On a Social Security card issued before June 25, 2011, the first three digits — called the Area Number — identify the state or territory where the person applied. Social Security numbers by state follow a range the SSA published for internal filing: the sequence starts in New England with 001 and works south and west, ending in the Pacific and the territories. Cards issued on or after June 25, 2011 carry randomized numbers with no geographic meaning at all.
Area Number Ranges for Every State and Territory
The ranges below apply to any Social Security number issued before June 25, 2011. They come from the SSA’s own records.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Bulletin – Meaning of the Social Security Number
New England
- New Hampshire: 001–003
- Maine: 004–007
- Vermont: 008–009
- Massachusetts: 010–034
- Rhode Island: 035–039
- Connecticut: 040–049
Mid-Atlantic
- New York: 050–134
- New Jersey: 135–158
- Pennsylvania: 159–211
South Atlantic
- Maryland: 212–220
- Delaware: 221–222
- Virginia: 223–231
- West Virginia: 232–236
- North Carolina: 237–246
- South Carolina: 247–251
- Georgia: 252–260
- Florida: 261–267, 589–595
East North Central
- Ohio: 268–302
- Indiana: 303–317
- Illinois: 318–361
- Michigan: 362–386
- Wisconsin: 387–399
South Central
- Kentucky: 400–407
- Tennessee: 408–415
- Alabama: 416–424
- Mississippi: 425–428, 587–588
- Arkansas: 429–432
- Louisiana: 433–439
- Oklahoma: 440–448
- Texas: 449–467
West North Central
- Minnesota: 468–477
- Iowa: 478–485
- Missouri: 486–500
- North Dakota: 501–502
- South Dakota: 503–504
- Nebraska: 505–508
- Kansas: 509–515
Mountain and West
- Montana: 516–517
- Idaho: 518–519
- Wyoming: 520
- Colorado: 521–524
- New Mexico: 525, 585
- Arizona: 526–527, 600–601
- Utah: 528–529
- Nevada: 530
- Washington: 531–539
- Oregon: 540–544
- California: 545–573, 602–626
- Alaska: 574
- Hawaii: 575–576
District of Columbia, Territories, and Special Assignments
- District of Columbia: 577–579
- Puerto Rico: 580–584, 596–599
- Virgin Islands: 580
- Guam: 586
- American Samoa: 586
- Railroad Retirement Board: 700–728
Reading the Odd Entries
A few states appear twice. Florida, Mississippi, Arizona, and California each hold two separate blocks because the SSA exhausted the original allocation and drew overflow ranges from the 580–599 and 600–626 pools. New Mexico picked up a second Area Number (585) the same way.
Some codes are shared. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands both use 580, and Guam and American Samoa both use 586. The SSA distinguishes them by the Group Number, which is the two-digit middle segment of the SSN.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Bulletin – Meaning of the Social Security Number
The 700–728 block was reserved for the Railroad Retirement Board, which issued numbers to railroad workers under a separate federal retirement system. The RRB stopped issuing these numbers in 1981, and railroad employees have received standard geographically coded numbers since.2Railroad Retirement Board. Railroad Employees Registration File
Three Area Numbers were never assigned under the geographic system: 000, 666, and the 900–999 range. A pre-2011 card beginning with any of those is not valid.
How the Codes Were Assigned
The SSA built the three-part number (three-digit Area Number, two-digit Group Number, four-digit Serial Number) in 1936 as a filing device for paper earnings records at its Baltimore headquarters. The agency has been direct that the geographic scheme was “a bookkeeping device for our own internal use” that “was never intended to be anything more than that.”3Social Security Administration. Social Security Numbers
Before 1972, the Area Number matched the SSA field office that processed the application. From 1972 on, after issuance was centralized, the Area Number came from the zip code on the applicant’s mailing address. Either way, the code points to a location tied to the application, not to birthplace or current residence.
New Hampshire drew the first block (001–003), and the very first card typed under the system went to Grace D. Owen of Concord on November 24, 1936, with the number 001-01-0001.4Social Security Administration. Social Security History – The First Social Security Number and the Lowest Number
What Changed in 2011
On June 25, 2011, the SSA switched to random assignment. The agency cited two reasons: extending the useful life of the nine-digit pool and hardening the system against fraud. Randomization stripped the geographic meaning out of new Area Numbers entirely — a post-2011 number starting with 001 has nothing to do with New Hampshire.5Social Security Administration. Social Security Number Randomization
The change also opened up combinations that had sat unused under the state-by-state system. The only Area Numbers still excluded are 000, 666, and 900–999.
Existing numbers were not touched. If your card was issued before June 2011, its Area Number still reflects the state where you applied, and that will not change. Replacement cards carry the same nine digits you were originally assigned, so the geographic code follows you for life regardless of where you live now.
Why the State Code Still Comes Up
Because roughly 450 million numbers issued under the old system are still in circulation, the state code remains useful for verification work. Background-check firms compare the Area Number against the biographical history a person reports. Someone who claims a lifelong Texas history but holds a number starting with 050 (New York) draws a second look. The mismatch does not prove fraud on its own, since people often apply for a number in a state they did not grow up in, but it is a reliable prompt for closer review.
The geographic pattern also made the old system easier to attack. By 2009, researchers had shown they could predict a person’s Social Security number with meaningful accuracy from a birth date and state of issuance. That vulnerability was one of the drivers behind the move to randomization, and post-2011 numbers carry no geographic signal to exploit.
One boundary worth noting: the Area Number tells you where the card was applied for, not where the person was born, not where they lived as a child, and not where they live today. Treat it as a clue about the application, nothing more.