Shocking new data reveals that over 10,000 human trafficking situations were reported last year alone in the United States, a hidden crisis unfolding in plain sight across every state.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received reports of 10,359 human trafficking situations affecting 16,554 individual victims in the United States
- The U.S. Department of State estimates that approximately 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually from abroad
- From 2013 to 2022, the Hotline identified 351,000 signals of human trafficking across all 50 states, DC, and US territories
- 65% of adult victims identified by the Hotline in 2022 were female
- 26% of adult victims were male
- 53% of child victims were female
- Sex trafficking represents 72% of child victim cases
- Labor trafficking accounts for 19% of child cases
- Sex trafficking: 84% of adult female victims
- 40% of perpetrators are romantically involved with victims
- 19% of traffickers are family members
- 12% are acquaintances
- In FY2022, DOJ prosecuted 235 defendants for trafficking offenses
- 1,218 trafficking-related arrests by federal law enforcement in FY2022
- 110 minors recovered in Operation Renewed Hope 2022
Human trafficking affects thousands across America despite increased awareness and prosecution efforts.
Perpetrator and Recruitment
- 40% of perpetrators are romantically involved with victims
- 19% of traffickers are family members
- 12% are acquaintances
- 67% of known perpetrators are male
- 29% female
- 4% unknown gender
- Black perpetrators: 42% of identified
- White: 24%
- Hispanic/Latino: 20%
- 75% of recruitment happens via intimate partner relationships
- Online recruitment: 25% of cases
- Force used in 30% of cases
- Coercion/fraud in 50%
- 60% of traffickers are US citizens
- Foreign national traffickers: 20%
- Average trafficker age 25-35 for sex trafficking
- Gang involvement in 15% of cases
- Use of drugs to control victims: 55%
- Debt bondage in 40% of labor cases
- Threats to family: 35%
Perpetrator and Recruitment Interpretation
In the grim arithmetic of exploitation, the path to captivity is most often paved with false intimacy, where trusted faces—lovers, family, friends—account for the majority of those who betray, control, and commodify human lives.
Prevalence and Scale
- In 2022, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received reports of 10,359 human trafficking situations affecting 16,554 individual victims in the United States
- The U.S. Department of State estimates that approximately 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually from abroad
- From 2013 to 2022, the Hotline identified 351,000 signals of human trafficking across all 50 states, DC, and US territories
- In fiscal year 2021, the FBI investigated 1,231 human trafficking cases leading to 1,108 arrests
- A 2020 study by the Urban Institute found that human trafficking generates $150 million annually in illicit profits in just eight major US cities
- The Global Slavery Index 2023 estimates 1,091,000 people living in conditions of modern slavery in the US
- In 2021, California reported 1,334 human trafficking cases to the Hotline, the highest in the nation
- Texas saw 1,113 potential human trafficking situations reported in 2022
- Florida had 879 trafficking signals in 2022, ranking third nationally
- According to the DOJ, between 2011-2020, 2,284 defendants were convicted federally for human trafficking offenses
- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children identified 29,800 cases of child sex trafficking online in 2022
- In 2020, 73% of labor trafficking victims in the US were foreign nationals
- A GAO report found 40% of trafficking victims encountered were US citizens
- From 2015-2019, over 11,500 minors were identified as sex trafficking victims by HHS
- New York reported 507 cases in 2022
- The US TIP Report 2023 notes sex trafficking accounts for 80% of cases prosecuted federally
- Illinois had 452 signals in 2022
- Georgia reported 441 cases
- Nevada saw 334 potential situations in 2022
- A 2018 ILO estimate suggests 71,000 people in forced labor in the US
- Ohio had 314 reports in 2022
- North Carolina: 309 cases
- Washington: 308 signals
- Arizona: 290 cases
- Michigan: 280 reports
- Louisiana: 271 cases
- In 2022, 49.6% of trafficking situations involved sex trafficking only
- 10.9% involved combined sex and labor trafficking
- 28.2% were labor trafficking only
Prevalence and Scale Interpretation
Behind every cold statistic—from the staggering 1.1 million estimated to live in modern slavery here, to the $150 million in annual illicit profits in just eight cities—lies a devastating, preventable crime flourishing in plain sight across every single state.
Response and Prosecution
- In FY2022, DOJ prosecuted 235 defendants for trafficking offenses
- 1,218 trafficking-related arrests by federal law enforcement in FY2022
- 110 minors recovered in Operation Renewed Hope 2022
- 333 defendants charged in Blue Campaign initiatives 2023
- TVPRA certifications issued to 1,256 victims in FY2021
- $36 million in victim restitution ordered in FY2021
- 85% conviction rate for federal trafficking cases
- Continued presence granted to 300 foreign victims in 2022
- 50 states have anti-trafficking laws
- $130 million allocated federally for anti-trafficking in FY2023
- 4,800 calls to Hotline leading to 1,200+ victim referrals in 2022
- 25 Task Force teams funded by OJP in 2023
- 1,100 survivors served by HHS grants in 2021
- 70% of states require trafficking training for hospitality workers
- FBI tips led to 150 rescues in 2022
Response and Prosecution Interpretation
While the grim tally of prosecutions and recoveries reveals a pervasive crime, the growing web of laws, funding, and victim support shows a nation reluctantly but resolutely sharpening its tools to dismantle human trafficking from within.
Types of Trafficking
- Sex trafficking represents 72% of child victim cases
- Labor trafficking accounts for 19% of child cases
- Sex trafficking: 84% of adult female victims
- Labor trafficking: 60% of adult male victims
- Domestic work is the most common labor sector at 32% of cases
- Agriculture: 12% of labor trafficking
- Illicit activities like drug trafficking: 9%
- Restaurants: 8%
- Escort services: 40% of sex trafficking venues
- Pornography production: 12%
- Online ads: 35% of sex trafficking detection
- Street-based: 19%
- Residential: 14%
- Hotels/motels: 13%
- Construction: 6% of labor
- Bars/clubs/nightclubs: 5% sex trafficking
- Massage parlors: 4%
- Factories: 4% labor
- Pedicure/spa/salon: 3%
- Retail: 3% labor
- Cannabinoid production: 2%
- Hotels: 2% labor
Types of Trafficking Interpretation
While the statistics paint a grim portrait of exploitation in the shadows of everyday life, the most unsettling truth is that they reveal our own neighborhoods, industries, and online spaces as the primary venues for this modern-day slavery.
Victim Demographics
- 65% of adult victims identified by the Hotline in 2022 were female
- 26% of adult victims were male
- 53% of child victims were female
- 44% of child victims were male
- 79% of minor sex trafficking victims were female
- Black individuals comprised 39% of all Hotline contacts in 2022
- Hispanic/Latino victims made up 27% of signals
- White victims: 20%
- 44% of labor trafficking victims were children
- Average age of sex trafficking victims is 12-14 years old
- 98% of sex trafficking minors in the US are US citizens
- LGBTQ+ youth are 7 times more likely to experience trafficking
- Runaway youth are at 1 in 7 risk of trafficking within 48 hours
- Foster care youth represent 20% of sex trafficking victims despite being 1% of child population
- 86% of child sex trafficking victims knew their trafficker
- Indigenous women are 2.5 times more likely to experience violence including trafficking
- Asian/Pacific Islander victims: 4% of signals
- Unknown ethnicity: 10%
- 27% of victims were 18-25 years old
- 24% were 26-35
- 15% were under 18
- 14% were 36-45
- 9% were 46+
- 1% unknown age
- 49.8% of sex trafficking victims were White
Victim Demographics Interpretation
These statistics paint a grim portrait of a domestic crisis where our most vulnerable—children in foster care, runaway LGBTQ+ youth, and girls as young as 12—are systematically targeted and exploited, often by someone they know, right here in America.
Sources & References
- Reference 1HUMANTRAFFICKINGHOTLINEhumantraffickinghotline.orgVisit source
- Reference 2STATEstate.govVisit source
- Reference 3POLARISPROJECTpolarisproject.orgVisit source
- Reference 4FBIfbi.govVisit source
- Reference 5URBANurban.orgVisit source
- Reference 6WALKFREEwalkfree.orgVisit source
- Reference 7JUSTICEjustice.govVisit source
- Reference 8MISSINGKIDSmissingkids.orgVisit source
- Reference 9GAOgao.govVisit source
- Reference 10ACFacf.hhs.govVisit source
- Reference 11ILOilo.orgVisit source
- Reference 12OJJDPojjdp.govVisit source
- Reference 13SHAREDHOPEsharedhope.orgVisit source
- Reference 14LANTERNPROJECTlanternproject.org.ukVisit source
- Reference 15NATIONALCENTERONADDICTIONnationalcenteronaddiction.orgVisit source
- Reference 16ACFacf.govVisit source
- Reference 17URBANINDIANHEALTHurbanindianhealth.orgVisit source
- Reference 18DHSdhs.govVisit source
- Reference 19USSCussc.govVisit source
- Reference 20USCISuscis.govVisit source
- Reference 21CONGRESScongress.govVisit source
- Reference 22OJPojp.govVisit source