Human trafficking in the United States is a dangerous situation for both children and adults across the country, with thousands of cases being reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline every year. There were a total of 13,370 cases of human trafficking reported over nine years in just the 100 most populous U.S. cities alone. Using human trafficking statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, the NYRequirements.com team mapped out the 25 cities that were found to have the most cases, and the 25 cities that had the fewest human trafficking cases between December 7, 2007, and December 31, 2016.  A case is a unique report, situation, or request for resources that originated as a signal to the hotline. Each case included in the report was evaluated for evidence of potential human trafficking and was determined to have either high or moderate indicators of human trafficking.

While some U.S. cities have only experienced a handful of human trafficking cases between 2007 and 2016, one U.S. city was found to have more than one thousand cases of human trafficking reported during this time. Explore our map below to see the top human trafficking cities in the United States.

Click here to download the printable PDF version of the chart.

What Is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is often compared to a modern-day form of slavery.  The official definition by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is that “human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.” Labor trafficking and sex trafficking are the two main types of human trafficking, with both adults and children being coerced by human traffickers across the United States. Human trafficking can happen in any city, although some U.S. cities have been found to have a lot more cases of human trafficking than others.

Which U.S. City Has the Most Cases of Human Trafficking?

The U.S. city with the most cases of human trafficking is Houston, Texas. A total of 1,021 human trafficking cases were investigated in Houston between December 7, 2007, and December 31, 2016.

Why is human trafficking so common in Houston? The city of Houston’s proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, and the fact that its interstate connects to several major cities on both coasts, may be the reason why so many cases of human trafficking have been reported there.

The 10 or 5 U.S. Cities With the Most Cases of Human Trafficking

Houston, TX: 1,021

Los Angeles, CA: 884

New York, NY: 759

Washington D.C.: 596

Chicago, IL: 507

Which U.S. City Has the Fewest Cases of Human Trafficking?

There are two cities in the U.S. with the least cases of human trafficking and they are both located in Nevada. Henderson and North Las Vegas have each had less than three cases of human trafficking over the nine years’ worth of data that were analyzed. The National Human Trafficking Hotline does not disclose exact statistics related to cities referenced fewer than three times to protect the identity of the people.

The 10 or 5 U.S. Cities With the Fewest Cases of Human Trafficking

Henderson, NV: less than 3

North Las Vegas, NV: less than 3

Hialeah, FL: 6

Gilbert, AZ: 6

Chandler, AZ: 8

How to Recognize the Signs of Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking can happen anywhere and to anyone, but there are several signs of human trafficking to keep an eye out for. Labor trafficking is when adults or children are forced to work due to their immigration status, debts they may owe, or just through the use of threats and violence. These victims are often kept isolated from others, both mentally and physically. When intimidation, coercion, or fraud is used to force adults or children to perform commercial sex acts, it is considered sex trafficking. Learn more about recognizing human trafficking with the National Human Trafficking Hotline’s list of the signs to look out for and the various situations that can make people vulnerable to becoming victims of labor trafficking or sex trafficking.

While child trafficking is an extreme version of what can happen to children, abuse and maltreatment or neglect are, unfortunately much more common occurrences. Learning how to identify the signs of child abuse and maltreatment/neglect, as well as how to report these instances, are covered in our Child Abuse: New York Mandated Reporter Training course. The course follows the required curriculum and materials provided in the mandated reporter trainer’s resource guide that was developed by the research foundation of SUNY/BSC/CDHS.

The 25 Cities with the Most Human Trafficking Cases

The 25 Cities with the Fewest Human Trafficking Cases

*To protect the identity of the people, the National Human Trafficking Hotline does not disclose exact statistics related to cities referenced fewer than three times.