How Common Is Stalking? The Odds for Women and Men

The Lifetime Odds

The CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey is the main source for lifetime estimates (2023/2024 Stalking Data Brief).

• Women: nearly 1 in 3 (22.5%), about 28.8 million women.
• Men: about 1 in 6 (9.7%), about 11.9 million men.

To count as stalking in this survey, the person had to feel fearful, threatened, or concerned for their own safety or someone else's because of repeated unwanted behavior.

The Yearly Odds

Most people are not stalked every year, so yearly rates are lower.

• CDC, past 12 months: 1 in 20 women (5.5%) and 1 in 33 men (3.0%).
• BJS, 2019: about 1.3% of people 16 and older, which is roughly 13 people in every 1,000. Women were stalked at 1.8% and men at 0.8% (Stalking Victimization, 2019).

Why the Numbers Are Probably Low

All of these figures come from surveys, and surveys miss people. Some stalking victims don't call what happened "stalking." Some are still being stalked and don't feel safe answering. And the surveys cannot capture victims who are no longer alive.

Reporting is also low. According to the Office of Justice Programs, only 29% of victims reported stalking to police in 2019, even though stalking is a crime in every state.

Does "1 in 3" Mean Your Odds Are 1 in 3?

Not exactly. A lifetime rate describes a population across many decades. Your individual risk depends on your circumstances, such as a recent breakup, a past abusive relationship, or someone with an obsessive interest in you. Our article on who is most at risk explains those factors.

What the numbers do show is that if you suspect you are being stalked, you are far from alone.

What to Do If You Think You're One of the Numbers

You don't need to wait until the behavior escalates.

• Write down each incident with the date, time, and what happened.
• Save messages, voicemails, and screenshots with visible dates.
• Tell one trusted person.
• Read how to recognize stalking and how to report it.
• If you feel in danger right now, call 911.

What "Stalked" Means in These Surveys

Both major surveys look for a pattern, not a single event. The person has to be subjected to repeated, unwanted behavior, and the behavior has to cause fear or serious concern. That matches how many laws work, which look for a course of conduct and for fear or emotional distress. A single awkward message would not normally be counted.

Behaviors the CDC Counts as Stalking

The CDC's stalking report lists the tactics survey respondents were asked about. They include:

• Unwanted phone calls.
• Showing up or approaching the person.
• Following and watching the person.
• Unwanted texts, photos, or emails, including through social media.
• Unwanted cards, letters, flowers, or presents.
• Sneaking into the person's home or car.
• Using GPS to monitor or track the person.
• Leaving strange items for the person to find.
• Using technology to spy.

If several of these sound familiar, read what counts as stalking.

Why Rates Look Different Across Surveys

Rates change with the definition. A survey that requires intense fear will find fewer victims than one that counts any fear or concern. The same logic explains why lifetime rates are far higher than yearly rates. When you compare two numbers, check the time frame and the fear threshold first.

What "1 in 3" Looks Like in Real Life

Percentages can feel abstract, so it helps to picture them. Using the CDC's lifetime figures, in a group of 30 women, roughly nine would have been stalked at some point in their lives. In a group of 30 men, roughly five would have been. These are approximations based on national averages, not predictions for any particular room, but they show why so many people have a friend, colleague, or relative who has been through it, even if nobody talks about it.

The same logic applies to workplaces and schools. A company with several hundred employees, or a campus with thousands of students, almost certainly includes people who are being stalked or who were stalked in the past. That is the reason institutions need clear, confidential ways to respond.

How the Odds Differ Across Groups and States

The averages hide real differences. In the CDC's 2023/2024 data, women's lifetime stalking prevalence ranged from roughly 15.6% to 35.2% depending on the state, and men's state-level estimates could be reported only for California (10.6%). Some of that variation reflects real differences, and some reflects small state samples, so treat state comparisons cautiously. The CDC's earlier 2016/2017 report also found a heavier burden among some groups, including American Indian or Alaska Native people and multiracial people (CDC).

For you, the takeaway is not "my state is safer" or "my state is riskier." It is that stalking occurs everywhere, and your state's guide in our State Reporting Guide will tell you how to report and what orders exist.

Why Individual Risk Differs From the Average

A lifetime rate describes a population across many decades. It doesn't tell you your personal chance of being stalked next year. Individual risk depends on circumstances: whether you have recently ended a relationship, whether someone has shown an unhealthy fixation on you, whether you hold a public-facing job, how visible you are online, and whether you have experienced abuse before.

That's why the most useful way to read the numbers is not as a forecast but as a reminder that unwanted, repeated attention is common enough to take seriously when it appears. Read who is most at risk of stalking for factors that raise or lower risk.

Using the Odds to Decide What to Do

Knowing how common stalking is can help you make practical choices.

• Trust the pattern. If repeated unwanted contact is happening, you are not imagining a rare event. Start a log.
• Don't wait for it to get worse. Because many victims delay reporting, acting early puts you ahead of the typical pattern.
• Prepare in advance. A safety plan and a few privacy steps cost little and help if the worst happens.
• Talk about it. Sharing what you know can help friends recognize their own situations.

The numbers say you are far from alone. They also say that help should not be hard to find.

If Someone Tells You They're Being Stalked

Because stalking is common, there's a good chance someone you know will eventually tell you it is happening to them. How you respond matters. Believe them without asking why they didn't act sooner. Don't confront the person who is stalking them, and don't pass along messages. Offer practical help, such as sitting with them while they save evidence or going with them to report. Encourage them to keep a dated log and make a safety plan, and point them to official resources like the Office for Victims of Crime directory and our State Reporting Guide. Let them decide what to report and when.

Being common does not make stalking normal. It means help should be easy to find.

Sources and further reading

• CDC: NISVS 2023/2024 Stalking Data Brief (Sept. 2025)
• Stalking Victimization, 2019 (Bureau of Justice Statistics)
• Stalking (Office of Justice Programs)