Where in the U.S. have the most human trafficking cases occurred? This map visualizes the rate of human trafficking in every state across the country, along with the states that have had the most, and least, trafficking victims between 2019 and 2023. It was created using data collected from the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
According to the hotline, the state with the highest count of human trafficking victims per 100,00 people from 2019 to 2023 was Nevada. Las Vegas, otherwise known as Sin City and the entertainment capital of the world, is a target destination for human trafficking. Las Vegas has a large amount of homeless youth and migrant worker populations that are at a higher risk of becoming victims of human traffickers. The city is also home to Harry Reid International Airport, a central transportation hotbed. Airports are notorious for their role in facilitating human trafficking, as both traffickers and victims regularly pass through them.
When viewing the data for the most victims overall, the state that ranks first with the highest count of confirmed human trafficking victims from 2019 to 2023 was California. This result is unsurprising, perhaps, as California is the most populous state with over 39 million people. While Nevada has the higher concentration of victims among its population of only 3 million, trafficking is still more rampant as a whole in California because of the large number of people living there.
Second and third places for most victims overall are Texas and Florida. These states also rank second and third in population like California. Georgia deviates from this population pattern. Despite ranking eighth with 11 million people, it is fourth for the largest amount of victims of human trafficking. Similarly to Nevada, Georgia has a major international airport located in Atlanta called Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Leave a Reply