FBI Cybercrime Data Reveals Unique Challenges for D.C., Alaska, and Wyoming

We might assume that cybercrime mostly happens in big-city tech hubs—places packed with high-value targets, major tech companies, and digital infrastructure. However, the FBI’s latest Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report shows a much more varied, diverse picture of how Americans across the board face the threat of cybercrime.

Americans filed over 859,000 cybercrime complaints nationwide, reporting more than $16.6 billion in losses—a 33% increase from the year before.

When you break down the data by state and adjust for population (with estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau), the usual suspects don’t always top the charts. Instead, we see places like Alaska, Wyoming, and D.C. that face the highest per-capita losses and complaint rates.

And while D.C. reports the nation’s highest financial losses per capita at $41.5 million per 100,000 residents, it files only half as many complaints as Alaska, which leads the country with 914.7 reports per 100,000 people. So what explains that discrepancy?

The answer reveals that cybercrime doesn’t hit every state the same way—some face targeted, high-dollar attacks, while others deal with widespread, lower-value scams.

The states that lose the most to cybercrime

D.C. stands alone at the top for cybercrime, far and above any other state. The nation’s capital reports a staggering $41.5 million in cybercrime losses for every 100,000 residents, roughly five times higher than the second-place state. We can’t say for certain, but the concentration of high-net-worth targets (government officials, political entities, tech firms, etc) likely plays a role.

Nevada comes in second at $8.2 million per 100,000, followed by Wyoming at $7.4 million. It’s a striking contrast: A state known for tourism and gambling next to one of the least densely populated states in the country.

California, Arizona, and Massachusetts round out the top six, each reporting between $4.7 million and $6.4 million in losses per capita.

Top 10 states by cybercrime loss per 100,000 citizens

Western states (California, Washington, Arizona, and Nevada) and Eastern states (D.C., Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, and New York) dominate the top ten, while America’s interior states report lower losses per capita. Whether that’s about tech adoption, population density, or reporting rates is unclear. Let’s dig into the data around complaints reported to get a better understanding.

Even smaller states face big cybercrime problems

Though D.C. tops the charts for financial losses, it drops to second place for complaint volume, suggesting that when cybercrime hits the capital, they’re seeking high-value targets.

However, Alaska leads the nation in cybercrime complaints by a wide margin, with 914.7 reports per 100,000 residents—nearly doubling D.C.’s 549.1 reports per capita. Which raises questions about what makes America’s largest and most remote state stand out for cybercrime complaints: Is it a matter of actual higher crime rates, more vigilant reporting, or something about Alaska’s unique connectivity challenges and isolated communities?

Top 10 States by Cybercrime Complaints per 100,000 Citizens

Notably, several high-loss states also have higher complaint reporting rates, such as Nevada, Arizona, California, and Wyoming, but the order has shifted considerably. So what happens when we look at the average loss per complaint? That’s where the story becomes clearer.

Do high cybercrime losses match the number of complaints reported?

By highlighting the highest losses per complaint, or where each reported incident costs the most, we can see that the impact and distribution of cybercrime vary widely from state to state, regardless of population and geography.

Alaska, with by far the highest number of complaints, is absent from the top 10 of losses per complaint. In other words, the losses aren’t nearly as high-value as they are elsewhere, implying a lot more smaller-value crimes.

Top 10 states with the highest losses per complaint

Conversely, D.C., Nevada, and Wyoming stand out for fewer incidents, but higher average losses per victim. (And it’s worth pointing out that despite only having 885 complaints, North Dakota’s losses per complaint amounted $24,688, earning rank #8 overall in the country.)

These differences often reflect the types of cybercrimes occurring: States with higher complaint volume often see more consumer-level fraud, while high-loss-per-complaint states often experience larger business email compromise and investment fraud cases.

Why these trends matter for 2026

If trends continue, the national impact of cybercrime could exceed $25 billion in losses by this time next year. It’s likely D.C. will remain a prime target for attacks along with tech hub-oriented states like California, Washington, and New York; and less-densely populated states like Wyoming, Alaska, and Nevada will likely face lower-value, but higher-frequency consumer-level threats.

On top of the usual cyberscams Americans face, the escalation of the AI arms race (and leaps in technology like quantum computing), along with international tensions, may lead to even greater threats and losses in the coming years.

Every state faces its own cybercrime challenge—and understanding those differences is the first step toward addressing them, whether that’s focusing on business email compromise and targeted financial fraud, personal data breaches and fraud, or broader public awareness about recognizing common scams. As always, remain vigilant: Check your digital connections and password safety, and beware of scammers and opportunities that are too good to be true.

Methodology

Using the FBI IC3’s 2024 annual report and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 estimates, we analyzed state-level cybercrime data that includes complaints, losses, and per capita rates. We also calculated loss per complaint (total state losses divided by total complaints), percentage of population filing complaints (complaints divided by population multiplied by 100), and loss per 100,000 citizens (state loss divided by population multiplied by 100,000).