Human trafficking has been historically difficult to quantify for reasons like underreporting and complex trafficking networks that make it easier to evade law enforcement. However, through confirmed cases of human trafficking and census data, we can understand where human trafficking is most prevalent in the United States.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, the state that had the most confirmed victims of human trafficking from 2019 to 2023 was California with 11,254 cases. This number is, perhaps, not surprising given California’s status as the most populated state with over 39 million people.
Similarly to California, Texas and Florida take the second and third spot in both population and the number of human trafficking victims, with 7,369 and 6,904 cases respectively. Their populations are the most probable explanation for why their number of confirmed cases are higher than that of other states.
Georgia, though eighth in population in the United States, ranks fourth with 5,140 confirmed cases of human trafficking from 2019 to 2023. One reason for this disproportionate ranking is that Atlanta is home to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a major global airport. There is an increased rate of human trafficking around airports because leaving an area lessens the victim’s ability to return home. Therefore, a majority of victims will move through an airport at some point in their experience with traffickers.
However, if going by the rate of confirmed victims per 100,000 people, Nevada takes the lead with 58.48 victims per 100,000 out of a population of just over 3 million. This is in large part due to being home to one of the biggest 24-hour entertainment cities in the world: Las Vegas. Traffickers force women and minors into sex trafficking around this area. In addition, Nevada has a large amount of youth experiencing homelessness and migrant workers, two populations that are already extremely vulnerable to falling victim to human traffickers.
