What Your Social Security Number Tells About You
Your Social Security number is a unique identification. You are the only person who has that number. But did you ever wonder what the numbers in your Social Security number mean? This report will tell you exactly what those numbers tell about you, and how to effectively use Social Security numbers as a means of identifying your customers.
Your Social Security number is made up of 3 parts called the AREA (XXX), GROUP (XX), and SERIAL(XXXX). I'll explain these parts separately.
First, the AREA (XXX) has one of two meanings, depending on when you got your number. If you received your Social Security card before 1972, the area number shows what state you APPLIED for your card in. If you received your Social Security card after 1972, the area number shows the state you RESIDED in at the time you applied. Here is a list of the number combinations and their corresponding states.
- 000 None
- 001-003 NH
- 004-007 ME
- 008-009 VT
- 010-034 MA
- 035-039 RI
- 040-049 CT
- 050-134 NY
- 135-158 NJ
- 159-211 PA
- 212-220 MD
- 221-222 DE
- 223-231 VA
- 232-236 WV
- 237-246 NC
- 247-251 SC
- 252-260 GA
- 261-267 FL
- 268-302 OH
- 303-317 IN
- 318-361 IL
- 387-399 WI
- 400-407 KY
- 408-415 TN
- 416-424 AL
- 425-428 MS
- 429-432 AR
- 433-439 LA
- 440-448 OK
- 449-467 TX
- 468-477 MN
- 478-485 IA
- 486-500 MO
- 501-502 ND
- 503-504 SD
- 505-508 NE
- 509-515 KS
- 516-517 MT
- 518-519 ID
- 520 WY
- 521-524 CO
- 525 NM
- 528-529 UT
- 530 NV
- 531-539 WA
- 540-544 OR
- 545-573 CA
- 574 AK
- 575-576 HI
- 577-579 DC
- 580 VI (Virgin Islands)
- 581-584 PR (Puerto Rico)
- 585 NM
- 586 PI (Pacific Islands - Guam)
- 587-588 MS
- 589-595 FL
- 596-599 PR (Puerto Rico)
- 600-601 AZ
- 602-626 CA
#900-#999 were used when state aid to the aged, blind, and disabled was converted to federal programs administered by the Social Security Association, not valid Social Security numbers. You will see that some states have more than one group of numbers. This is because their original group of numbers became exhausted.
The GROUP (XX) has no meaning other than to determine whether or not a number has been assigned. This is important to know, if you want to use Social Security numbers as identification for your customers. Here's how you should use this information.
Every month, the Social Security Association publishes a list of the highest group assigned for each AREA. The order of assignment is
- odd numbers under 10,
- even numbers over 9,
- even numbers under 9 (except for 00, which is not used), and
- odd numbers over 10.
So, for example, if the highest GROUP assigned for AREA 999 is 72, then a customer who gives you the social security number 999-04-1234 is a fraud, because even GROUPS under 9 have not yet been assigned.
The SERIAL (XXXX) portion has no meaning and is not assigned in strict numerical order. 0000 is never used. If you know what to look for, Social Security numbers are an important tool for screening customers.
