other regions, proving to be 1.6 times more frequent than in North Dakota, which saw the lowest per-capita rate in the country at 10.87.

Despite its status as a global hub for the finance and technology sectors, New York remains a primary target for cybercriminals, exceeding 46 other states in total breach counts. Data trends indicate that the situation is worsening rather than stabilizing, said Nick Footer, CEO of Intuitive Digital.

The CEO said the states with the highest per-capita breach rates are not necessarily the largest or most connected. “They are the states where the ratio of exposed residents to total population is structurally disproportionate,” Footer said. “New York’s data illustrates this clearly: the state reports the fourth-highest total breach count in the country, yet eight states with far smaller populations rank higher per capita. With over 4,000 reported breaches in 2025 alone and a 29% increase since 2021, New York’s exposure is substantial and growing. For nearly 20 million New Yorkers, personal data security remains a pressing and intensifying concern.”

Which US States Have the Highest Per-Capita Personal Data Breach Rates?

The sheer volume of these incidents highlights the scale of the problem facing the Empire State. New York reported the fourth-highest total number of breaches in the U.S., averaging 3,574 incidents per year. Only the more populous states of California, Florida and Texas recorded higher raw totals.

When compared nationally, the landscape of data vulnerability shows surprising leaders. Nevada and Iowa hold the highest per-capita rates at 36.95 and 36.67 per 100,000 residents, respectively — nearly double the rate seen in New York. Interestingly, New York’s per-capita rate of 17.87 falls just below that of Colorado, which ranks 8th despite having less than a third of New York’s population.

This distinction emphasizes that while large states like California lead in raw volume, smaller states often face higher relative risks per resident.

How Was the us State Data Breach Ranking Calculated?

To come up with these rankings, researchers at Intuitive Digital conducted a deep-dive analysis into annual reports provided by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) from 2021 through 2025. The study focused on personal data breach reports across all 50 U.S. states. The core metric used for the ranking was the average annual breach count per 100,000 residents. This was calculated by taking the five-year average of reported breaches for each state and dividing it by the state’s 2025 estimated population.

Beyond the per-capita rankings, the analysis also accounted for the total volume of breaches, the average annual counts, and the year-over-year percentage changes to provide a multi-dimensional view of the digital threat landscape. All population figures utilized in the calculations were based on 2025 estimates to ensure the most current representative data.

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